APC 2004 Annual Report Download - page 14

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Our customers
are our partners
Schneider Electric has nurtured close, ongoing rela-
tionships with its customers and partners to keep a
close eye on their needs. We make a large portion of
our sales through distributors, systems integrators,
contractors and specifiers. Our partners provide strong,
strategically related value, and extend and amplify our
commercial and technical resources. The business
model we have chosen to develop, which combines a
broad, consistent range of smart, networked products
and market access through dedicated and specialized
sales forces, global accounts, specifiers and other
partners, differentiates us from the competition.
Distributors
Electrical equipment distributors rank among our
major customers. We are a key partner to distributors
worldwide, who account for around 50% of our total
sales (70% of catalog product sales) and offer a net-
work of 13,000 sales outlets.
This close relationship allows us to offer customers
levels of service and efficiency not found anywhere
else in the industry. Distributors provide a single point
of access for customers and can combine products
into packages.
To facilitate communication with distributors, we have
developed numerous Internet-based services. We
also help distributors integrate new information tech-
nologies that will make them more competitive. With
the dedicated "My Schneider Electric" portal, for exam-
ple, they can access prices and technical information,
place orders and download installation manuals
around the clock.
This partnership is extended to local distributors,
wholesalers, non-specialized professional distributors
and large international groups including Rexel and
Sonepar in France, Hagemeyer and Solar Nordic in
the Netherlands, Graybar and Grainer in the United
States, and Ced-Edmundson in the United Kingdom.
We also sell products through large home improve-
ment chains such as Home Depot and Lowes in the
US and Kingfisher in the UK for the building renova-
tion market.
Lastly, we use specialist distribution channels for our
highly technical products such as human machine
interface and VDI transmission equipment, PLCs and
industrial software.
Integrators and contractors
Aside from our work with distributors, we devise solu-
tions for customers in close cooperation with other
partners, including:
Panelbuilders, OEMs and systems integrators.
Contractors, ranging from large firms specialized in
installing equipment and systems to small specialized
and general electricians.
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c) Developing in growth platforms that
complement our core businesses
These new activities enjoy higher growth potential and
more even business cycles than our traditional busi-
nesses. They fit in perfectly with our competencies
and business model, notably as concerns market
access channels. What's more, they can stimulate
growth in our core businesses.
Building Automation and Security
Our ambition is to satisfy strong customer demand for
comfort, security, flexibility, optimized investment and
reduced operating costs in service, commercial and
industrial buildings.
We leverage our systems integrator partners' exper-
tise and the market's broadest open systems technol-
ogy to offer comprehensive, consistent solutions for
control, supervision, monitoring, security, intruder
alert and access control. With TAC, Andover Control
and Abacus Engineered Systems, we are now in a
position to offer highly effective solutions for managing
and optimizing energy consumption.
Secured Power
Our goal here is to serve growing demand for reliable,
clean electricity and for more effective control over
energy costs. MGE UPS Systems ranks third world-
wide, putting Schneider Electric squarely in the center
of the uninterruptible power supply market with com-
pletely secure solutions.
Sensors for Repetitive Machines
Schneider Electric intends to develop a lineup of com-
ponents for repetitive machines. These components
generate large production volumes and lead to tech-
nological innovations that are useful in the develop-
ment of other components. Embedded intelligence, for
example, has become more and more prevalent in
sensors and actuators. Crouzet and Kavlico have
enhanced our offer in this area.
High value added services
Alongside our products, systems and equipment, we
offer a comprehensive range of services to meet cus-
tomer needs and support users throughout their
installations' useful lives. High performance services
such as consulting, site and installation audits, diag-
nostics, installation monitoring, online training and
technical support, and on-site and remote mainte-
nance and management contracts also help cus-
tomers get the most out of their facilities. We provide
solutions to evaluate and optimize energy consump-
tion and offer services for on-site and network man-
agement of spare parts, inventory and quality control.