APC 2015 Annual Report Download - page 36

2015 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC34
OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP’S STRATEGY, MARKETS AND BUSINESSES
1ORGANIZATIONAL SIMPLICITY ANDEFFICIENCY
main representative in the country, most notably in dealings with
employees and local offi cials.
•Globalization: major support functions that are not specifi c to
a given country or business are gradually globalized to increase
experience and leverage a signifi cant scale effect around cost
and service. Manufacturing and supply chain operations, areas
of shared services or expertise (such as fi nance or Human
Resources), information systems, Group Strategy, Technology
and global marketing functions are now included within the
Group’s Global Functions. Global Supply Chain is continuing to
focus on the areas of global productivity, customer differentiation
and customer satisfaction.
Schneider Electric
Industries SAS Boissière Finance
Operational
companies
Schneider
Electric SE
6.2 Manufacturing and supply chain: global redeployment
Schneider Electric has more than 220 plants and 100 distribution
centers around the world. Customer satisfaction is its top priority.
While working constantly to improve occupational health and safety
and environmental protection, Schneider Electric’s manufacturing
policy aims to fulfi ll four key objectives, in order of priority:
1) to achieve a level of quality and service that meets or exceeds
customer expectations;
2) to obtain cost-competitive products while continuing to deliver
strong and consistent productivity;
3) to develop system speed and effi ciency and limit production
sites’ risk exposure (currency parity, geopolitical risks and
changes in cost factors);
4) to optimize capital employed in manufacturing operations.
A number of the production facilities and distribution centers are
dedicated to the global market. The other units are located as close
as possible to their end markets. Although design and/or aesthetic
features may be adapted to meet local requirements, Schneider
Electric standardizes key components as much as possible. This
global/local approach helps Schneider Electric maximize economies
of scale and optimize profi tability and service quality.
Drawing on its global scope, Schneider Electric is constantly re-
balancing and optimizing its manufacturing and supply chain
resources.
Continuous improvement on a global scale
At the same time, an industrial excellence program called
Schneider Production System (SPS) has been rolled out in all
plants to substantially and continuously improve service quality
and productivity. The program also takes into account high-level
environmental and staff health and safety criteria. Based on a lean
manufacturing approach, SPS is supported by the extension of Six
Sigma and Quality and Value Analysis programs across the Group.
By deploying these optimization methods globally and sharing best
practices, the Group intends to raise the operational performance
of all its plants to the same high standard.
Schneider Electric’s sites and products meet the strict requirements
of both European regulations and international standards relating
to the environment. A continuous assessment system to ensure
compliance with regulations and their modifi cations is in place,
relying mainly on internal and external auditors. On a regular
basis, these norms and standards are exceeded by the specifi c
requirements we set ourselves, for instance by replacing certain
materials and substances used for our products well before the
regulations require us to do so. Schneider Electric’s plants and
logistics centers are ISO14001 (environment) certifi ed, and almost
half of these sites have also achieved ISO50001 (energy effi ciency)
certifi cation. In addition to the environment and energy effi ciency,
we implement an integrated management system also covering
Quality (ISO9001) and Health and Safety (OHSAS18001). In2015,
Geographic dimension and legal structure
The Group’s goal is to establish, where ever possible, a single legal structure in each country.
Schneider Electric’s simplifi ed legal organization chart is as follows:
The list of consolidated companies is provided in note32 to the
consolidated fi nancial statements (see page240 ). Boissière Finance
is the Group’s centralized cash-management structure; it also
centralizes hedging operations for all subsidiaries.