– Clara Beuttenmüller, Global Transport Transformation Team
Companies across the world rely on technologies from Schneider Electric to manage energy and run processes in ways that are safe, efficient, reliable, and sustainable. Meeting their needs calls for a lot of air freight and express shipping. Across its seven global regions, the company manages around 360,000 shipments every year, moving 40,000 tons of products between its 220 factories, 103 distribution centers, and countless customers.
Schneider’s customers expect their orders to be delivered on time, in full, and in perfect condition. In pursuit of that aim, the company has looked for ways improve the performance of its global supply chain. That requires efficient networks, reliable processes, and capable logistics partners. It also calls for a smart approach to risk management so that, in the rare but inevitable cases of delay or disruption in the supply chain, Schneider can respond rapidly to get things back on track and reassure its customers that their critical equipment is on its way. Schneider’s ongoing pursuit of excellence has led the company to embark on a comprehensive supply chain transformation with the goal of significant improvements in efficiency, visibility, and risk management.
A key enabler of Schneider’s transformation is Everstream Analytics, a leading end-to-end supply chain risk analytics company, together with seven “control towers” — one for each of Schneider’s global supply chain regions. Each control tower uses fully customized Everstream software to visualize and monitor Schneider’s supply chain in that region (North America; South America; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; India; China; the Pacific countries and East Asia Japan). The model incorporates the company’s own facilities, those of its key suppliers, and critical transport nodes like ports, airports, and distribution hubs. In total, Everstream Risk Assessment maps more than 2000 points around the world, including comprehensive dashboards to show the status and location of every shipment currently in the network. The Everstream solution allows Schneider to continually monitor the performance of each regional supply chain, and an automated system alerts control tower staff and other relevant personnel if any shipments aren’t moving smoothly through the network.
Additionally, the control towers are all linked directly to Everstream’s Incident Monitoring service, which gathers data on potential supply chain risks from a wide range of internal and external sources, including traditional and social media, live transport data, and observers on the ground. This data is fed into the supply chain model, providing staff with near-real-time information on any external events with the potential to cause delays or disruptions and letting them know exactly which shipments might be affected. The monitoring system gives Schneider an invaluable early warning of disruption in its network. Instead of responding to an issue once it has occurred, staff can often act up front — diverting shipments, organizing alternative transportation, or warning customers of unavoidable delays.
With Everstream, Schneider’s supply chain control towers are giving the company unprecedented visibility into supply chain performance across each region and allowing staff to intervene hours or even days earlier when incidents occur. For customers, that visibility means even fewer delays, clearer communication, and greater confidence.
While Schneider’s initial investment in Everstream was based on the desire to improve visibility and risk management in transportation, the solution is increasingly being adopted by other parts of the company too. In particular, Procurement and Network Design teams are making use of the platform’s Supply Chain Risk Assessment capabilities, which evaluates more than 35 risk categories, providing a quantitative assessment of any site’s overall risk exposure. Coded down to the street address level, this assessment helps Schneider to understand the potential vulnerability of current or future suppliers or transport nodes, helping it optimize inventory levels, supply strategy, and contingency plans. Everstream gives Schneider the capability to optimize its supply chain not only on cost and lead-time but also on the desired level of risk. The greater agility enabled by Everstream Analytics saves time and money for Schneider, its supply chain partners, and ultimately for its end customers too.
| Customer Objectives – Support a wider transformation effort by achieving complete visibility of supply chain performance in every region – Move from a reactive to a proactive approach to supply chain risk management – Improve response and communication around supply chain issues, both internally and externallyEverstream Solution – Everstream Analytics Incident Monitoring delivers near real time information on event across seven regional supply chain control towers – Everstream Analytics Risk Assessment provides site-specific data on exposure to more than 35 different risk categoriesCustomer Benefits – Early warning of supply chain risk events – End-to-end visibility on which shipments have the potential to be affected by supply chain disruption and the available mitigation options – Improved risk assessment and contingency planning during supplier selection and network design |
