INTERVIEW WITH SRI GOPINATH, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT STRATEGY AT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
Sri Gopinath, Director Global Procurement Strategy at Schneider Electric, is a senior procurement manager with an in-depth understanding of global strategic procurement and extensive experience in business strategy, transformation and change management.
Sri leads the procurement strategy for Schneider Electric worldwide with responsibilities for supply base management, relationship programs, category strategy and business transformation initiatives. Previously, he led an in-house business transformation team at Nissan and led a special assignment for the President of Nissan Brazil to facilitate business expansion in that market.
MEDIA 7: What do you look forward to most when you get up in the morning?
SRI GOPINATH: I look forward to making a difference. I was very lucky to be able to gain work experience internationally and in many different industries and to create value for my employers and customers. As part of the sourcing and supply chain community, our business and macroeconomic environment is constantly changing. It motivates me a lot to think about how strategies can be translated into meaningful measures to create value for our customers and stakeholders.
No two days are the same and that makes me excited to think about new possibilities every day. I also enjoy interacting with talented people in the procurement and supply chain and contributing to their career goals and development. I never run out of options!
M7: Can you tell me something about yourself and what led you to your position as Procurement Strategy Director at Schneider Electric?
SG: It would be helpful if I could combine my professional development with the way I came to Schneider Electric. I came here 5 years ago after gaining valuable experience in leading companies like Nissan Motor Company, Motorola, and in management consulting. Working with many talented and senior executives from many leading companies, I learned best practices and understanding the CEO perspective early in my career. Then I discovered my passion — how to enable boardroom strategies and make them real and get tangible results.
Schneider Electric gave me the opportunity to apply my skills in a global organization, to interact with people from many countries and at the same time to drive strategic transformations and change. Most importantly, I’ve really connected with the people who share my passion and desire for results. As an example, Schneider Electric was ranked 34th on Gartner’s annual supply chain rankings in 2015, and we were ranked 4th in 2020! It is an amazing achievement in such a short period of time, and it is my reward for contributing to this endeavor.
M7: What are some of the important qualities you look for in a supplier?
SG: A supplier must be able to formulate and demonstrate a track record of providing results for multiple requirements. However, although it requires the provision of parts, products, or services at a competitive price, expectations are higher. Above all, I am looking for ethical, socially responsible leadership and a culture and passion to inspire customers through quality, customer satisfaction, competitiveness, innovation, sustainability and operational excellence. Commitment to collaboration and long-term relationships are key to effective collaboration.
M7: Buyers and suppliers need to work together more closely to drive sustainable procurement. What is your vision
SG: Sustainable procurement is the right thing for our society and our planet and has become a prerequisite for our success and exceeds our customers’ expectations. I am proud to say that Schneider Electric is one of the world’s leading companies recognized for its sustainability practices. We have moved from regulatory compliance and risk mitigation to competitive advantage to meet all sustainability goals and we need our suppliers to work with us to be successful together. We are also strongly committed to ethical sourcing — to ensure that our suppliers and their suppliers adhere to safe and acceptable labor practices and human rights throughout the value chain.
In our supplier business reviews, evaluations, and supplier events, we not only identify areas for improvement, but also identify and reward suppliers for leading sustainability practices and share best practices. We are determined to work with our suppliers to build a sustainable world. Further information is available here if you are interested.
“A fully flexible, low-risk, and highly tailored local supply chain can be costly, while a fully global approach can be cost-effective, but it increases risk and decreases delivery flexibility.” M7: How can companies balance local and foreign procurement agreements in a global relationship? Sourcing environment? What steps are you taking to improve cost control in Schneider Electric’s increasingly competitive environment?
SG: To address the issue of local and global procurement, procurement managers need to strike the right balance between local and global procurement strategies. There is no one right answer — every category or product purchased has its own market dynamics and supply chain footprint that needs to be managed. Some categories such as electronic components and fasteners are globalized as most of them are manufactured in Asia regardless of the final destination. Other categories such as steel, stamped metal parts and sheet metal parts are more localized due to the challenges of global logistics and raw materials. The best decision is made by working with suppliers to “think globally and act locally”. Here we can tailor our requirements to their skills to meet or exceed expectations.
Next, we need to understand the pros and cons and determine the key success factors. Understanding the benefits and risks of global sourcing is crucial in deciding how much localization is appropriate. A fully flexible, low-risk, and highly tailored local supply chain can be costly, while a fully global approach can be cost-effective, but increases risk and decreases delivery flexibility. The correct answer for most businesses is clearly somewhere in between. Leading suppliers are figuring out how to work globally and operate locally — delivering strong operational performance while building stronger global relationships.
In terms of the measures we take to control costs, we use both short-term and long-term approaches to drive cost management activities forward. Negotiations with suppliers are based on data and facts — cost savings are required, but not the only requirement to meet our supplier performance requirements. We increase performance by maximizing relationships with our strategic and best suppliers and engaging our internal stakeholders to drive cost improvements. Examples of such activities are value engineering, product and process innovation by suppliers, streamlining the continuous supply chain, improving the quality and performance of suppliers, etc. The guiding principles of our overall approach to cost management are collaboration, interaction and digitization.
M7: What are the challenges for Schneider Electric when you look at global sourcing in the areas you work in?
SG: We must strive to have a consistent global performance of our total cost of ownership, quality capabilities, operational performance, risk and resilience. Our internal governance and organizational mechanisms to cope with these different requirements require a strong commitment, information exchange and communication with our suppliers and stakeholders. Sourcing strategies are also validated with business units and product leaders to align our customers’ needs with the capabilities of suppliers.
“Leading suppliers are figuring out how to work globally and locally — they offer strong operational performance while building stronger global relationships.” M7: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your work — which daily processes needed to be Do you retool to be able to pull them off remotely? What is your remote tech stack like?
SG: Schneider Electric is a global company dedicated to providing digital energy and automation solutions for efficiency and sustainability. We work in environments that are considered essential — such as critical energy infrastructures, data centers, hospitals, airports, etc. Our employees are already used to working in flexible environments. So the pandemic didn’t come as a huge shock when we had to work from home when our role allowed. My role is global, which required frequent travel before the crisis. I kept my global scope and interactions at work from home as I work with all time zones. This can become very difficult if we are trying to work together or meet at a mutually convenient time.
Our employees use industry-leading voice and data communication collaboration tools that enable them to work effectively regardless of location. We also use server and cloud-based digital applications to manage documents, supplier interactions, business intelligence tools and to digitally activate our most important work processes.
M7: Speaking of fun, what’s a fun fact about you?
SG: I’ve traveled to over 30 countries and climbed the Great Wall of China four times in different places, starting where the wall begins in Qinhuangdao.
