Sri Gopinath, Director of Global Sourcing Strategy at Schneider Electric is a Senior Purchasing Manager with in-depth knowledge of Global Strategic Sourcing and comprehensive experience in business strategy, transformation and change management .

Sri leads the procurement strategy function for Schneider Electric globally with responsibilities for supply base management, relationship programs, category strategy and business transformation initiatives. Previously, he led an internal business transformation team within Nissan and led a special assignment for the President of Nissan Brazil to enable business expansion in this market.

MEDIA 7: What do you look forward to the most when you get up in the morning?
SRI GOPINATH: I can't wait to make a difference - I have been very fortunate to be able to gain professional experiences internationally, in many diverse industries and to create value for my employers and clients. As a member of the purchasing and supply chain community, our business and macroeconomic environment is constantly changing. This motivates me greatly to think about how strategies can be translated into meaningful actions to create value for our clients and stakeholders.

No two days are the same, and it makes me eager to explore new possibilities every day. Additionally, I enjoy interacting with talented people in the sourcing and supply chain fields and contributing to their career aspirations and development. I never run out of opportunities!


M7: Can you tell me a bit about yourself and what led you to your position as purchasing strategy director at Schneider Electric?
SG: It would be helpful if I linked my career development to how 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 senior executives from many top companies, I learned best practices and how to understand the CEO's point of view early in my career. I then discovered my passion - how to activate board strategies and be able to turn it into reality and achieve tangible results.
Schneider Electric gave me the opportunity to apply my skills in a global organization, to interact with people from many countries while driving strategic transformation and change. Most importantly, I really connected with the people who share my passion and desire for results. As an example, Schneider Electric was ranked # 34 in Gartner's Annual Supply Chain Ranking in 2015 and in 2020 we reached # 4! It’s an incredible achievement in such a short time, and it’s gratifying for me to have contributed to this effort.

"A supplier must be able to articulate and demonstrate a track record of delivering results across multiple requirements." M7: What are some of the important qualities you look for in a supplier?
SG: A supplier must be able to articulate and demonstrate a track record of delivering results across multiple requirements - although providing competitively priced parts, products or services is a requirement, but the expectations are higher. Above all, I seek ethical and socially responsible leadership and a culture and passion to delight customers with quality, customer satisfaction, competitiveness, innovation, sustainability and operational excellence. Commitment to collaboration and long-term relationships are essential to working together effectively.


M7: Buyers and suppliers need to collaborate more to advance sustainable purchasing. What is your vision?
SG: Sustainable sourcing is the right thing to do for our society and our planet, and has become a requirement for us to be successful and exceed our customers' expectations. I am proud to say that Schneider Electric is one of the world's leading companies, recognized for its sustainable development practices. We have moved from regulatory compliance and risk mitigation to creating a competitive advantage to meet all sustainability goals, and we need our suppliers to work with us to be successful together. We are also firmly committed to ethical sourcing - to ensure that our suppliers and their suppliers across the value chain adhere to safe and acceptable labor practices and human rights.

In our vendor business reviews, ratings and events, we not only identify areas for improvement, but we also recognize and reward vendors for their sustainability practices and share best practices. We are committed to working with our suppliers as part of our global commitment to build a sustainable world. You can get more details here if you are interested.
M7: How can companies balance local and foreign sourcing arrangements in a global sourcing environment? What measures are you taking to improve cost control in today's increasingly competitive environment at Schneider Electric?
SG: To approach the topic of local versus global sourcing, purchasing managers need to strike the right balance between local and global sourcing strategies. There is not just one right answer - each category or product purchased has its own market dynamics and its own supply chain footprint that needs to be managed. Some categories like electronic components and fasteners are globalized as their manufacturing is mainly based in Asia, regardless of the final destination. Other categories like steel, metal stampings and sheet metal parts are more localized due to global logistics and raw material challenges. The best decision is made by working with suppliers to “think global and act local” - where we can align our requirements with their capabilities 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 essential in deciding on the appropriate degree of localization. A fully flexible, low risk and highly responsive local supply chain can be prohibitively expensive, while a fully global approach can be cost effective but increase risk and reduce flexibility of supply. Obviously, the correct answer for most businesses is somewhere in between. Leading vendors know how to work globally and operate locally - delivering strong operational performance while building stronger global relationships.

When it comes to the actions we take to manage costs, we use short and long term approaches to drive cost management activities. Negotiations with suppliers are conducted on the basis of data and facts - achieving cost savings is necessary but not the only condition to meet the performance requirements of our suppliers. We drive performance by maximizing relationships with our best strategic suppliers and engage our internal stakeholders in cost improvement. Examples of such activities are value engineering, product and supplier process innovation, end-to-end supply chain rationalization, supplier quality and capacity improvement, etc. The guiding principles of our holistic approach to cost management are collaboration, interaction and digitization.

M7: What are the challenges for Schneider Electric when you look at global purchasing in the areas in which you work?
SG: We must seek to achieve a consistent overall performance of our total cost of ownership, our quality capabilities, our operational performance, our risks and our resilience. Our internal governance and organizational mechanisms to manage these various requirements require strong commitment, information sharing and communication with our suppliers and stakeholders. Sourcing strategies are also validated with business units and product managers in order to align the needs of our customers with the capabilities of suppliers.
M7: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work - what day-to-day processes have you had to reorganize so that you can eliminate them remotely? What does your remote tech stack look like?
SG: Schneider Electric is a global company, dedicated to providing digital energy and automation solutions for efficiency and sustainability. We operate in environments considered critical, such as critical energy infrastructure, data centers, hospitals, airports, etc. Our employees are already used to working in flexible environments; therefore, the pandemic was not a great shock when we had to work from home if our role allowed us to do so. My role is global, which required frequent travel before the crisis. I've maintained my global reach and interactions while working from home, as I work with all time zones, which can get quite difficult when we're trying to work together or meet at a mutually convenient time.

Our employees use state-of-the-art collaboration tools for voice and data communication that enable them to be efficient in their work, no matter where they are. We also use cloud-based digital servers and applications to manage documents, supplier interactions, business intelligence tools, and digital activation of our key work processes.

M7: Speaking of fun, what's a fun fact about you?
SG: I have traveled to over 30 countries and climbed the Great Wall of China 4 times in different places, starting from where the wall begins in Qinhuangdao.

ABOUT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

Schneider Electric is a 27 billion euro global company headquartered in Paris, France, with operations in more than 100 countries with more than 135,000 employees worldwide. We provide digital energy and automation solutions for efficiency and sustainability. We combine cutting-edge energy technologies, real-time automation, software and services into integrated solutions for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. We make processes and energy safe and reliable, efficient and sustainable, open and connected. Our technologies ensure that life is lit everywhere, for everyone, at all times.

Read more:https://wheels.report/thought-leader-on-deck-schneider-electric-sri-gopinath?utm_source=Media%207&utm_medium=Neethu