Expertise

In an environment where manufacturing is largely outsourced, Groupe SEB has chosen to implement an unusual industrial policy, still manufacturing 70% of the products it sells, thereby limiting outsourcing to just 30%. Today the Group has a total of 28 plants, with manufacturing divided up geographically as follows:

 This balance is based on:

• European plants dedicated to the manufacturing of products with substantial economies of scale, for which the Group holds a leading positions and has developped technological barriers (centres of expertise), in terms of product design or processes;
• Competitive international multi-product plants, that are close to local markets and that manufacture products which are sold locally or for which the Group wishes to keep technological specificities products and processes in house;
• Targeted outsourcing for components or for standard, commonplace products.

To maintain its industrial competitiveness in the long term, the Group implements productivity improvement plans and constantly adapts its production tool to take into account the economic situation of the market. This means adjusting volumes, streamlining production and/ or reducing operating costs where necessary, rising outsourcing when necessary but also increasing manufacturing capacities to respond to strong growth, as it is currently the case in China, or bringing back in house production that had previously been outsourced to subcontractors (e.g. kettles).
 

Search for a better efficiency of operations

Adaptability and flexibility also apply to the Group’s sales, administration, logistics and IT systems in order to optimize and improve the way they work. Team cooperation, knowledge sharing and systematically implementing best practices, the early integration of stringent quality procedures and the setting up of international support services (“clusters”): these are all factors which allow the Group to best serve its target markets with optimised competitiveness. 

In the same way, the restructuring of sales forces in Brazil in 2010 resulted in a rapid improvement in commercial performance both for Arno and Panex, bringing about a strong increase in turnover. The setting up of three ‘clusters’ – administration and logistics platforms – in Latin America has optimized flow and increased efficiency and responsiveness, ensuring a reliable service to distributors. Over recent years, the strengthening of quality controls, at every stage of the product chain, internal or outsourced, has become a major priority. They made it possible to successfully identify and resolve potential problems at a very early stage, so that they never see the light of day.