Zhu Hai: Schneider's "other shore" Raiders

A good company is a mysterious world.

Crossing through the hustle and bustle of the city, the dignified building of the Schneider Electric Building stands at the northwest corner of the Beijing Wangjing Technology Park. Several large buses on the roadside seem to be reminding us of the distance between the building in front of us and the city. However, if you pay a little attention to the advertisements and news reports of CCTV and major newspapers and magazines, it is not difficult to understand that any decision made in this building is committed to creating a "zero distance" between Schneider Electric and China. ".

Entering into the conference room with a swift pace, a pair of gold-tinted glasses on the head and a blue shirt, Zhu Hai, president of Schneider Electric China in front of the reporter, was very energetic. If it weren’t for the joint venture project that was highlighted by the industry in 2006, Zhu Hai will definitely choose to continue to hide behind many auras in a low-key manner. In his words, this is his style—and this company has 175 years of history. The low-key style of the birth of the French industrial giant is exactly the same.

Nowadays, in the transition period in which the global electrical equipment market is fully competitive and adjusted, Schneider Electric, the low-key "enterprising", has begun to rethink the future growth point of the company - the Chinese market, as a result of its choice, and also the starting point of choice.

"A fun experience"

Not long ago, Zhu Haigang was elected vice president of the China Electrical Appliance Industry Association and became the only association executive from the foreign-funded enterprise. Because of his special status, it is said that this appointment has been reviewed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the competent authorities of the association. When accepting the appointment, the former Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Machinery Industry and the Honorary Chairman of China National Electrical Equipment Industry Association Lu Yankai laughed and laughed: "Zhu Hai, do you still have a Chinese passport?!"

Some of Zhu Haixiao’s helplessness was off stage. This joined the Schneider Electric in 1996, has served as the chief representative of the Modicom brand in China, director of automation sales, low-voltage product marketing director, global OEM senior vice president and other foreign executives, in the spotlight is still somewhat unaccustomed to the meeting After the end of the hurry to leave.

“If there is an opportunity to interview Zhu Hai, the joint venture between Schneider Electric and Delixi is a successful case of a few foreign joint ventures in the industry. What is even more rare is that Zhu Hai has helped a private company achieve a series of reforms in the joint venture company. With the modern management upgrade, such cases are worth thinking and summing up.” Lu Yanzhen told reporters after the meeting.

The meeting was the first time the reporter had a close contact with Zhu Hai. "Before the delixi joint venture case, I refused to deal with any media. I couldn't find any information on me on the Internet. After that, I began to contact him in order to better explain the original intention of the joint venture project. Media.” Zhu Hai explained to reporters. If we say that a successful professional manager has made a name for himself, perhaps the joint venture between Schneider Electric and Wenzhou private enterprise Delixi is the bright color that Zhuhai left for the industry.

On December 17, 2006, Schneider Electric and private enterprise Delixi signed a framework agreement. Both sides established Delixi Electric Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Delixi Electric”) in a 1:1 manner. According to the agreement between the two parties, the seats for the board of directors of the new company will be allocated according to "half to half", and the position of the chairman of the board of directors will be assumed by the Chinese. At the same time, Delixi Group incorporated all marketing companies into the unified management of the joint venture Delixi Electric. Zhu Hai, as a foreign representative, became the general manager of the joint venture.

Over the years, due to a large number of upstream and downstream supporting companies, and a clear division of labor and cooperation, Wenzhou Liushi is known for its low-cost expansion of low-voltage electrical appliances, and Wenzhou's weaving network-type distribution capabilities are unique. In addition, in the past, Schneider Electric focused on the mid-to-high-end market in the global low-voltage electrical field, and Delixi focused on implementing differentiated operations, focusing on low- and medium-end low-voltage electrical markets. The difference in the strategic positioning of the two sides made Zhu Hai optimistic about the prospect of the joint venture at the outset.

One is a typical Wenzhou family-owned private enterprise, and the other is a well-known multinational electric giant in France. The two sides each hold 50% of the shares. This cooperation has unprecedented precedents and it is also vulnerable to crisis. Unexpectedly, the joint venture program was overwhelming, and Zhu Hai successively heard the different voices of the parties for this joint venture, which is more of a question.

However, even the cooperation between the two parties did not expect the controversy triggered by the joint venture case.

At that time, many domestic experts, scholars, and business people had a deeper reflection on the "market-for-technology" strategy that was originally practiced in China, and some of the "dagger-headed" M&A cases in which foreign companies took up market share. Let the people feel wary. Just at this time, the joint venture between Schneider Electric and Delixi undoubtedly touched the industry's sensitive nerves about the “national industry was eroded.” This concern even surpassed the logic and boundaries of commercial value itself.

During this period, when a local brand was announced at the joint venture program, it reminded relevant departments that “it must be clear that the multinational company went to this countryside place to do what? Its purpose is to monopolize the high, middle, and low end of the low-voltage electrical field. eat!"

Is this another "decapitation" of a well-organized foreign brand? At that time, both the media and public opinion showed a state of one-sidedness. Reports on Schneider Electric focused more on "how this company controlled the acquisition of a Chinese company."

When talking about this sensitive topic again, Zhu Hai's speech still has a little helplessness. “At that time, some people said that Schneider Electric was going to dismantle the entire electrical industry in Wenzhou, but in fact we went to Wenzhou with six satisfactions.”

“The first is that the government should be satisfied. The joint venture company has realized 100% VAT payable since the first day. There is no second account. The second is the satisfaction of the supplier. Delixi Electric trained a total of 200 suppliers during this period. It has become an international supplier through standardized management and credit control, etc. The third is employee satisfaction. The joint venture company provides employees with five insurances and one gold, career planning, according to the ability to set the post, a group of outstanding talents are therefore obtained. The fourth is shareholder satisfaction. After the reform, a transparent and standardized enterprise management system makes shareholders feel confident; the fifth is customer satisfaction; and the sixth is to satisfy the agents.” Zhu Hai said that at the beginning of cooperation, it was the spirit of The balance of interests of the six parties was able to smoothly carry out the reform process of Delixi Electric.

“A lot of times, why corporate reform fails? The most important reason is that when deep-level reforms in the middle period cannot achieve immediate results, they often begin to doubt or even negative. The key to the success of this joint venture is also It's about how to make partners understand, trust, and finally support to overcome difficulties."

In fact, many concerns about the success or failure of this joint venture are not worrying. In Wenzhou, the low-end, decentralized and weak industrial base is an indisputable fact. Like many private enterprises in Wenzhou, Delixi experienced extensive “barbarous growth” in the process of “blowout” in the low-voltage electrical equipment market. This growth model has gradually exposed its drawbacks with the expansion of the company's scale and the continuous expansion of its business and supply chain, such as financial, management, and non-standard ownership structure.

Under such circumstances, how to restructure the joint venture's organizational structure, improve its management system, and talent system according to the requirements of a modern enterprise is a key issue facing Zhu Hai, the "airborne force."

The Zhu Hai in front of him was very amiable in appearance, and there was always a slight smile between the conversations, but there was another arrogance in his body that could not be ignored. This was also reflected in the reform of the joint venture.

In view of the management loopholes in the joint venture company, Zhu Haiguo, the “new officer”, severely imposed heavy blows and was even harsh. “There are more than 100 shareholders in Delixi. Everyone has their own business, or they have a relationship with this company.” Zhu Hai’s “first knife” falls on the reorganization of the organization. In terms of personnel recruitment, the joint venture organization structure will design each post as a “basket”. All company personnel are asked to select their “baskets”. The original company positions are all invalidated. Laid off.

While integrating suppliers' resources, Zhu Hai also pushed the crowd to discuss the mandatory implementation of the ERP management system in the joint venture company, namely the digital management model. The core of this management model is to perform its tasks from production to sales, and use accurate data to control them. Six months later, the joint venture company has greatly improved its operational efficiency, distributor management, and capacity optimization.

Starting from a series of basic management concepts such as sales, orders, and growth, Zhu Hai comprehensively combed the sales philosophy, channel management, and management system of Delixi Electric. “Including the perception of quality, the quality we emphasize is fundamentally Consistency problem. Saying what is done, all the processes cannot be coped with, and must be reviewed in layers. This has also been actively implemented and implemented in later joint ventures."

Looking back, the shift from “ruling people” to institutionalized management is indeed the key to testing whether a private enterprise can move from excellence to excellence. After a period of reforms over the past two years, a sound management system has gradually integrated into the entire business of the joint venture company. The new Delixi Electric Company has achieved a leap forward in terms of management mode, business process, and talent construction.

“The original problem was to see that others had taken a handful of them and would feel that they would not pay for it. But when Zhu Hai came, everyone could not fish it out. All of the enterprises were standardized and management, and naturally everyone had no problem.” The former minority shareholder of Delixi told reporters later.

“According to some situations in China, some of Zhu Hai’s practices are indeed more severe, but from a Western perspective, in the Western management philosophy, we value this management style very much. We call it executive power. As a The general manager needs this style, said Shi Ruixiu, president of Schneider Electric Group Asia Pacific.

"Don't label yourself as a label for a certain portion of capital. Do not confuse shareholder interests and corporate interests. If you can truly represent the interests of the company and employees, the reform of the joint venture will certainly succeed." During that time, Zhu Hai repeatedly reminded himself of this.

With the initial “six satisfactions”, Zhu Hai combined the strategic layout of the two partners and the management transformation of the joint venture into one, making a joint venture case that has been questioned by the industry a successful model for commercial joint ventures. The difficulties are naturally self-evident. "The pressure at that time was too great." Zhu Hai also frankly admitted in an interview with reporters.

In a one-and-a-half-hour conversation with reporters, Zhu Hai always inevitably talked about the joint venture in some examples, but he also avoided saying that he was "famous for a battle." In fact, I don't think that I And what the team did in those years was not the same as usual, but in fact it was Schneider's usual practice. It can only be said that for me and the whole team, this is an interesting experience in life."

"Wolf" win-win approach In these years, looking at the global market, multinational corporations generally allocate resources globally and build their global industrial chain. Acquisitions and joint ventures are one of the strategies that many foreign companies admire. According to the data, in the first half of 2011, China completed a total of 469 M&A transactions and disclosed 416 M&A transactions with a total value of US$ 27.779 billion. Among them, there were 34 foreign capital mergers and acquisitions, involving an amount of 2.805 billion U.S. dollars.

As the world's leading company in the field of low-voltage electrical appliances, the joint venture and its acquisition strategy are more integrated in the development of this French company. Although it does not look as high-profile and offensive as American companies, its commercial layout is hidden in a soft, low-key style.

In the 1980s, Schneider Electric separated its steel, munitions and non-electricity businesses, and acquired the leading positions in the distribution and industrial control fields through the acquisition of Merlin Gerin, the American Express, Modicom and other companies. In the early 1990s, with the further opening up of the Chinese market, Schneider Electric's pace of entry into China was also accelerating. After this, a series of well-known companies such as Qisheng Electric (Huizhou) Industrial Co., Ltd. and Wangao Electric Power Complete Technology Co., Ltd. were successively included in Schneider Electric's "Chinese territory."

According to reports, from 1992 to 2010, Schneider Electric reached a strategic partnership with a number of local companies through cooperation.

"Actually, we prefer to expand the acquisition term as a partner." In his opinion, the biggest difference between the two is that the latter incorporates more "win-win" meaning.

This "cooperation" also helped Schneider Electric complete its initial market experience in China. "Schneider Electric entered the Chinese market in three stages. The first stage was 'Let's ask for directions.' In 1987, Schneider Electric learned about the Chinese market through its first joint venture in China, Merlin Geran; the second stage was ' Touching the stones across the river', at this stage, Schneider Electric began to have large-scale, joint ventures with different partners in different regions and in different forms; the third phase, that is, now, whether it is a new round of large-scale mergers and acquisitions. Good, or independent investment, Schneider Electric is already at ease.” Zhu Hai said.

However, Schneider Electric, which has been making frequent moves in the Chinese market, is also referred to by the industry as a foreign "wolf" wearing a green logo (whose LOGO is green). It is questioned that its ultimate goal in China is in the near future. Let the joint venture paint green.

"You can fool other people for 3 years and 5 years, but you can't fool other people for 20 years. We can now proudly say that all our joint ventures now have very good economic returns." For the above statement, Zhu Hai is somewhat aggrieved. Because, in Zhu Haisuo's "sweeping" joint venture, the "win-win" is far more than reflected in the growth of profits, but also reflected in the process of Schneider Electric maintaining the original "DNA" of its partners.

“China’s monuments are sometimes rebuilt. The Western practice is to repair old buildings. The difference between the two is that the former simply imitates the original, and the latter preserves and enhances the most valuable parts of the original. "In Zhuhai's philosophy, Schneider Electric's acquisition of a company is more about its business model. Therefore, during the cooperation between the two parties, the original competitiveness of the enterprise will be preserved as much as possible, and the factors that are detrimental to competition will be eliminated. Ultimately, the joint venture will have commercial and market competitiveness. “The business model of each company is different. The core competitiveness is not the same. The real cooperation is to grasp the essence of the company's 'original', if you blindly change, this company is likely to lose its own value."

In the interview, the reporter noted that in the more than 20 years since Schneider Electric entered China, China's preferential policies for foreign investment have undergone major adjustments. In 2009, China completely canceled the two-half-three-half-half-tax preferential policy enjoyed by foreign investors in China; this year, China issued the first step in its review system for the safety of foreign mergers and acquisitions, "Notice on the Establishment of a Foreign Investor's Merger Procurement of Domestic Enterprises' Security Review System." . Foreign companies no longer enjoy special treatment and stand on the same starting line with state-owned and private enterprises.

When a reporter asked whether the policy environment had an impact on the development of Schneider Electric in China, Zhu Hai said that “there will be adjustments in policy and public opinion environment can not be controlled, but only in the market competition to highlight its competitiveness. In a fully market economy situation Next, as foreign capital, it should not enjoy special protection and fears. In many cases, the weak can cry, can make trouble, and can call unfair, but an excellent world-class company cannot always complain, but should consider tolerance and tolerance. And inclusive.”

As a witness to change, Zhu Hai believes that the current concept of “inclusive development” proposed by China in fact creates a more equitable, balanced, and sustainable development environment for the various subjects of economic construction, and will also include Schneider. Foreign-funded enterprises including electrics have the opportunity to participate in the strategic development of China's industrialization process.

"In the Chinese market, we have the most resources in the world, whether it is money, talent or technology. Therefore, foreign-funded enterprises in China should also take the lead role in industrial development. This is like governance, the world hopes that China is in economic and political The field plays an exemplary role, and Chinese nationals should also use this idea to look at China today." Zhuhai said.

“Re-recognizing” the Chinese market is different from other multinational companies. Despite its roots in the Chinese market for many years, Schneider Electric has always lacked a “detail” that is unique to the Chinese market—in the financial report of the French electrical equipment giant, very few Clearly disclose its specific business growth in the Chinese market. This does not mean that the status of the Chinese market is not important. In fact, the opposite is true for Schneider Electric and Zhu Hai.

“As the President of China, the most important thing I have done in recent years has been to convince the group to reconsider China’s position in the global economy.” From the foreign representative of the joint venture company to the president of Schneider China, the conversion of roles makes Zhu Hai will focus more on corporate strategy, human resources and brand management.

In the strategy map of Schneider Electric's latest foreign publication called "3 3", its global market is clearly divided into three parts, namely mature economies, including Europe and the United States, and developing country economies; In the Chinese market, its strategic position has been highlighted.

Since May 2010, the headquarters of the Asia Pacific region has been moved from Hong Kong to Beijing. The Schneider Electric Group has for the first time this year isolated the Chinese market and developed a special strategy that is different from mature and emerging countries in order to respond to the Chinese market. development of.

"I estimate that there are not many high-profile and clear enterprises that carry out such propaganda." Zhu Hai's speech is rather proud.

In fact, in recent years, not only Schneider Electric, but also many foreign-funded companies, such as ABB, Siemens, and others, have focused their resources on promising “bigger” Chinese markets, and have devoted themselves to “Chinese localization”. However, at this point, Zhu Hai, who holds a Chinese passport, seems to be more inclined to follow a path that is not so “foreigner”.

"We have more emphasis on ChinaforChina." - This concept is not new. It has frequently appeared in the press releases of many foreign companies. Perhaps it is the disillusionment of reporters who has caught the eye of the reporter. Zhu Hai smiled and explained, "Yes, We do not translate this sentence as 'in China and China'. The meaning of this sentence in Schneider Electric is 'Chinese originality'."

Zhuhai told reporters that such positioning means that Schneider Electric will develop more products and solutions suitable for use in China in the future, providing Chinese customers with more localized services and talents, and making these products and services available from China. ,head to the World.

If time is returned to 10 years, it is not difficult to find that the majority of foreign companies’ strategies in China are more like a “Mandarin version” after being replicated by overseas models, whether it be technology, product development or business models, or even the management of joint venture companies. In this way, China's markets and enterprises are also merely "beggars cheating on others."

“However, this method will become increasingly impractical. China has gradually become a mature market that can lead the development of the world economy. This lead means that no matter the product, business model, solution or even user experience, it must There are Chinese originals. These originals came from China, tried in China, and eventually copied in the world market.” In the opposite, Zhu Hai and Schneider China hope that the Chinese market will become the leader, and this lead will eventually lead Schneider Electrical leads in the world market.

Schneider Electric now has a total of 77 offices, 26 factories, 6 logistics centers, 1 training college, 3 global R&D centers, 1 laboratory, 500 distributors, and a sales network all over the country. Nearly 22,000 people. In the Chinese market, Schneider Electric continues to expand its leading edge in products, and through strong brand management, channel management, regional coverage and improvement of solution business, it also makes every effort to ensure rapid improvement of its automation systems and service capabilities.

“Schneider Electric has strong capabilities in traditional markets such as low voltage and medium voltage, including plant intelligent product R&D. In the future, we will at least double the capacity of solution applications to meet the rapidly growing Chinese market.” According to Zhu Hai, currently Schneider China's turnover is second only to the United States, ranking second in the world. Traditional businesses such as energy, power distribution and industrial divisions are already the world's largest. "From the current development trend, in less than a few years, China will surpass the United States and become the highest market in the group."

However, past facts have proven that there are only "window opportunities" in the Chinese market at many times, and market opportunities are often fleeting. If you want to do well, you must use all the unique skills, otherwise you will miss the opportunity.

For Schneider China, which Zhuhai presides over, to gain a foothold in this market, flexibility is absolutely necessary, especially for global companies such as Schneider. "Now the market is not a big fish to eat small fish, but fast fish to eat slow fish. The move is faster, the mechanism must be flexible, especially for large companies, how to have the flexibility of a small company, Schneider Electric actually has a long A long way to go.” Zhu Hai frankly.

The revolutionary innovation should say that without the Chinese market, there will be no future, and it is becoming a universal consensus for foreign companies on the Chinese market. How to open up this ever-changing Chinese market, Schneider China led by Zhu Hai is also giving his own answer.

Now that Apple has become the most eye-catcher in the world's IT industry, the slogan of the company's “uniqueness” is far more than just a marketing tool, it is more like a way of life, a game that changes the rules of the past. The possibility. In the interview, Zhu Hai picked up the iphone4 on the desk and smiled and told reporters. "Actually, what has made Apple's mobile phone successful? Perhaps it is its business model."

“It brings users a different user experience. Like iPhones and iPads, they use business models to attract customers. Other competitors can easily copy this phone, but it is difficult to replicate its successful business model. So the core competitiveness It's not that we can not come out of the product, but rather our business model and user experience." Zhu Hai said that this is exactly what Schneider Electric wants to practice in the Chinese market.

Indeed, with the fine adjustment of policies, the sudden emergence of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, for many foreign companies, today’s Chinese market is not a target market that could easily be razed to gold. Here, it will be a series of revolutionary products. Innovative place with business model.

“Those companies that have died because of the emergence of new consumer supply models should have foreseen disruptive technologies but are indifferent until it is too late.” Father of Disruptive Innovation Theory Harvard Business School Business Professor Clayton Christensen, a management professor, believes that some big companies now focus on what they think they should do, such as serving the most profitable customers, focusing on the most attractive products for profit margins. The leaders have been following a path of continuous innovation. It is precisely this line of business that opened the door to new technologies for their revolutionary burial.

This is also the concept that Zhu Hai often thinks and repeatedly emphasizes at Schneider Electric's internal meetings. "Sony started with the Walkman product in Japan and later got involved in the television field and developed an ultra-thin small display. At that time, the American manufacturer disagreed with it. As a result, we all knew it later." He thinks, "The real innovation in an industry is not With a purely technical strategy, a new experience, coupled with a new business model, does not require production at all and can revolutionize the entire industry."

In Zhu Hai's view, the current differences between products themselves will be smaller and smaller, and the innovation of business models will become a new round of innovation "highlands."

To this end, in 2009, Schneider Electric repositioned the company and launched a “one company” program with a brand new image of “Global Energy Efficiency Management Experts”. That is, from past multi-brands to “One Schneider Electric” brand, facing customers and completing Product-oriented products and solutions focus on the transformation of the model. This also includes the integration of the original acquisition company.

“The practice has proved that there are great business opportunities. With the national policies and the increasing emphasis on energy saving and emission reduction, the energy efficiency management industry will enter the fast lane of development, and a large number of business opportunities will emerge. Schneider Electrical needs to seize this opportunity to further expand the company's business." Zhu Hai said.

In order to form a group “synergy”, Schneider Electric has made adjustments in its organizational structure and reintegrated market personnel and sales personnel into one department so that they can simultaneously grasp market trends and adjust sales strategies. At the same time, the Group has also established a project service department consisting of more than 300 engineers and technicians, focusing on the development of solutions and value-added services in the field of power distribution, industrial process automation and building automation, providing customers with an initial solution to The overall project completed project management as well as comprehensive and experiential solutions.

But even for Schneider Electric, such a transformation is not easy. Like the two sides of the same coin, Schneider Electric's many resources have also become the biggest impetus and obstacles to transformation.

Zhu Hai told reporters that for Schneider Electric, the innovation and transformation of the business model is not difficult—because it is basic and difficult—and often not thorough. “Before this, Schneider Electric had a very good business foundation, technology, talent, and capital, but it was precisely for the same reason that Schneider Electric had a very comfortable life these years. Frankly speaking, even if it did not undergo transformation, the development of traditional businesses was also It can fully support the company's next development."

But a reexamination of the business model has helped Schneider Electric enter a new phase. After integration, Schneider Electric makes full use of cross-departmental cooperation to accelerate the pace of progress in solutions and services. “The line of business is often vertical, but users need to be horizontally connected. Schneider Electric integrates the resources of 5 divisions to provide users with a complete solution. This is the advantage of Schneider, and it will be the real user of the future. needs."

In terms of personnel training, Schneider Electric encourages the mobility of employees and experiences the challenges of different roles and positions. In the interview, the reporter learned that only in the past year, the flow of talent across Schneider Electric's cross-departmental and cross-sector divisions has reached 180, which has laid a good foundation for the cross-sector cooperation between its major businesses.

“Now it seems that specialized companies only do one thing, but the requirements and habits of users are not the same, so Schneider Electric needs to meet the needs of customers in a diversified manner.” Zhu Hai said that Schneider Electric will provide Products and services within the scope of energy management, while serving customers with a variety of means, "This will be the future of Schneider Electric's distinction and competitors' core competitiveness."

In the process of inclusiveness and revolutionary innovation, a Chinese “guide” for Schneider Electric led by Zhu Hai is to be continued...