Pelco Schneider internal reorg

CHICAGO—The Pelco and Schneider Electric Buildings Department has realigned key functions of the organization to bring them all under a common leadership, Schneider Electric executives told Security Systems News.

This realignment, “will allow us to better deliver security solutions, in addition to products,” said Kevin McCaughey, VP security solutions, Schneider Electric Buildings Business.

The move follows the July 2010 announcement that former Pelco CEO Dean Meyer would become EVP of Buildings Business at Schneider Electric. At that time, Meyer noted that his former role at Pelco would not be replaced.

Since July, “we have realigned the entire management structure of Pelco with the management structure of the buildings business,” said Herve Fages, VP global product marketing for Schneider Electric Building Business. (Before the realignment, Fages' title was Pelco chief marketing officer.)

Functions that were realigned include: sales, technical support, marketing, finance, manufacturing/logistics, and customer solutions. Now, there will be one point of contact for customers dealing with Schneider Electric building organization sales.

“In the past, customers spoke to Schneider Electric if they wanted access control and they talked to Pelco if they needed cameras,” McCaughey said. Video and access control product marketing will now work together for better integration and to increase capabilities to deliver solutions. The result, he said, will be more support of for the systems integration channels, direct and indirect, with broader product offering, sales tools and common processes.

“The R&D team inside Pelco and the R&D team inside Schneider Electric, will report to the same management. It'll be more efficient and effective for customers,” McCaughey said.

“This is really the destination this organization has been heading to since the acquisition of Pelco three years ago. Now we're taking the next step.”

At ASIS 2010, there was one booth for Schneider Electric and one for Schneider Electric's Building business. Next year, they will be combined. Likewise at ISC West 2011, where Schneider Building has never had a presence before.

“Schneider Electric will be branded as one... and we'll be [talking] about a solutions perspective on security that goes beyond video and access and intrusion and includes all sorts of integration,” McCaughey said.

And channel conflict between Schneider's integration business and Pelco dealers? It hasn't been a problem in the past, Fages said, because the jobs that Pelco dealers do are not the large enterprise jobs that Schneider branch offices do.

And if channel conflicts should arise, Fages said, “the people in charge of the channels now sit on the same team, attend the same staff meetings, (and) report to the same executive manager ... There would be a faster path to resolve any of those situations.”