How AI Scaling Boosts Schneider Electric’s GLN Network

Improving industrial sustainability brings a number of benefits. In addition to greater energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, it can also make production quicker and more robust.

A key tool for improving industrial sustainability is the adoption of digital technologies such as AI and Internet of Things (IoT) applications, which is otherwise known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). 

But this can be complex and costly to implement. To support uptake, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and McKinsey & Company established the Global Lighthouse Network (GLN), which recognises manufacturing sites that lead in 4IR adoption.

These facilities serve as global benchmarks for using AI and advanced technologies to upgrade operations. 

Lighthouses are production sites and value chains that successfully scale advanced technologies, such as AI, industrial IoT and big data, to achieve step-change upgrades.

This month, two Schneider Electric projects have been added to the GLN, taking the total number of sites on the network for the company to 11 and the total number of GLN sites to 238.

Mourad Tamoud, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Schneider Electric, says: “I’m very proud of the teams who made this real – on the shop floor, in engineering and across our ecosystem. 

“Because in the end, transformation is about building capabilities the world will soon expect as standard. And this is exactly what these two teams have built.”

Redefining engineer-to-order complexity into performance

Schneider Electric’s newest site on the list is its manufacturing facility in El Paso, Texas.

The site produces low-voltage and medium-voltage electrical products for use in distributing electricity from the utility grid to industrial, commercial and residential settings.

The recent growth in data centre demand made the site's engineer-to-order value chain significantly more complex, creating production, testing and logistics bottlenecks. 

Schneider Electric leveraged data engineering, integrated logistics, industrial IoT and advanced AI solutions to help improve the output of the site.

Olivier Blum, Chief Executive Officer at Schneider Electric, says: “El Paso stands out as the first engineer-to-order (ETO) Lighthouse, redefining complexity into performance - improving on-time delivery from 61% to 97%, reducing lead times by up to 35%, and eliminating US$43m in backorders.”

Achieving sustainability milestones at Beijing facility

The second-newest site of Schneider Electric on the GLN is found in Beijing, China. With 30% business growth, increased in-sourcing and stricter sustainability requirements, the facility faced the challenge of reducing emissions across its value chain while supporting continued expansion.

It deployed products without using SF₆ gas, supported supplier decarbonisation and strengthened energy optimisation and circularity initiatives. 

As a result, the site achieved zero Scope 2 emissions, alongside a 65% reduction in Scope 1, a 43% cut in Scope 3 and a 36% improvement in energy efficiency.

Olivier says: “I’m incredibly proud of these achievements, and even more of the people behind them. Congratulations to all involved in driving impact where operational excellence and sustainability go hand in hand.”

The remaining nine manufacturing sites of Schneider Electric that are already included on the GLN stretch from Shanghai, Wuhan and Wuxi in China, to Hyderabad in India and Monterrey in Mexico.

Other factories on the GLN list

The Wuhan, China site was added to the GLN in January 2026. As Schneider Electric increased automation and expanded its product portfolio at the site, it created challenges among the workforce, resulting in a high turnover of technicians.

The company warmth-established digital apprenticeships co-designed with schools, AI upskilling and a gen AI-augmented maintenance workforce. This cut onboarding to 15 days, upskilled 56% of employees and reduced technician turnover by 42% over five years.

The Evreux, France facility was added to the GLN in September 2025, where Schneider Electric transformed the site into a circular distribution centre. 

This included a digital customer platform for ordering and take-back of more than 3,000 products, as well as circular solutions in packaging, transportation and energy. These efforts reduced single-use plastic by 40% and energy consumption by 18%.

The electronics manufacturing centre in Wuxi, China was added to the GLN in January 2025. The site reached net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2022 with sustainability initiatives including AI-powered eco-design, closed-loop carbon dioxide tracking and machine learning models, resulting in a 65% reduction in Scope 3 emissions and a 15% cut in water use.

Paving the way for 4IR success

The Monterrey, Mexico facility was added to the GLN in October 2024. Schneider Electric leveraged machine learning-driven forecasting and autonomous robots at the site, which led to a 20% reduction in defects and a 30% reduction in water consumption.

The Shanghai, China site was also added to the GLN in October 2024. With growing demand and more products on offer, the company boosted automation by 20% and integrated advanced technologies like machine learning and gen AI-driven maintenance.

This resulted in a 63% improvement in speed-to-market, a 67% reduction in lead time and an 82% increase in productivity.

The Hyderabad, India site was added to the GLN in December 2023 and aims to be net zero carbon in Scopes 1 and 2 by 2030. 

To support this aim, the facility implemented CO₂ tracking for suppliers, backed by cloud analytics, IoT and AI monitoring, leading to a 59% reduction in energy consumption, a 61% decrease in CO₂ emissions, a 57% cut in water consumption and a 64% reduction in waste.

The Le Vaudreuil, France site was added to the GLN in March 2022. It implemented industrial IoT sensors to optimise energy management by 25%, reduce waste by 17% and cut CO₂ emissions by 25%. 

The factory is equipped with a zero-reject water recycling station connected to cloud analytics and monitored by an AI model, resulting in a 64% reduction in water use.

Long-term benefits of Lexington and Batam

The Lexington, US factory was added to the GLN in September 2021. The Kentucky facility uses IoT with power meters and predictive analytics to optimise energy costs. 

This led to a 26% energy reduction, a 30% net CO₂ reduction, a 20% water-use reduction and a performance certification from the US Department of Energy.

The Batam, Indonesia facility was added to the GLN in January 2020. The plant used the IoT-enabled, plug-and-play, open, interoperable architecture and platform of Schneider Electric.

This platform provided real-time tracking of operational performance and preventive maintenance requirements. 

Ultimately, these digital solutions helped the plant reduce the time spent on maintenance and waste material.