The continuing success of the mySchneider Panel Builder Programme in South Africa reflects Schneider Electric’s firm commitment to empowering local panel builders.  By simplifying operations, fostering growth, and embracing innovation, the programme helps panel builders remain competitive in an ever-evolving market.

The programme is a global initiative launched in South Africa in 2021. It is an interactive and intuitive platform that provides panel builders with certifications and specialised training, tailored to the industry segments they specialise in and customised for their respective industry segments, ensuring relevance and value.

Empowering Local Partners 

“Our primary goal is to equip panel builders with the right competencies and expertise to position themselves as specialised partners in their target markets. This helps them stay top-of-mind with end-users,” says Patsy Mboumba, Channel Marketing Specialist at Schneider Electric South Africa.

She explains that the overall objective of the Panel Builder Programme is not just to grow Schneider Electric's business, but also to assist the panel builders to grow their businesses by becoming specialised, competitive partners.

“This is more than a business initiative; it’s a partnership. We are dedicated to creating opportunities that benefit both Schneider Electric and our partners, ensuring long-term success for everyone involved,” Mboumba says.

Recognised Success

She notes that the programme has been recognised globally with a five-star rating for partner success, which illustrates that it is working well and achieving its goals of helping to enrich Schneider Electric's partners.

“This rating reflects the effectiveness of our partner-centric approach, setting Schneider Electric apart as a company that prioritises the success of its partners alongside its own,” Mboumba adds.

Digitisation and Innovation

Mboumba adds that the digitisation aspect of the mySchneider Panel Builder Programme is designed to support panel builders to become more than just hardware providers, but also data and analytics partners for their customers. This aligns with Schneider Electric's focus on enabling digital transformation.

By leveraging connected solutions, panel builders can integrate panel data with software to deliver actionable insights to their customers. 

“This ability to transform raw data into valuable insights allows panel builders to offer a comprehensive value proposition,” says Mboumba.

“End-users can better understand their power usage, improve efficiency, and make data-driven decisions. This aligns perfectly with Schneider Electric’s commitment to enabling digital transformation.” 

Expanding Services

In addition to the focus on digitisation, Schneider Electric is also expanding its Panel Builder Programme to include a services component. This will see the introduction of the ‘Power Upgrade’ badge to the programme, which will enable panel builder partners to enter the services business.

“This services aspect goes beyond merely building the panels and includes maintenance and ongoing services for the units as well. By adding this service component, panel builders can position themselves as full-service providers,” says Mboumba.

This is a move that highlights Schneider Electric’s holistic approach to supporting panel builders, helping them expand their offerings and capabilities beyond just panel construction, into the and maintenance space.

Significant Growth

“Since the launch of the Panel Builder Programme in South Africa, it has grown significantly, and we currently have more than 100 panel builders participating in this initiative. The introduction of the service component is yet another key part of the programme's evolution,” Mboumba concludes.