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Industrial expertise

2023 KEY FIGURES
  • 2/3 of internal manufactured products
  • 44 industrial sites
  • 240m products manufactured
  • 23% of production performed in Europe
  • 2 bn direct purchasing

Adapted production base

Groupe SEB's industrial policy aims to best serve the markets by continuously improving standards on competitiveness and quality as part of a long-term vision.

With our long-standing roots in a strong industrial culture, we are asserting our status as a manufacturer in opposition to a competitive model largely based on outsourced production. We produce 2/3 of the articles that we sell and possess 39 industrial sites worldwide.

 

Location of sales production
 

BREAKDOWN

 

 

PRODUCTION IN EUROPE

The Group rolls out its worldwide production base to meet the specific needs of markets:

1 / PRODUCTION IN EUROPE

Production in Europe primarily intended for mature markets. The French and European plants manufacture products for which the Group holds leadership positions. The Group also draws on technological barriers in terms of product design and processes;

PRODUCTION IN EMERGING COUNTRIES

2 / PRODUCTION IN EMERGING COUNTRIES

Production in emerging countries for the needs of these markets but also, for mature markets, products for which the Group seeks to keep specific technological characteristics in-house (products and processes); competitive international multi-product sites, close to local markets, manufacturing products sold locally; 

Shaoxing

The Supor Shaoxing site in China is the Group's largest small electrical appliance production site. Manufacturing kettles, electric pressure cookers, induction hobs, deep fryers, food processors, soya milk extractors and coffee machines, the Shaoxing site has topped the mark of 25 million items produced.

  • 125000 Plant
  • >40000 Warehouse
  • >45 million products manufactured in 2021, 1/3 of which kettles

3 / Sourcing

Where it judges necessary, the Group uses sourcing for standard products or products for which the Group does not hold a strong leadership position or as part of partnerships.

CONTINUOUS OPTIMIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTIVITY

To maximize the competitiveness of its production base, the Group continuously adapts its plants while taking into account the economic reality of markets: adjustment of production volumes, industrial reorganization of sites in South America, strict control of production costs, refocus of production, use of sourcing consistent with needs. To that end, it relies on two complementary sources: 

  • The product skills hubs bring together specific expertise for an activity or product category in terms of research and development, industrial development and production.
     
     
  • The technology hubs strengthen the product skills hubs through proficiency in key technologies in the fields of materials, plastics and electronics.
    At the sites in question, project platforms involve marketing teams with industrial skills hubs in the creation of product ranges.

 

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE PROGRAM: OPÉRATION PERFORMANCE SEB (OPS)

  • A combined focus on health and performance in all improvement projects;
  • The involvement of all services at each management level (managers, technicians, operators);
  • The objective of sharing best practices to build a real Group industrial culture;
  • The building of a common language aimed at reinforcing a Group mindset;
  • Reflected in unique and scalable guidelines resulting from a fully collaborative approach..

Initiated in 2011, OPS (short for "Opération Performance SEB") has now reached maturity, with strong buy-in on the part of teams at industrial sites. The projects and workshops organized in 2016 resulted in further progress and substantial savings.

OPTIMIZATION PROJECT: PRODUCT COST OPTIMIZATION (PCO)

Since 2013, the Group has led a project called PCO (short for "Product Cost Optimization") aimed at reducing the cost price of today's products, optimizing the future range and boosting perceived value. The policy consists in implementing a methodology for analyzing products and listening to customers with the involvement of experts (in R&D, marketing, design, industry, etc.) as part of pluridisciplinary groups meeting at workshops to call existing solutions into question and invent new ones.

These improvement projects are systematically accompanied by a health and safety approach and the Group strives to continuously improve the safety of employees at work. Consistent with this approach, a three-year plan has been introduced with a view to pursuing the continuous and regular reduction of the number of work accidents. By the end of the plan, the Group will have halved the number of work accidents per year.

This adaptation and flexibility also apply to the Group's structures (sales, administrative, logistics, IT, etc.) with the objective of lasting improvement. The cooperation of teams, the sharing of knowledge and the systematic implementation of best practices, as well as the early integration of a demanding quality policy and the introduction of multi-country support services, enable the Group to best serve its target markets under maximized competitiveness conditions.

The Industry of the Future is now!

Industry 4.0, the smart factory, the connected factory, and so on: many terms are used to describe the new ways in which digital technology can improve industrial tools. The changes are already happening in several of the Group's factories. 

Watch the video that shows how Groupe SEB is integrating Industry of the Future concepts into our production processes. 3D printing, simulation, virtual replicas, augmented reality, collaborative robots, automated guided vehicles, data sharing and analysis in real time, etc. We are already using a number of methods to improve our competitiveness and working conditions.