Differentiating Your Portfolio with OEM Structural Solution Offer Options

May 4, 2021

Most power distribution and control electrical equipment arrives at its destination with some level of customization to meet the specific needs of the customer’s environment and application. Whether the equipment lands at an oil rig, factory floor, wastewater treatment facility, data center, or some other site, chances are a power equipment manufacturer (PEM), like you, has designed, manufactured, or customized it in some way to meet the client’s needs.

Schneider Electric is aware of the speed and design pressures PEMs face daily. We know that for you to successfully win bids and new business, you need the agility to quickly create accurate and customized proposals. Therefore, we offer a comprehensive collection of OEM structural solutions to accelerate the design, bidding, and sales process for our PEM partners.

Specifically, we offer Ready to Wire (RTW) Motor Control Center and semi-assembled low- and medium-voltage structural solutions that enable you to respond quickly to customer requests for proposal. These products simplify the manufacturing process while allowing you to differentiate yourself from competitors and expand your market reach to grow your business.

How RTW and semi-assembled structural solutions add value

Schneider Electric low-voltage RTW and semi-assembled structures are UL-compliant and enable you to add value by quickly and cost effectively designing solutions to meet specific customer requirements. To help you design more efficiently, Schneider Electric gives you access to an extensive catalogue of parts and components. Also, to make it easier to find and order the right parts, you can take advantage of our digital toolkit, which includes configurators, product numbers and descriptions, sample designs, and an extensive knowledge base.

The overall effect of all these offerings is to shorten lead times – typically by several weeks – and to enable you to focus on customization requirements, as opposed to spending time and capital to build single structures from scratch.

Ready-to-Wire (RTW) Motor Control Center

RTW versus semi-assembled

Whether you require a semi-assembled or RTW structure, the offer is designed with flexibility in mind, giving you the space and features you need to provide your value-add.

While both structure options include the power envelope, RTW and semi-assembled structures offer different levels of customization. RTW units include all the power wiring and related power components, and allow PEMs to add control wiring to auxiliary devices and communications wiring. With semi-assembled structures, you get a more stripped-down version, giving you greater flexibility to customize your design.

Providing these structures is a real benefit to Schneider Electric partners. Low-voltage UL 845 Motor Control and UL 1558 Switchgear labels require a considerable investment to design and maintain because they require extensive testing to comply with regulatory standards. Therefore, access to tested, validated structures allow you to skip complicated test-related tasks and focus on the value-add piece instead.

Model 6 Semi-assembled Motor Control Center

Digital toolkit helps your OEM structural solutions

Although customization is common with electrical panel assembly, Schneider Electric provides wiring schematics that you can use when designing for your clients. These images are available through our digital toolkit, which is accessible 24/7 and provides links to an extensive product database with part numbers, descriptions, product selectors, and technical documentation.

Especially handy for these projects is the SE Advantage for PEM digital configurator, which links to product selectors so you can pick the right products and parts for your solution. SE Advantage guides you through the process of building quotes and configuring structures and allows you to connect with distributors for quick pricing. You can also create and print project drawings as PDFs or CAD files and prepare and print Bill of Materials (BOMs) and purchase orders (PO).

Market differentiation through speed, flexibility, and lower costs

As a power equipment manufacturer, you benefit in multiple ways when you take advantage of RTW and semi-assembled products from Schneider Electric. Naturally, speed and flexibility are at the top of the list.

There is a cost-savings associated with not having to maintain your own full UL listing when we do the heavy lifting associated with the power envelope. And that means RTW and semi-assembled structures help you save money while accelerating your projects and allowing you to differentiate your offerings from competitors.