Moving on from globalisation: 'glocal' partnerships

Bin Lu at Schneider Electric explores a new age of innovation, resilience and efficiency

 

Business leaders are witnessing a clear global trend: business is becoming increasingly regionalised. Countries that once championed global supply chains now want “made in my country” on the label. Everywhere you turn, there’s a push to localise manufacturing, research and development (R&D), and supply routes. Globalisation isn’t reversing completely, but it is shifting.

 

Companies are rethinking where they base their R&D, how they manage factory footprints, and how they respond to geopolitical changes. In a world where regionalisation is the one certainty, companies with strong local infrastructure are built for this change.

 

The solution will look different for every business. However, for me, one direction stands out: what I call a ‘glocal’ strategy, a combination of global and local.

 

The idea is simple. It’s about decentralising decision-making, strengthening regional operations, and building supply chains that emphasise sustainability and digital transformation.

 

The ‘glocal’ model doesn’t mean giving up global scale. It means using that scale to empower regional hubs to share local expertise and resources so that they can ensure continuity and sustainability through closer supplier relationships and sharper local insight, enabled by technology tailored to local needs."

 

 

Why you need to rethink your global strategy now

Geopolitical uncertainty has caused a shift in the long era of seamless global supply flows. As a result, countries and businesses alike are reconfiguring operations and shortening supply chains to reduce exposure.

 

Energy insecurity is another compounding risk. Power outages, such as the one seen in Spain and Portugal, demonstrate the downstream impact on supply chains. CaixaBank SA, Spain’s largest bank, estimated a €400 million loss from a single disruption, tied to a 34% plunge in online and card-based consumer spending. 

 

Even smaller-scale interruptions are biting. Two-thirds of companies reported revenue losses between 6% and 20% over the past year due to energy disruptions. That’s pushing leaders to think more seriously about how they source power and move goods, the businesses they partner with, and how they can strengthen energy resilience. From decentralised power, such as on-site solar, to battery storage, the focus is now on making supply chains and operations more resilient.

 

“Going Glocal” 

Businesses must evolve along with the global transformation that’s unfolding. A ‘glocal’ strategy meets it head-on by leaning into regional strengths and building more resilient, agile supply chains. Rather than running everything from a central HQ, operations can be distributed across regional hubs, where local leaders and their teams call the shots. They understand cultural nuances, customer behaviours, regulatory shifts, and ground-level risks.

 

When disruptions hit, they’re the ones holding the reins, able to adapt with speed.

 

The global organisations doing well right now are those already structured around this multi-hub model. These are businesses where senior teams manage their entire ecosystem end-to-end — R&D, manufacturing, sales, partners, suppliers, logistics — all tailored to local demand. Regional revenue splits reinforce accountability and long-term investment. For instance, by building factories closer to consumption points, we are able to reduce carbon emissions, shorten lead times, and lower the risk of disruption.

 

An example of this is our smart factory in Dunavecse, Hungary. Opened last year, the factory boosts production capacity for engineering-to-order (ETO) solutions tailored to customer specifications across Europe. Around 90% of the factory’s output will serve export markets across the continent.

 

Combining this with local partnerships, organisations can contribute to the development of regional economies, generating more job opportunities and nurturing a greater sense of community engagement. 

 

 

Leveraging existing technologies 

Decarbonisation is the final piece of the puzzle. Climate policy and energy price volatility in different parts of the world are increasing pressure on companies to reduce their carbon emissions.

 

For example, regulations like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) are raising the bar on responsible sourcing and emissions accountability. With value chain emissions making up more than 70% of a company’s carbon footprint, this is one of the most urgent areas to tackle — and local teams are in the best position to take the lead; not only in decarbonising their own operations, but working with suppliers and partners on the ground to reduce their value chain emissions.

 

The good news is that the technology needed to achieve this already exists; it is now up to businesses to implement it. Modern energy management solutions leverage AI and IoT to monitor, forecast, and optimise energy consumption, helping reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Technologies like smart microgrids also offer localised energy sources that strengthen long-term resilience and energy security. Once in place, the benefits are clear: real-time data and digital platforms offer better visibility into trade flows, emissions, and energy usage. 

 

These technologies can be implemented across regions to tackle the unique challenges of each geography. For example, in Germany, a manufacturing hub might integrate solar energy with smart microgrids to reduce its reliance on volatile energy imports, while in Southeast Asia, teams might focus on predictive energy analytics to manage peak loads and lower costs.

 

Meanwhile, these regional initiatives can be supported by a global architecture that provides end-to-end visibility into energy use, emissions, and supply chain performance. These platforms ensure that while execution is tailored to local environments, reporting and insights are standardised, scalable, and transparent across geographies.

 

When disruptions occur, these tools help businesses pivot more quickly and mitigate losses. But perhaps more importantly, they open the door to new opportunities for sustainable growth. Local teams can monitor energy use and emissions, share insights with stakeholders, and improve transparency throughout the value chain. Highly digitalised supply chains are twice as transparent and 30% more likely to stay on schedule, making them more resilient and giving businesses a competitive edge.

 

Companies that embrace local ecosystems through localised energy, ‘glocal’ partnerships and digital infrastructure won’t just survive; they’ll set the stage for a ‘glocal’ revolution. 

 

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Bin Lu is EVP of Global Power Products, Schneider Electric

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Dzmitry Dzemidovich