Schneider Electric joins Forum's Lighthouse OS board
Mon, 11th May 2026 (Today)
Schneider Electric has joined the World Economic Forum's Lighthouse Operating System Advisory Board, adding the company to a coalition developing an open-source manufacturing framework.
The initiative centres on the Lighthouse Operating System, or Lighthouse OS, which is intended to give manufacturers a structured model for modernising operations and scaling digital projects beyond isolated pilots.
The World Economic Forum's Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains developed the framework with manufacturers, consultants and technology partners, drawing on insights from eight years of work through the Global Lighthouse Network.
Supporters of the model say many manufacturers have invested in digital transformation but struggled to extend successful pilot projects across wider operations. That, they argue, has widened the gap between the most advanced factories and the rest of the sector.
Operating model
Lighthouse OS is designed as an open-source blueprint that companies can use to assess their operating maturity, identify priorities and adopt changes in stages. The framework is built around six operating principles and five levels of operational maturity.
Those principles are described as adaptable and robust processes, connected and transparent flows, end-to-end synchronisation, embedded sustainability, a learning organisation, and accelerated digital and data capability.
The system is intended to bring together digital tools, sustainability measures, workforce development and operational practices within a single model, rather than treating them as separate programmes.
Schneider Electric said its contribution to the advisory board draws on more than two decades of work on its own operating model. According to the company, that system now supports its supply chain operations and has helped nine of its factories gain recognition in the World Economic Forum's Lighthouse network.
It also said it has applied similar transformation practices across more than 120 smart factories and distribution centres.
Industry challenge
The framework is being positioned as a practical route for companies that want to modernise manufacturing without building a new system from scratch or relying on large teams of outside specialists.
That reflects a broader problem in industrial digitalisation, where companies often run successful pilot projects but fail to embed them across plants, supply chains and workforces. In that context, a repeatable operating model has become a key focus for manufacturers seeking more consistent returns from technology investments.
Federico Torti made that case in comments on the initiative.
“Many manufacturers have the ambition to transform but lack a coherent path to do it consistently and at scale. The Lighthouse OS addresses that directly; it takes what the world's best factories have learned through years of real operational experience and turns it into a practical framework any manufacturer can apply. This is about making Lighthouse-level performance a realistic target for the whole industry, not just its most advanced players,” said Federico Torti, Head, Technology & Innovation, World Economic Forum.
For Schneider Electric, the advisory role also gives the company a formal place in shaping how the model develops as more companies test it and provide feedback.
Cecile Vercellino said Schneider Electric's own industrial estate had informed its input into the project.
“Schneider Electric has lived this transformation across 120+ smart factories & distribution centers - we know what works, where companies get stuck, and what it takes to move from isolated pilots to genuine system-wide change. That direct experience is embedded in the Lighthouse OS. Our organization is already applying these principles across our broader ecosystem and seeing measurable results,” said Cecile Vercellino, SVP Services, Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric.
The advisory board's work comes as manufacturers face pressure to improve efficiency, resilience and sustainability at the same time while managing complex production networks and uneven digital adoption across sites.
The World Economic Forum and its partners said the initiative is intended to remain open and evolve as manufacturers, technology providers and public-sector organisations contribute to later versions of the framework.