Schneider Electric builds a customer-first enablement strategy across 150,000+ employees

THE CHALLENGE

A digital transformation that demanded a new approach to enablement

In her 20+ years at Schneider Electric, Sales Enablement Digital Capability Lead Ljiljana Budimir Vukicevic has led major technological evolutions across the business — from customer care to IT support and, most recently, sales enablement.

But enabling a salesforce at Schneider Electric’s scale comes with unique challenges. As customers shifted toward self-serve research and remote interactions, sellers needed the right content at the right time — not buried in folders or scattered across disconnected tools.

“The new way of living and working has pushed us to embrace more digital tools than before,” says Ljiljana. “We all check online first now. We’re all looking for the right information at the right time. And that’s the same for our customers.”

With a vast library of content supporting multiple product lines, industries, and personas, sellers were spending too much time searching and not enough time connecting with customers.

THE SOLUTION

A customer journey-first approach to enablement at scale

Rather than starting with technology, Ljiljana and her team started with strategy. They mapped the customer journey first, then built their enablement approach around it — ensuring sellers had the content and knowledge they needed at each stage.

“First, you build the customer journey. And then, based on the customer journey, you build the way to work,” she explains. “This is part of the key transformation we’re working on now.”

With that foundation in place, Schneider Electric rolled out Showpad as part of a broader digital toolkit alongside their global CRM and mobile solutions. The platform gave sellers a centralized, easy-to-navigate source of truth for content — organized around the customer journey rather than internal silos.

To drive adoption at scale, Ljiljana focused on cross-functional alignment between sales and marketing, strong content governance, and translating the “why” into everyday value for sellers.

“Before starting with tools, start with strategy and processes,” says Ljiljana. “A tool is an outcome of your processes and what you are expecting to achieve.”

She also invested in building internal advocacy — ensuring sales and marketing teams weren’t working in silos, and that dedicated resources were animating the sales community with updates, training, and clear demonstrations of value.

“Make sure you have strong sales and marketing teams that are working together, that are making the most of the tool and driving the strategy together,” she says. “You’ll see more engagement, better adoption, and higher value.”

THE IMPACT

A scalable enablement foundation for 150,000+ employees

With Showpad in place, Schneider Electric’s sellers now access content through a single, governed source of truth — organized around the customer journey rather than internal file structures. The shift has simplified how sellers prepare for and lead customer conversations, especially as more interactions happen remotely.

The change management approach has also proven effective. By leading with strategy before tools, building cross-functional alignment, and clearly articulating the value for end users, Ljiljana’s team has driven meaningful adoption across the global salesforce.

“Leveraging Showpad and working on the collaboration between sales and marketing is key to bringing our sales force to the next level,” says Ljiljana.

WHAT’S NEXT

Deepening digital maturity through continuous assessment

Schneider Electric is continuing to evolve its enablement strategy, with a focus on simplifying processes, strengthening content governance, and deepening the integration between sales and marketing.

The team also completed a sales enablement maturity assessment with Showpad to identify strengths and gaps — an exercise Ljiljana considers one of her most valuable.

“One extremely interesting thing we did was an assessment with Showpad, evaluating where we stand in terms of sales enablement maturity and what we need to strengthen to build our vision,” she says. “That was one of the best learning experiences for me.”