PARIS, May 7, 2026 — Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, is deepening its collaboration with the World Economic Forum as part of a growing coalition of manufacturers, consultants and technology partners working to accelerate industrial digital transformation worldwide. Together, they are advancing the Lighthouse Operating System (Lighthouse OS), a framework built on proven, replicable methodologies designed to help manufacturers modernize at scale.
Most manufacturers have invested in digital transformation. Few have made it scale. Pilots succeed, then stall. Gains remain local. The gap between the world's most advanced factories and the rest of the industry keeps widening. A new framework launched today aims to close it.
The Lighthouse Operating System (Lighthouse OS) is an open-source, practical blueprint that translates the proven practices of the world's highest-performing industrial sites into a structured path any manufacturer can follow. Leveraging eight years of Global Lighthouse Network insights, Lighthouse OS was developed by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains in collaboration with leading OEMs, end users and consultancies, it gives companies a clear, self-guided route from where they are today to genuine operational excellence, without needing to start from scratch or bring in teams of specialists.
A blueprint grounded in real-world practice
The Lighthouse OS is built around six core operating principles — adaptable and robust processes, connected and transparent flows, end-to-end synchronisation, embedded sustainability, a learning organisation and accelerated digital and data capability — structured across five levels of operational maturity. Companies can assess their current position, identify where to focus first and scale at their own pace.
Unlike standalone digital tools, it is designed as a system-wide approach: connecting digital innovation, sustainability, workforce development and operational excellence into a single, coherent model that delivers measurable and repeatable performance gains.
Schneider Electric: experience built in, not bolted on
Schneider Electric brings direct transformation experience to the initiative. The company has spent more than two decades refining an operating system that today underpins its Gartner # supply chain ranking and nine WEF Lighthouse factories recognitions. That foundation — built on advanced digital systems, AI-driven automation and sustainability-by-design practices — is what the Lighthouse OS framework is built from.
Federico Torti, Head, Technology & Innovation, World Economic Forum, said: “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.”
Cecile Vercellino, SVP Services, Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric, commented: "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.
An open initiative, built to grow
The Lighthouse OS is designed to evolve. As global pilots progress and community feedback shapes subsequent iterations, the initiative is actively inviting manufacturers, technology providers and public-sector partners to contribute.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global energy technology leader, driving efficiency and sustainability by electrifying, automating and digitalizing industries, businesses and homes. Its technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure and grids to operate as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing performance, resilience and sustainability. The portfolio includes intelligent devices, software-defined architectures, AI-powered systems, digital services and expert advisory. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric is consistently ranked among the world’s most sustainable companies.
SE Advisory Services provides a broad range of solutions tailored to help organizations and individuals solve complex challenges in energy efficiency, sustainability and technology through electrification, automation and digitalization. It represents a strategic evolution in Schneider Electric’s consulting capabilities, expanding beyond traditional advisory to include software and project implementation. This end-to-end approach brings together a growing portfolio of high-demand consulting offers, helping organizations future-proof operations through agile, intelligent and integrated services that accelerate energy and technology transitions.
About Lighthouse Operating System
The Lighthouse Operating System is a World Economic Forum initiative aligned with the Global Lighthouse Network, defining the next-generation industrial operating system by codifying proven best practices from leading lighthouse sites and value chains to enable operational excellence and impact at scale across productivity, supply chain resilience, customer centricity, sustainability and talent. It aims to develop a responsible operating model for industry, co-designed by leaders and grounded in lean, digital and sustainable principles, alongside a capability-driven framework for governments to accelerate industrial technology adoption, unlock scale for SMEs and strengthen national competitiveness. At its core, the Lighthouse Operating System acts as a transformation engine grounded in systemic capabilities thinking, integrating strategy, operations and people into a cohesive and scalable model, translating lighthouse learnings into actionable frameworks deployable across sites and value chains. The initiative is advanced by leading co-creators across industry, consultancies and governments, working together to shape the future of global manufacturing and operations.
