Aiming to solve the challenges of unpredictable costs and high operational expenses, Schneider Electric will manage the council’s power needs as it transitions to a fully managed service over the next four years.
Schneider Electric aims to implement a digitally enabled, tailored solution for council, that aims for cost efficiency and predictability, by it overseeing assets and providing advisory services, monitoring and pre-emptive issue resolution.
The new uninterruptible power supply will help council ensure continuous power for its services, despite potential outages or surges.
The partnership will allow council to focus on core business outcomes, which aim to benefit Greater Shepparton residents, save costs and prevent power supply interruptions that could disrupt daily operations.
GSCC director corporate services Chris Teitzel said the partnership with Schneider Electric would help council “prioritise activities and resources” and help it “thrive”.
“(This will) ultimately help us focus on moving the needle for our wider community,” he said.
Schneider Electric vice-president power systems and services James Hunt said the business was “excited to work with GSCC and offer a modern approach to maintaining infrastructure and systems, without worrying about capital expenditure and power supply disruptions”.
“This new partnership demonstrates Schneider Electric’s commitment to building innovative solutions to help customers meet their business goals for sustainability and efficiency,” he said.
While the as-a-service model is becoming increasingly common worldwide, secure-power-as-a-service is a unique and tailored offering from Schneider Electric, and GSCC is leading the way for local government adoption.
Outlook set to worsen for hospitality sector
Industry research body CreditorWatch has released its June Business Risk Index, which highlights that the average value of invoices held by Australian businesses has dropped to a record low.
CreditorWatch is also forecasting that the hospitality sector is set for another tough year, predicting the business failure rate will rise from 7.5 per cent to 9.1 per cent.
This effectively means that one in 11 hospitality businesses are facing failure in the next 12 months.
“The combination of declining order values and increasing payment defaults is a major concern as it indicates more businesses are experiencing both cost and demand pressures,” CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said.
“With another rate increase becoming increasingly likely, we expect both metrics to deteriorate even further.
“It is small businesses that are hurting the most, as they are more vulnerable to adverse economic conditions than larger businesses. They operate on tighter margins and are less able to take measures to cut costs.”
The full BRI report can be found at https://creditorwatch.com.au/businessriskindex/
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