Cooper Industries - Culture & Values, Principles & Business Initiatives
Our history began in 1833 as a foundry started by Charles and Elias Cooper in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. As the third oldest non-financial company in the S&P 500, Cooper’s history has spanned 37 U.S. Presidents, numerous global events such as the Great Depression and two World Wars, and transformational technology advances such as the automobile and personal computer. Since the beginning, our success has been attributable to a focus on innovation, modernizing our business practices while maintaining the highest ethical standards, and meeting our customers’ needs. As we celebrate the history and accomplishments of the Cooper team over the past 175 years, we come to better understand our role in securing this proud company’s bright future. Cooper's employees, product portfolio, business model, Cultures & Values, Principles and ability to execute its Business Initiatives combine to provide us a great sense of optimism for the years ahead
Principles 1. Passion for the Customer 2. Innovation is Our Lifeblood 3. Leveraging Technologies 4. Excel at Globalization 5. Continuous Improvement in Everything We Do
Business Initiatives
1. Customer Loyalty
- Ease of Doing Business
/ Quality / Delivery
Customer Loyalty began with the Cooper Connection initiative and challenges us to put the customer first in everything we do. Our goal is to incorporate innovative process disciplines to enhance customer value making Cooper easier to do business with. Leveraging our brand strength and building customer relationships are central to Cooper’s growth strategy.
2. Innovation
- Leveraging Technology to Drive
Customer Value
Innovation is our lifeblood. Sales from newly introduced products have more than doubled during the past four years, and we have actions in place to deliver 20% of annual revenues from products introduced within the past three years. We are focusing on expanding technology platforms in every business. Internal development and acquisitions enable us to make “dumb” products “smart,” differentiating Cooper in the marketplace. With the development of new products and technology, we enhance growth by continuously expanding the technical solutions and value we can deliver to our customers.
3. Globalization
- Competing and Winning Everywhere
in the World
Globalization continues to be an area of major opportunity and investment for Cooper, and we have significantly improved our competitive position in international markets. Cooper has developed region and country specific strategies and expanded its physical presence in local markets. Today, we generate approximately 34% of total company revenue outside of the USA, selling in nearly 100 countries, and solidify our global presence with manufacturing in more than 20 countries worldwide.
4. Talent Development
- Acquire, Assess, Develop and
Deploy
Talent Development allows us to attract, develop and retain the best and brightest who will lead Cooper in the achievement of our growth and performance objectives. In 2006, we launched Cooper University, a program to help develop high-potential leaders to meet the challenges of operating in an increasingly complex global and technical environment. We are introducing a number of integrated talent initiatives that will accelerate the achievement of our organizational capability.
5. Operational Excellence
- Driving Continuous Improvement
(Order to Cash)
Operational Excellence builds off our earlier productivity initiative and takes a broader, holistic view of our operating environment. Under the new initiative, we incorporate the principles of lean manufacturing, sales and operations planning, supplier management and materials management and place them under the rigor of our previously established MVP initiative. Our goal is to better service the customer and also to deliver ongoing productivity savings and working capital improvements.
