Corporate strategy
Identification of business cases related to the integration of photovoltaic and smart grid solutions for private households
Driven by the support schemes for renewable energies and energy efficiency there is an ongoing paradigm shift towards decentralized, integrated, smart energy solutions including a sector conversion of telecommunication and energy generation. In future, through an “internet of energy” and smart grids, energy and electricity generation will get directly linked with consumption to allow a very efficient generation and use of energy. Based on this future framework we prepared a study for a large international electronics company that analyzed potential business models that could emerge from the integration of PV plants into smart homes in the private household sector. The study included analyses of the status-quo and potential future developments focused on business cases for large PV module manufacturers and system integrators.
Strategic study on post-grid parity market scenarios for the PV industry
In the PV industry there is a lot of buzz about the paradigm shift that is expected to take place when “PV grid parity” is reached in different regions and market segments over the next 5-10 years. While there seems to be a consensus that this market shift will materialize across Europe in a gradual manner, there is still a lot of uncertainty on their actual impact on the business models of PV suppliers. eclareon provided a PV manufacturer with an analytical overview of potential market scenarios on the road to PV grid parity from 2010 to 2020. The analysis was structured as follows:
1. Market analysis – assessment of main market developments (= demand / customer side) on the road to grid parity 2010-20;
2. Competitive analysis – assessment of competitive developments (supply / industry side) in response to aforementioned market changes;
3. Economic analysis – assessment of changing business cases for PV investors in PV grid parity scenarios;
4. SWOT analysis – strategic implications for the manufacturer from the aforementioned shift of market conditions
Strategic study on opportunities in PV sales controlling and customer relationship management (CRM)
The solar industry has only recently started to implement supply chain management and CRM to increase distribution reliability and service quality, concepts that are taken for granted in more mature industries. So far downstream logistical processes in the PV industry were concentrated on the mere shipping of goods from manufacturer to end customer, ignoring the feedback of information from end customers to the manufacturer. At the centre of discussions on optimization of logistical & supply chain processes are cost reductions (warehousing, transportation, packaging costs), simplifications of the mainly manual information flow along the supply chain, and the development of common industry solutions. eclareon supported a PV manufacturer to design feasible new sales concepts by making intelligent use of product registration tools, including flow charting and benchmarking of existing product registration processes, designing commercial concepts for product and/or customer registration, as well as addressing price and rebate policy schemes and promotional cash back schemes.