Distributed Supply Chains Promote Resilient Operations

The pandemic has intensified how we move materials from manufacturer to consumer. Major labor shortages and supply chain delays across the globe have prompted industries to reevaluate their sourcing processes. A number of years ago, the thinking in solar manufacturing was that equipment providers should work from large, centralized production facilities in order to meet demand. But we’re seeing a deviation away from this school of thought, and the pandemic has only accelerated this change. Just like energy generation, equipment production is becoming more distributed and localized. Ideematec leverages a distributed supply chain with hubs across multiple continents and we’re exploring long term manufacturing operations throughout America.

Distributed Supply Chains Increase Reliability and Output

Ideematec's supply chain is active across the globe, producing in Europe, China, India and Saudi Arabia. With this strategy, we’re able to produce 80% of our solar tracking system out of any single facility increasing reliability. We did this to deliver a greater output volume, so that we could stay competitive while sourcing the most high quality products from specialized and trusted manufacturers. And it’s worked. Even during the pandemic, our global team has successfully delivered 90% of the equipment necessary for the Qatar 800MW project, the largest single-sited power plant in the world. Because our supply chain isn’t reliant on only one location for our manufacturing, we’re able to offer reliable deliveries if certain markets are stalled or short on materials. This balance has allowed us to produce stable quantities of our trackers to keep up with the high consistent demand our projects require. 

Reliable Policies Will Ensure Local Manufacturing Growth in the US

Our team entered the US market with 18 years of global experience under our belts. We’re exploring planting manufacturing roots in the US to add local support to our distributed supply chain. This goal seems achievable with the new administration in place but there are challenges that come with fluctuating policies each new presidency brings. The instability, sometimes more than the policy itself, stifles long term commitments that would make it more practical for our company to launch US supply chain operations. 

In February, President Biden signed an executive order directing a broad review of supply chains for critical materials to drive domestic production while strengthening relationships with allies. The American market would flourish if sustainable middle-ground supply chain policies were enacted that businesses, like mine, could depend on and invest time and resources into nurturing their operations for the long haul.

Diversifying a company’s supply infrastructure creates resilient networks to mitigate delays and supply shortages. Nobody could have predicted a global pandemic of this magnitude, but thankfully our varied connections across the globe buffered any looming threats to our projects. We’re looking forward to new commitments from the administration that would support a favorable climate for US clean energy manufacturing.