Overview of the Hydro Energy Industry

The global hydro energy industry has started experiencing a resurgence, following years of stagnation and bad press. Technologies with lower environmental impact, such as small hydro, run-of-river, and low head turbines have proven to be extremely popular, even to the critics of hydro energy. Moreover, there has been an upsurge in pumped storage projects as standalone options. However, innovation in the sector has been lacking and has mainly been in the use of computation for diagnosis, monitoring, and control of plants.

Let’s look at a few key factors that are expected to influence the growth forecasts of the hydro energy industry in the coming years.

• Increasing customer expectations: Prominent hydro energy companies are facing relentless pressures to maintain a secure, reliable, and affordable supply to the customers as the demand for energy services is spurring significantly. Also, with customer expectations increasing, leading companies are facing the need to switch the suppliers frequently to meet the rising demands of the individuals.
• Increasing competition: Today, with the entry of prominent global leaders, the hydro energy industry is witnessing an increase in the level of competition, as the new entrants are attempting to gain a significant share of the market space. Additionally, the shift toward renewable sources of energy is resulting in the entry of a higher number of competitors; thereby, affecting the current supply landscape.

Many such factors are compelling companies in the hydro energy space to leverage the use of supply chain analysis solutions. Supply chain analysis solutions help firms facilitate better controls of procurement spends and compliance monitoring. These solutions also help companies develop an end-to-end follow-up procedure to resolve any discrepancies in the supply chain.

The Business Challenge and Journey

The client, a leading hydro energy provider, had developed an extremely complex, global production and distribution network with multiple storage locations and various modes of transportation for delivering their offering to customers. As a result, they wanted to get a better handle on its logistics and distribution network.

To help the client enhance operations and increase reliability, SpendEdge’s supply chain analysis experts developed a robust market research approach. The research included primary and secondary research coupled with qualitative and quantitative data collection methodology.

During the course of this supply chain analysis engagement, the hydro energy provider designed a strategic blueprint of the future supply in six key areas: sales and customer service, operations, planning, supply chain network, organization structure, performance management; and IT. The client was also able to set up a hierarchy of key performance indicators that aligned with their business goals.

Key questions answered in this supply chain analysis engagement

The Results

SpendEdge’s supply chain analysis engagement helped the hydro energy client identify numerous improvement opportunities at the functional level, as well as within each SBU. Furthermore, the recommended strategy blueprint resulted in improved service levels, streamlined planning and operations processes, enhanced operations, and increased reliability.

To know more about our supply chain analysis solutions