The idea that solar power is an efficient, clean energy source is slightly flawed. The whole industry could become much more efficient. This was one of the inspirations behind the founding of Nevados by Yezin Taha, CEO, when he set up the company in 2014.
Most solar farms are located on flat terrain to maximise the effectiveness of the equipment. Nevados has developed equipment enabling solar farms to use far more locations. The solar trackers, Nevados ATT, enable the installation of panels onto flat, sloped and rolling terrain easily with the ability to articulate along its length. Nevados also provide the control software to ensure the optimal angle depending on the weather and sun position.
The Nevados ATT first commercialised its product in 2020, and the company grew its employee numbers by 400% in just two years.
As production grew, the company needed an ERP solution that would scale with them, and the opportunity is huge. According to Grand View Research, the global solar PV panels market size was valued at USD 146.08 billion in 2021. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% from 2022 to 2030. While Nevados operates in the US only, at the moment, the design could easily work worldwide.
Hunt for a suitable ERP
Nevados knew it would need an ERP to manage its finance, supply chain and manufacturing processes and started to look for a solution and partner to work with. It reviewed a list of twenty software vendors as part of the process.
Scott Troy, VP of supply chain at Nevados, picks up the story, “As a young company, we were seeking an ERP vendor that would help us scale our business. We needed to move away from tribal knowledge and manual processes, to a system that everyone can follow. It was essential to implement an ERP that had the capacity to grow.”
It chose SYSPRO, alongside the SYSPRO Elite solutions partner, Systems Advisory Services, to help with implementation. SYSPRO ERP solution is designed for mid-market manufacturing, would require little customisation and would scale as the business grew. SYSPRO already has deployments and, therefore, an understanding of manufacturers working in the Solar Industry, for example, PACO Steel.
The company considered 20 software vendors before choosing SYSPRO and their implementation partner, Systems Advisory Services, a SYSPRO ELITE Solutions partner. Nevados was particularly impressed by the responsiveness and expertise of the SYSPRO and SAS teams. They also looked forward to the automation the solutions would bring them.
Troy added, “SYSPRO has been an excellent partner, and it’s clear that they understand our industry. That understanding is reflected in their ERP platform. It’s just the foundation we are looking for on which to build our growing business.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
SYSPRO continues to see success in North America. The announcement comes shortly after it unveiled the latest release of its ERP software.
Scott Hebert, CEO at SYSPRO USA, commented, “We designed our ERP platform to meet the unique needs of manufacturers like Nevados, and our flexible architecture enables us to scale right alongside their business. Nevados delivers incredible technology that addresses significant challenges for the solar industry, and, given the strong interest in clean, renewable industry, we’re excited to provide the technological foundation as their operations expand.”
In SYSPRO, Nevados has found a solution and partner that can scale with it. It will be interesting to see how the company expands its usage of the solution as the organisation grows. It has already taken a round of funding. Will it take another to take advantage of what is an important industry worldwide?
This article was amended. It originally stated the Nevados raised $3 million funding round in 2017 led by EPIC Ventures,the information was sourced from Crunchbase and Nevados have indicated that the source is incorrect, hence the reference was removed.