“Today, renewables are facing overcapacity for key components, which was completely the opposite only a few years ago,” said Pertti Kurttila, Vice President of Supply Chain at The Switch.

“To help combat the unpredictable market fluctuations, The Switch is taking a stance at driving through a new business model based on Agile Positioning. It allows companies to go beyond vertical integration and embrace an asset-light, flexible business model based on financially sound principles to better respond to customer demand,” said Kurttila.

“The way forward demands a new type of flexibility and mobility never seen before in manufacturing-based businesses. It requires a rapid transfer of technology into new growth markets, which often demand local content from OEMs,” he added.

“Until now, churning out more and more products to push to customers has been the way to sell more. The new way, based on agile positioning, adjusts the business based on the real needs of customers,” Kurtilla said.

“Agile positioning is the combination of agile product innovation and agile business model innovation,” he explained. “The method engages the customer to promote discovery and innovation. It leads to agile positioning for both parties so they learn exactly where to take the products and business.

“Agile product innovation in the renewable energy industry means engineering next generation technology together. This leads to products that are tailored to specific operating conditions or breakthrough ideas for greater energy production,” he said.

“Agile positioning makes vertical integration, the hallmark of the wind power industry in particular, even more obsolete,” Kurttila concluded.