After-Sale Service:
The Panacea for Survival and Success
In the very beginning, we started offering solar rooftop solutions to MSMEs and industrial customers, primarily in the C & I (commercial and industrial) sector. Our primary concern has always been to provide sustainable and economical solutions to ensure maximum ROI for the end-users. Because solar after sales service and troubleshooting are the most important aspects for any business to thrive, we place a special emphasis on it and make every effort to provide long-term post-sale service and support in a timely manner. Achieving excellence in after-sale service is paramount as it forms the basis for establishing long-term relations with customers.
Throughout the course of 14 years of installing solar rooftop systems in the commercial and industrial (C & I) sectors for MSMEs / industrial sectors, we served 111 customers in 52 cities from 12 states, wherein we installed rooftop systems of 35 MW in the CapEx model, and provided O & M services to the customers. In this journey, we realized that, in order to provide a high ROI to the end-users, after-sale services and solutions for solar rooftop systems had to be prioritized. This compelled us to work on providing our customers with free after-sales service. We devised a zero-profit model for providing free Solar Aftersales Service, and we also limited our on-site servicing and/or troubleshooting time to a 2 to 24-hour window. This could be made available to all of our CapEx model customers, as we provide this free service in order to foster positive relationships with our customers.
In the execution of the free after-sale service, we do not charge any money at any stage of troubleshooting. Everything that needs to be done as a part of the after-sale services in O & M, including visits to the site, repairs, replacement of parts, and other modifications, is done for free. To us, after-sale service is a reliable tool and an investment for the future as it has helped us to shape ourselves by overcoming the toughest of challenges and hurdles. It kept us going strong even when unfavourable circumstances occurred in the form of inflation, demonetization, GST reforms, and the economic slowdown due to the COVID pandemic. The skills it taught us enabled us to do well even in the post COVID times, as we recently introduced our 4-Drive model.
Our ultimate goal is to provide maximum output for our customers once they have invested in the solar rooftop. To achieve this, we focus on maximizing the power output and reducing the downtime by as much as possible. Our strength lies in the long-term relationships we have established with our customers over a long period of time. This could only be possible due to our commitment to quality and excellent workmanship. As a result of this, we were able to scale new heights as our business expanded by word of mouth. Our trusted customers have always been our biggest endorsers. This encourages us to overcome difficult challenges and endure the days of hardship we face while installing solar panels in the scorching heat. To overcome the challenges that we faced in the implementation of the free solar after-sales service, we had to become flexible. As a result, we now have engines for each of our 4 drives.
The challenges we face while providing Solar Services and Solutions to the C & I (commercial and industrial) MSMEs in India are as follows:
Challenges we face in providing Solar Rooftop After Sales Service and Solutions:
- The non-urban location of most installations
- Regular site visits to remote areas for proper management
- Inadequate presence of transport in such areas
- The high cost of transportation involved in visiting sites located in remote areas
- The requirement for regular cleaning and maintenance
- Some parts must be repaired or replaced on a regular basis.
- Lack of awareness of some consumers for proper maintenance
- Skilled labour is in short supply on solar roofs, particularly in remote areas.
- The high cost of training involved in teaching new and unskilled workers
- Inadequate support from the government and the absence of favourable policies.
- High frequency of servicing and troubleshooting demands on site
- Frequent breakdown of the system in some cases.
- Inverter manufacturers provide poor after sales service.
- Problems caused due to improper management by end-owners to reduce costs.
- Irregular supply of water in some areas
- End-users lack support for workers performing repairs on the job site.
- Lack of availability of inverter spare parts in some areas
- Some products and parts are not covered by warranties.
- Stress faced by our workers and managers due to frequent travel
- High costs are incurred due to travel, service, repairs, and replacements.
Facing and Overcoming Solar Customer Service Challenges
Our team of qualified experts, sales staff, engineers, technicians, supervisors, and workers work round the clock to ensure that every plant installed by us performs optimally and gives the maximum possible output. Our modus operandi involves planning extensively, followed by wise scheduling and timely execution. With our expertise in project-specific engineering design and plant optimization, we are able to achieve the goal of delivering quality to our customers. The result is preceded by several comprehensive pre-commissioning services and solutions and is followed by frequent solar post-sales service and troubleshooting within a short period of time.
Poor quality of equipment, along with mediocre workmanship, is known to severely hamper the long-term profitability of solar projects. This directly puts the investment at risk and calls for drastic but affordable measures in order to reduce and negate the damage that is more likely than not going to arise due to an inaccurate and unreliable selection of components for BOM & BOS. We have always been quick to respond to any issues that have arisen in a project that we have completed. We follow the same approach with respect to our solar rooftop projects.
We carry out our operations as an authorized channel partner & VAR (value-added reseller) of M/S TATA POWER SOLAR SYSTEMS LIMITED (TPS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the TATA Group, which in itself is a trusted name. TPS is one of the biggest and oldest solar companies in India.
We sell the plant to the customer at the beginning. After we get all the required supplies from TPS, we concentrate on providing superior quality for all of the services carried out by us. These services include designing, installation, O & M, and commissioning, and solar post-sales service and solutions. We strictly prefer to purchase BOM from TPS as TPS has always stood in support of the quality we provide at economical charges.
We have always been proactive in keeping ourselves informed of new developments in the field of solar power that have occurred around the world. All our decisions and strategies are heavily influenced by the emerging trends in the solar market. This is to ensure that we use market trends to help our customers maximize their profits. We offer reliable, innovative and customized solutions and products in the form of Components & Materials (C & M) in Solar Photovoltaic Power. Our customers get to choose from a wide variety of superior quality, tried and tested solar PV products available internationally with all the necessary quality certifications that are both affordable as well as sustainable. Customers can select products and components for solar PV roofs from our extensive product line, which includes something to meet everyone’s needs and budget.
After installing more than 35 MW of solar rooftop panels, we have acquired the capability and expertise to deal with quality issues arising due to the use of unreliable components and materials in BOM & BOS. Our R & D team undertakes all measures that are necessary to fulfil the quality obligations related to components, materials and services.
In order to manage and tackle the quality issues, we have classified the components, materials, services, and solutions into 3 different categories (with sub-categories of their own). These are as follows:
Initial Work and Services
Site survey
Design
Detailed Project Report (DPR)
Selection and procurement of components & materials
Application and documentation for government approvals
Application and documentation for NET metering
Components & Materials (C&M)
Bill of materials (BOM)
- PV Modules (panels)
- Inverters
- ACDB
- Inverter Termination Box
- Monitoring: Data Logger
Balance of systems (BOS)
- Cu Cable & Al Cable
- Earthing Kit & Lightning Arrestor
- MC-4 Cable Couplers (Male & Female Pairs)
- Installation kit
- Civil & other construction materials
- Cable tray pipes & other materials
- Safety kit, net, and other material
- I & C and O & M tool kit
Services & Solutions
Pre-commissioning Services & Solutions
- C & M warehousing
- C & M packing, dispatch, and transportation
- Handling of C & M on the site
- Civil work at the site
- Erection of Structures
- Mounting of PV Modules on structures
- Interconnection of PV modules with existing connectors
- Interconnection of inverter stings.
- Interconnection of Inverters with ITB
- Interconnection of ITB and ACDB
- Interconnection of ACDB and MCCB
- Interconnection of MCCB and LT panel
- Testing and commissioning of the plant
Post-commissioning Services & Solutions
- NET metering and Interconnection
- Property Management
- Regular cleaning and operation and maintenance (O & M)
- C & M Repair and Replacement
- Warranties and guaranteed C & M management
- Identification of the key issues causing poor performance
- Troubleshooting of all generation and breakdown issues
- Work for long-term profitability for customers.