Jabil Teams with SolarEdge to Advance Smart Energy Technology

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Jabil announced that it is teaming up with SolarEdge, a global leader in smart energy technology, to help change how power is harvested and managed in photovoltaic (PV) systems. A shared focus on manufacturing excellence and automation has led to the installation of more than 2.5 million intelligent power inverters and more than 60 million power optimizers in over 130 countries across five continents.

“We produce tens of millions of products every year, so high-volume, high-quality manufacturing is our lifeline to meeting aggressive growth demands and unrelenting product quality expectations,” said Zvi Lando, CEO of SolarEdge Technologies. “That is not an easy challenge for any manufacturer, but Jabil has delivered on our expectations during the ups and downs, and most challenging times. Because we are similar in attitude and company culture, we focus on execution and accomplish what we set out to do.”

SolarEdge’s unwavering customer commitment has propelled the company to market leadership across its primary markets, comprising residential, commercial, industrial and utility sectors. The result is a steady stream of different products for residential and commercial customers, as well as continuous product modifications to meet emerging regulations around the world. Overall, SolarEdge’s products are quite complex to build, especially in such large volumes, some of which are made in quantities more commonly associated with consumer electronics and cellphone production.

Rigorous quality requirements demand fastidious tracking of every production step to identify any potential reliability issues or possible product defects, which are critical factors when building products with extended warranties. “We’ve done tremendous things together to create an optimum manufacturing environment,” said Scott Gebicke, Senior Vice President, Industrial Division, Jabil. “We deployed an automated solution that enables Jabil to operate in the leanest and most efficient way possible while decreasing manufacturing time by almost 50%. This makes a big difference when you’re making tens of thousands of products each week, if not millions in a month.”

Creating an Optimal Manufacturing Environment

Jabil and SolarEdge collaborate on all aspects of production, encompassing design for manufacturing, supply chain management, as well as manufacturing automation and scalability. To keep pace with SolarEdge’s aggressive market ramps, Jabil devised a dual-site strategy, mirroring its massive China production facility with a secondary site in Vietnam. In addition, the development of a multi-level vertical testing facility reduces the resources and floor space needed for product curing and testing while complete product traceability is aligned with stringent quality demands.

Minimizing Supply Chain Disruptions

Jabil also provides global supply chain assistance in every region supported by SolarEdge, with meticulous attention on each material and component needed for manufacturing. During the pandemic-related disruptions, Jabil leveraged its digital supply chain intelligence to forecast long-lead items, submit pre-orders and identify alternate suppliers when faced with component shortages. As raw material shortages, logistical challenges and factory closures intensified, Jabil qualified new components, modified product designs and moved production into different locations to mitigate the impact.

Driving the Green Energy Revolution

Together, Jabil and SolarEdge continue to combat the global climate crisis through the delivery of industry-leading solutions that maximize power generation while lowering energy costs. As SolarEdge evolves its product roadmap, Jabil keeps stride to support the introduction of new product offerings, from energy storage and backup to battery systems and uninterrupted power supply solutions. The addition of more intelligence to SolarEdge's products enables homeowners to manage solar energy production, consumption and backup storage in real time. Every step of the way, Jabil is there to bring SolarEdge’s new products to market quickly, efficiently and economically.