Corona is a challenge
The pandemic is causing major difficulties for many companies. The slump in the German economy, the drop in demand and the loss of sales can be devastating, especially for start-ups, as they often do not have the necessary capital to cushion these losses.
In addition, there are expenses for corona-compatible workplace design, more difficult communication within the team, and the ever-present fear of infection, which make everyday work even more difficult.
The pandemic has not left STABL unscathed. However, Corona has not only had negative consequences - this interview with our Head of Business Development Markus provides exciting insights into the challenges and opportunities that have presented themselves to STABL over the course of the last year.
How does the pandemic affect the battery storage market?
Corona initially triggered a great deal of uncertainty in the economy. This led to orders being cancelled or postponed in all sectors worldwide, which is why a slight decline in sales was also recorded in some segments of the battery storage market. This mainly affects industry and commerce - the household segment was able to continue its growth despite the pandemic.
However, the industry is very optimistic that strong growth across all market segments is possible again in 2021 and 2022.
How much is STABL affected by the pandemic?
Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, the Corona regulations complicated some operational processes. One of our employees could no longer enter Germany and was stuck abroad, others had to start their work at STABL Energy in home offices; some of them outside Germany. Fortunately, we have enough space in our new offices to comply with the distance rules, so we can offer every full-time employee the opportunity to come to the office if there is an appropriate reason. However, this entailed an extensive restructuring of the workplaces, which of course initially brought some unrest into the work processes.
What challenges does Corona pose for STABL Energy?
STABL Energy is a small and very dynamic team where agreements are very important and take place regularly. Of course, Corona made this flexible and unbureaucratic communication very difficult. The digitalization of all procedures and processes and the changeover for each individual was naturally a challenge for us.
On the other hand, the pandemic has led to bottlenecks in some of the components of our inverters, which has made the production of our prototypes much more difficult.
How does STABL deal with these challenges?
We have faced these challenges as a team and always tried to find the best approach for all parties involved. As a small start-up, we have the possibility to implement solutions quickly and unbureaucratically and to react immediately to shortcomings through close consultation and constant questioning of applied methods.
Particularly in times when home offices were unavoidable, it was important to us to ensure that no employee was neglected and that there was a certain digital closeness throughout the team despite the physical distance by means of regular feedback meetings and update calls.
So we even tried to facilitate team events in virtual form and strengthened our team spirit through small gaming sessions.
Has the pandemic also provided opportunities for STABL?
Corona has given us the chance to grow and develop as a team and as a company. We have learned a lot from the pandemic and have been able to lay a foundation for better scalability of the company by implementing digital structures.
On the other hand, Corona has shown the vulnerability of our current standard of living and led to a greater awareness of climate change and renewable energies among the population. This gives us hope that our product and our path towards safe and sustainable energy storage will be noticed by even more people.
What Corona-related adaptation will STABL maintain in the future?
We have always had very flat hierarchies, unbureaucratic communication and flexibility. Through Corona, we have managed to implement and further develop these framework conditions in a digital context as well. This will allow STABL Energy to offer even more flexibility in the future - be it in terms of working hours or home office. Each of our employees already makes use of flexible working hours. By digitizing our processes, it is now even easier for us to cater to and meet the needs and preferences of our employees.
What has helped STABL weather the pandemic so well so far?
On the one hand, our agile way of working and flexibility as a dynamic and determined team certainly played a major role in meeting the challenges we faced.
On the other hand, we were also very fortunate: we are active in a sector that did not suffer any major setbacks due to contact restrictions and the like. In addition, STABL Energy is still in the development phase, which means that obstacles in production and logistics were also not as devastating as for others.
Ultimately, however, the passion and commitment of everyone involved also contributed to our ability to weather the pandemic so well. That's why I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the entire STABL team - to all employees, investors, co-founders, and everyone who has supported us in word and deed or followed our progress.
The battery storage market has slowed down a bit in 2020, when will it recover?
There is quite a consensus in the industry that things will already start to pick up again in 2021. We are also already sensing some signs of recovery in the market and are optimistic that it will recover quickly.
What impact could the crisis have on future business plans?
We are currently very confident about the future. How the shortage of components will develop remains to be seen, of course - however, with the help of our manufacturing partner, we have secured the critical components in sufficient quantities. This means that we can at least service the majority of our current sales pipeline.
However, we are currently also working hard to reserve the required components and are looking around for alternative components for our product.
Furthermore, the advanced digitalization not only of STABL but also of some events, congresses and the like, has significantly accelerated parts of the communication with potential customers and partners, especially in an international context, which can have a positive effect on future arrangements and opportunities.
Tips for other young companies?
Since we were very lucky and our sector was not affected by Corona as much as others, it is difficult to give tips on how to deal with the pandemic.
However, I can say that our flexibility and dedication played a big role in dealing with Corona. We have always tried to think in terms of solutions, not problems, and to implement solutions as quickly and unbureaucratically as possible. We also made sure that no employee was left out of digitization processes, that we took every step together as a team, and that we enabled interpersonal closeness between employees despite the physical distance. In any case, companies should also consider the social and psychological impact of the pandemic on their employees.
Are you interested in a STABL storage system?
Feel free to contact us! We look forward to hearing from you and answering your questions.
