Solar | Freight Capacity Optimisation with SpaceInvader
Solar Group is one of Europe’s leading sourcing and services groups within electrical, heating, plumbing, ventilation, climate and energy solutions. From its state-of-the-art, highly automated central warehouse in Vejen, Denmark, Solar manages the daily distribution of tens of thousands of product types to customers across the country.
Operating in a complex and high-volume environment, Solar continuously focuses on system, process and data-driven optimisation, with a clear ambition to reduce logistics costs and environmental impact. One recurring challenge was familiar to many pallet-based transport operations: excess pallets that did not fit into the main truck load and therefore had to be shipped on an additional vehicle.
By implementing the double stacking pallet rack system from SpaceInvader, Solar was able to address this inefficiency directly. Instead of sending leftover pallets on a separate truck, Solar now double stacks those pallets, making use of the available vertical space inside the trailer.
A typical example illustrates the impact clearly:
- DHL trucks usually have capacity for 34 pallets
- When Solar needs to ship 39 pallets on a specific transport
- The remaining five pallets are double stacked, avoiding an extra truck
This simple change turned a structural inefficiency into a clear operational gain.
Key benefits achieved include:
- Fewer trucks required for the same transport volume
- Reduced kilometres driven, lowering transport costs
- Lower CO₂ emissions as a direct result of improved load utilisation
- Better use of existing transport capacity, without fleet investments
Double stacking is performed already at the central warehouse, during outbound staging. From there, goods are transported to DHL’s distribution hubs and directly to end customers, maintaining load stability and safety throughout the entire logistics flow.
From Solar’s perspective, this optimisation represents a true low-hanging fruit: fast to implement, easy to scale and delivering immediate financial and environmental benefits. After more than 18 months of use, operational teams have embraced the solution, adapting workflows and clearly recognising the value created.
This case shows how optimising freight height is one of the most effective levers to reduce costs and emissions in road transport, particularly in high-volume distribution networks.
In Portugal, KronoLog Solutions, as the official representative of SpaceInvader, supports industrial companies, distributors and logistics operators in identifying these efficiency gains, structuring pilots and quantifying real operational impact based on transport data.
If you would like to learn more or test the SpaceInvader system in your operation, please contact KronoLog Solutions at: spaceinvader@kronolog-solutions.pt
Source: Official SpaceInvader customer case – Solar
https://www.spaceinvader.com/customer-cases/