Moving Europe

COMPETENCE: RENEWABLE ENERGIES
Green and lean
The solar energy sector is booming.
With Dachser at its side, Donauer Solartechnik
Vertriebs GmbH is optimally positioned
to face the competitive challenges.
hThe company history of Donauer Solartechnik
Vertriebs GmbH reflects
the dynamic development in the solar technology
market: 16 years ago, Rudolf Donauer
set up his company in a small office container
in Munich. Today he heads a team of
230 employees. His company has evolved to
become an international wholesaler for
photovoltaic systems with Europe-wide subsidiaries
and sales offices. And the new office
premises which Donauer moved into in 2011
provide plenty of space for further growth.
The current debate over the future of our energy
supply presents the company with new
potential sources of revenue. For the past
year-and-a-half, Donauer Solartechnik has
therefore been working intensively to improve
workflows and transport processes in order to
ensure that product turnover can keep abreast
of growth.
Klaus Prusinovsky, head of logistics at
Donauer Solartechnik, is very clear when it
comes to the demands his business area has
to meet: “‘Green and lean’ is the motto for
our processes.” Accordingly, Donauer is lead-
12 DACHSER magazine
ing the way by providing its own heat and
power from a large-scale photovoltaic system
installed on the roof of its office and warehouse
buildings. In logistics, this credo also
extends to contracting companies that operate
sustainably. Here, Dachser was able to
score points, for example, with double-deck
swap bodies as well as a strong and wellorganized
groupage network. “Carrying loads
on two rather than just one level significantly
reduces relative CO 2 emissions,” Prusinovsky
notes. This is particularly worthwhile in the
case of solar technology, because the photovoltaic
panels cannot be transported on standard
europallets and the double-deck system
means the load space can be utilized to optimum
capacity. “Lean” is a cause particularly
close to logistics expert Prusinovsky’s heart.
Klaus Prusinovsky,
head of logistics at
Donauer Solartechnik
PROFILE
Donauer Solartechnik Vertriebs
GmbH is a leading, Europe-wide
specialist wholesaler for photovoltaic
systems, off-grid solutions
and e-mobility. Headquartered
in Munich, the company has
subsidiaries and sales offices in
Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium and
the UK. For more information visit:
F
www.donauer.eu
For him, this includes rapid and efficient
workflows across the entire logistics chain.
With this in mind, a solution has been developed
with manufacturers of photovoltaic
panels that speeds up capture of the serial
numbers of the individual products. Now,
Donauer’s warehouse staff can scan all information
and forward it to the warehouse management
software in a single operation.
In order to create transparency in logistics,
“we need to consolidate transport and communication
flows,” Prusinovsky argues. This
way, he and his team know what goods are
where along the chain. Prusinovsky believes
this gives companies a decisive edge in an ever
tougher competitive environment. Companies
like Donauer benefit from Dachser’s
IT competence, which provides ideal conditions
and possibilities for development. This
made the decision to outsource some of the
company’s warehousing activities to Dachser
an easy one for Donauer and Prusinovsky.
The change permits greater flexibility while
at the same time assuring transparency.
Dachser’s Munich branch office is also ideally
equipped to handle a recent addition to
Donauer Solartechnik’s product portfolio:
e-bikes offered along with photovoltaic
bikeports. The Feldkirchen warehouse even
assures complex data management and regular
charging of the bike batteries. Ch. Merten
“Green and lean”
hh is the motto for our
processes Klaus Prusinovsky