Home › Storeganizer › Case Studies › H.Essers

H.Essers — recovering pallet space and tidying up an operation

A logistics provider that set out to waste less space and pick more efficiently, and ended up with a stock room that is also easier to keep clean and easier to staff.

Storeganizer columns rolled aside to reach the back rows of pockets

Pallet space

unlocked

Faster

order picking

Ergonomic

working height

Minimal

staff learning curve

The situation

Project profile
Industry Logistics and distribution
Application Supplementary stock room, mixed small-SKU storage
System Storeganizer high-density textile pocket columns in existing pallet rack
Source Results as reported by the operation and its Storeganizer manufacturer, KTP conTeyor

H.Essers is a European logistics provider whose objectives going into this project were unusually plainly stated: waste less space, improve order picking, and end up with an operation that looks and stays tidier. The third objective sounds cosmetic and is not — in a shared or regulated warehouse, tidiness is a proxy for whether stock can be counted, found and audited.

The underlying constraint was the familiar one. Small items were consuming locations and floor that the business needed for pallets, and the picking process was paying for the sprawl.

What was installed

Storeganizer pocket columns were introduced to create supplementary stock room capacity inside the existing building. Alongside the columns, the project standardised packaging into uniform units and adopted a more compact storage approach — the two changes reinforce each other, because uniform packaging is what lets a pocket size be chosen confidently.

Order pickers reach products directly from the pocket face at working height. Nothing was drilled or built; the columns hang from existing rack beams, which is why this kind of project can be done in an operating warehouse.

Diagram of the Storeganizer universal suspension rail on a pallet rack beam and columns hung up to four rows deep
Columns hang from a suspension rail built to the existing beam profile, up to four rows deep, with front rows rolling aside by hand.

Reported results

Measure Before After
Pallet space Consumed by small-item storage Additional pallet space unlocked
Order picking Baseline Faster and more practical processes
Working conditions Reaching into shelving and bins Ergonomic benefits at the pocket face
Housekeeping Mixed packaging, untidy zones Orderly and consistently hygienic
Training — No steep learning curve for staff

“I had no clue that such an efficient system to create supplementary stock room existed, offering a fitting degree of flexibility as well.”

— H.Essers

There are no published percentages for this installation, so we are not going to publish any. The reported outcomes are qualitative: pallet space released, picking faster, conditions better, housekeeping improved, and no significant retraining required.

That last point is the one most often left out of storage business cases. A system that needs a week of training, a service contract and a software integration carries costs long after the invoice. Pocket columns have no moving parts, no power and nothing to learn beyond reading a label — which is a large part of why the transition did not disrupt the operation.

Storeganizer columns installed in existing pallet rack in an operating warehouse
The columns hang from existing rack beams, which is why a conversion can be done inside an operating warehouse.

What this means for a US operation

Every warehouse is different, and a result reported elsewhere is evidence rather than a forecast. These are the transferable parts:

  • Releasing pallet space is often the real return. Moving small items out of pallet positions gives the positions back to pallets.
  • Standardise packaging alongside the storage. Uniform units make pocket sizing straightforward and density predictable.
  • Count the training and maintenance cost. A maintenance-free system with no learning curve keeps delivering after the project closes.

The measured averages behind these cases — around 40% more usable space, 42% less travel time and 26% better picking efficiency — come from independent research at the University of Leuven, Belgium (2013), comparing Storeganizer with conventional rack and shelf. To see what the same arithmetic produces in your own bay, use the Storeganizer Designer or ask us to run the numbers with you.

Why this inventory profile suits pocket columns

The transferable part of any case study is the profile, not the logo. These are the characteristics that made this operation a good candidate — and they are the ones worth checking against your own inventory before you consider a conversion.

📦

Small items occupying pallet positions

Moving them into pockets gives whole pallet positions back to pallets.

🧹

Housekeeping and auditability

In a shared or regulated warehouse, a tidy, uniform stock face is what makes stock countable and auditable.

💪

Ergonomics

Picking from an open pocket face at working height beats reaching into deep shelving or bending to low bins.

🎓

No learning curve

No motors, no controls, no software integration — staff read a label and pick.

Diagram of the five standard US Storeganizer pocket sizes XS to XL with opening dimensions and pick locations per 96 inch bay
Standardising packaging alongside the storage is what lets a pocket size be chosen with confidence.

How a conversion like this runs

Four steps, and none of them involve construction. The sequence matters: the slotting analysis comes before the measurement, and the count comes before the order.

1

Profile the SKUs

We look at item size, stock depth and order frequency for the zone in question — the three properties that decide whether a pocket is the right home for a part.

2

Measure the bays

Inside width, inside depth, clear height and beam profile. The suspension rail is then manufactured to those dimensions.

3

Configure and count

Pocket sizes are selected per SKU group and the location count is calculated before anything is ordered.

4

Install and slot

Columns hang from existing beams in an operating warehouse — no drilling, no anchoring, no permit drawing — then stock is slotted in.

We handle all four in the United States, including the install. Because the system is maintenance free — no motors, no controls, no annual service contract — there is nothing scheduled after handover.

Questions about this project

What did H.Essers set out to achieve?
Three stated objectives: reduce wasted space, improve order picking, and achieve a tidier overall operation.
What were the reported outcomes?
Additional pallet space unlocked, faster and more practical picking, ergonomic benefits for staff, an orderly and consistently hygienic environment, and no steep learning curve during the transition.
Are there percentage figures for this project?
None have been published, so we have not invented any. The reported results for this installation are qualitative.
Why does packaging standardisation matter?
Uniform packaging makes pocket sizing predictable. When the units going into a pocket are consistent, the location count and the density are consistent too.

Could your rack do this?

Tell us the bay dimensions and the SKUs giving you trouble. We will come back with a configuration, a location count and an honest view of whether a conversion is worth it.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT • Serving customers nationwide
Local service areas: Salt Lake City • Provo • Ogden • Park City • St. George • Logan • Lehi • Orem