March 2020 – Drugstore dm in Hungary saves fuel with training and eco tyres

Founded in 1973, the German dm-drogerie markt GmbH + Co KG is currently the largest drugstore chain in Europe with around 3,700 branches and 62,000 employees. In 1993, dm expanded to Hungary, where it now operates around 260 stores. The two Energy Scouts Kristóf Schneider, branch service employee, and Ákos Nagy, technical and service employee, work in the dm logistics centre near Budapest.

Mobility offers many efficiency potentials – even without electric vehicles
The logistics department plans and controls the flow of goods and products. This includes the storage and transport to the stores. In the halls, forklifts move the goods between high shelves and delivery vans. Mobility is an important factor in resource and energy consumption – this is where the Energy Scouts identified potential for optimization. The logistics centre’s fleet of vehicles includes 73 cars. The employees use the vehicles primarily for business but also for private purposes. Initially, the Scouts aimed at the introduction of electric vehicles, but given the existing modern fleet of vehicles, this measure would currently require high investments. The Energy Scouts therefore optimized the existing system – with success.

Checking tyre pressure and gradually replacing old tyres with energy-saving alternatives
To reduce the fuel consumption of the company car fleet, Kristóf Schneider and Ákos Nagy gradually replaced the tyres. The new models have lower rolling resistance. Combined with regular tyre pressure checks, fuel consumption of the company cars is reduced by an average of three percent. There is also great potential in changing employees’ modes of behaviour. For this reason, the Scouts organized driving training courses for the employees in the logistics centre. Topics included anticipatory driving, rapid upshifting and the recommendation to dismantle roof boxes and carriers when not in use. They estimate that this will result in additional fuel savings of four percent. Safety is the main focus of the trainings for forklift trucks, but efficiency is playing an increasingly important role. The Scouts designed a brochure for employees tailored to their forklifts with tips for driving more efficiently. In the future, a photovoltaic system could supply the electricity for the forklifts, initial calculations are currently in progress.

Project saves fuels, cuts CO2 emissions and pays back fast
The Energy Scouts calculated a total savings potential of 1,400 l petrol and 11,000 l diesel per year for the entire fleet. Compared with the current consumption, this is a reduction of eight percent and around 31 tons CO2 emissions less per year. The measures will save over €14,200 per year with investments of around €2,700. The ideas of the Scouts pay back after just 70 days. The expert jury of Young Energy Europe in Hungary, chaired by Dr. Zoltán Magyar, rewarded the cost-efficient approach of the Scouts with first place among all Hungarian energy efficiency projects.

Awareness

Mobility

  • Industry sector: Retail industry
  • Energy source: Fuels (petrol and diesel)
  • Energy saving potential: 1.400l petrol and 11.000l diesel per year n
  • CO2 saving potential: 31,40 t/a
  • Potential cost reduction: 14,226 €/a
  • Investment costs: 2,713 €
  • Payback period: approximately 2.3 months
  • Company:
    dm Kft.
    Törökbálint Depo, Pf. 4.
    2046 Hungary
    www.dm.hu
Energy Scouts Kristóf Schneider and Ákos Nagy developed efficiency measures for forklift trucks and company cars. (©dm Kft.)
The Scouts with a typical company car - saving fuel is the goal. For this purpose, they also asked colleagues to dismantle the roof racks. (©dm Kft).
Best Energy Scout in Hungary Ákos Nagy from dm Kft. with Gabriel Brennauer, Janine Hansen and Zoltán Magyar (©AHK Hungary)