Last updated: May 30, 2024

Heavy traffic in the morning hours caused by drivers searching for parking spots, problems with illegally parked vehicles, and no
charging stations for electric vehicles: That was the parking situation at Henkel’s Düsseldorf-Holthausen site
until early 2021. With the implementation of ParkHere’s digital parking management system,
everything changed practically overnight. Thanks in particular to the ability to combine parking and charging, the
system is the perfect solution for Henkel, as e-mobility is advancing by leaps and bounds at Germany’s best-known detergent
and cosmetics manufacturer.

 

The previous situation: no overview—no way to make a reservation

The approximately 2,000 parking spaces available to Henkel employees in Holthausen are spread across seven parking areas. Since there was no reservation system and no personalized parking space assignments prior to the implementation of the ParkHere solution, all employees regularly tried to park as close as possible to their respective workstations. This led to some parking areas being extremely crowded in the mornings, while others remained largely empty. Due to a lack of monitoring capabilities, employees also had no overview of the overall situation—resulting in a high volume of traffic caused by drivers searching for parking spots.

 

No access control

To make matters worse, the parking areas were not fenced off, as the Henkel Group wanted to keep access to the parking grounds open to visitors and suppliers. Unfortunately, however, the parking areas were also repeatedly used by unauthorized individuals. Vehicles parked on the grounds without authorization further exacerbated the parking situation in these highly frequented areas.

 

ParkHere's solution: an automated barrier with a terminal, dashboard, and parking app

ParkHere implemented a comprehensive solution that primarily consists of three components:

  • an access control system consisting of an automatic barrier and a terminal with a license plate recognition function,
  • a user interface (dashboard) that allows individuals with parking management privileges to view an overview of parking space utilization at any time (and also to manage user data and make reservations for visitors), and
  • a parking app that allows Henkel employees to reserve a parking space for themselves every day

Of course, there’s also an “invisible” fourth component: the software on which the dashboard and the parking app are based. The software coordinates all reservation requests and assigns users a parking space in one of the seven areas based on their specific requests. This helps prevent excessive traffic caused by drivers searching for parking. Thanks to the barriers, drivers who are not affiliated with the facility are now denied access to the parking lot, as the barrier opens only for vehicles with registered license plates. QR codes can be issued to guests and suppliers, which then serve as proof of registration at the terminal.

 

The Challenge of Electric Mobility

Henkel’s request to integrate charging processes into parking management presented a particular challenge. As a company with high sustainability standards, Henkel aims to pave the way for e-mobility on a large scale, both in its company vehicle program (where Henkel offers its employees hybrid and electric vehicles on favorable terms) and in its parking management. The ParkHere solution makes this easy: Electric car drivers can reserve a spot at a charging station using the same app they use for regular parking reservations.

 

40 charging stations—and that's just the beginning

Henkel started with 20 charging stations at its Holthausen site; as of April 2022, there are already twice as many stations there. Since employee interest in e-mobility is high, the charging infrastructure will likely be expanded even further in the future. The ParkHere system ensures that available charging points are used efficiently and that no charging point is blocked for an excessively long time: Charging times are allocated as “slots” lasting several hours; two slots per day can be reserved at each charging point. This ensures that at least two employees can charge their vehicles at each charging point every day. 

Tim Rheinhold, Head of Engineering at Henkel AG, is pleased:

“Together with ParkHere, we’ve developed a smart mobility concept that has allowed us to solve all our parking problems. ParkHere’s system is also fully future-proof, so we won’t run into any more problems. It’s very well suited for handling expansions, particularly those related to electric mobility. We especially appreciated the straightforward collaboration and the productive team. Together, we’ve generated significant added value for our employees.”

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