Key Stats
Supports approximately 300 employees across a 26,500-square-meter logistics facility in Erding, Germany
Reduced video search time from 4–5 hours to 2–3 minutes for key investigations
Deployed plug-and-play cameras across the exterior of the logistics facility in approximately 2 weeks
Uses Verkada Cameras, Intercom, Guest, and Air Quality Sensors to improve visibility across the site
Uses line-crossing alerts to detect unauthorized perimeter crossings and help the team respond when people cut through private property
Uses 30-day video retention, Face Blur, and audit logs to support high-value warehouse security and privacy requirements
Expanding with Access Control, AF64, license plate recognition, and indoor cameras for inventory protection, safety, and incident management
Background
Founded in 1971 and based in Erding, Germany, alpha has spent more than five decades helping brands bring products to market. What began as an entertainment distribution business — supplying vinyl, CDs, DVDs, games, and other non-food products to retailers — has evolved into a broader logistics and services provider supporting sales, e-commerce, point-of-sale programs, product refinement, and full-service distribution.
Today, alpha’s approximately 300 employees operate from a 26,500-square-meter logistics facility near Munich Airport and major motorways. With a nationwide sales network, longstanding industry relationships, and investments in automated systems, alpha supports both established brands and emerging companies across the supply chain.
As demand for physical media declined, alpha saw an opportunity to build on what it already did well: moving products quickly, reliably, and at scale. Around 2017, the company began expanding its logistics capabilities for external customers, offering warehousing, fulfillment, shipping, e-commerce support, and tailored sales concepts across a growing range of product categories.
That shift changed the role of physical security. alpha was no longer only protecting its own inventory. It was protecting customer goods, managing more complex visitor and delivery flows, and proving to partners that their products would be handled safely from arrival to shipment.
“Being able to show customers that we hold our logistics facility to high security standards gives us added credibility in sales conversations,” said Fabian Pfeiffer, Head of Process and Project Coordination, Logistics. “It’s a real advantage.”
The Challenge: Modernizing Security for a Logistics Business Built on Trust
As alpha expanded from product distribution into logistics and fulfillment services, physical security became part of its customer promise. Some goods stored in alpha’s warehouse can be worth millions of euros, making security a key consideration for customers deciding where to place their inventory.
Before Verkada, alpha had cameras in place, but the system was limited. Video was stored locally, there was no cloud-based management or AI, and the team lacked an efficient way to pinpoint the moments that mattered.
“It was very old-fashioned,” said Markus Buertesch, Division Manager. “Finding a specific video or event meant looking through the footage ourselves. It could take four or five hours.”
That made investigations slow and created friction when alpha needed to understand what happened on-site, whether that meant reviewing an unauthorized person crossing the property, confirming when a vehicle arrived, or finding evidence after a truck damaged an entrance.
alpha needed faster access to video, clearer visibility across its facility, and a platform that could support security, logistics, visitor management, and operational workflows in one place.
Moving from Legacy Cameras to AI-Powered Visibility
alpha worked with its local partner, PrintVision, to plan and install Verkada cameras across the exterior of the logistics facility. The deployment focused on critical pathways and high-activity areas, including goods entry, goods exit, logistics entrances, customer access points, and the perimeter.
“We wanted visibility across every critical path into the facility — goods entry, goods exit, customer access points, and the perimeter,” said Pfeiffer. “With Verkada, we can quickly understand what happened, where it happened, and whether we need to respond.”
Installation took approximately two days. For alpha, the simplicity of deployment was a major advantage.
“Installation was very straightforward,” said Buertesch. “Because Verkada is plug-and-play, we only needed a LAN connection with POE and internet access to get the cameras online.”
Once the system was in place, alpha began finding new ways to use Verkada across the business. AI-powered search helped accelerate investigations. Line-crossing alerts helped the team monitor unauthorized movement across the property. Face Blur, retention settings, and audit logs supported privacy and accountability requirements. Intercom, Guest, and air quality monitoring opened up additional use cases for entry management, visitor experience, and inventory protection.
Detecting Unauthorized Perimeter Crossings
Because of the layout of the property, people sometimes try to cut across alpha’s private logistics facility instead of walking around the building. While they may not be attempting to enter the warehouse, their presence still creates risk. Alpha needs to know when unauthorized people are on the grounds, where they go, and whether they approach an entrance.
With Verkada, alpha uses perimeter camera coverage — including context cameras and PTZs — paired with line-crossing alerts to monitor these areas more effectively.
“People sometimes use that part of the property as a shortcut,” said Buertesch. “With line-crossing alerts, we know when someone enters the area and can see where they go next.”
The greater concern is not just someone crossing the grounds, but someone entering the building without authorization. alpha placed cameras around entrances so the team can see who approaches, who enters, and what happens next.
Creating a More Connected Visitor and Entry Experience
Customers frequently visit alpha’s warehouse to see the facility, understand its processes, and evaluate how their goods will be handled. Those visits are part of the sales process, and the arrival experience helps set the tone.
“When customers visit our warehouse, they want to see how their goods will be stored, handled, and protected,” said Buertesch. “That transparency helps build trust.”
With Verkada Guest, alpha can send invitation links before a customer or partner arrives, collect relevant information in advance, and notify the host when the visitor is on-site. That helps reduce confusion at the entrance and creates a smoother experience for customers touring the warehouse.
As alpha expands its Verkada deployment, the team is also building more connected entry workflows with Intercom, Access Control, AF64, and license plate recognition. By combining visitor information, video intercoms, and vehicle recognition, alpha can streamline how approved customers, partners, and drivers access the site.
“When a customer arrives at the front gate, license plate recognition can help identify the vehicle and open the gate automatically,” said Buertesch. “It creates a smoother arrival experience while still giving us control over who enters the property.”
alpha is also adding AF64 to bring a more modern, privacy-conscious access experience to key doors. With Face Unlock, authorized users can unlock doors simply by looking at the reader, while the built-in camera gives alpha video context for each access event. Together, these workflows help the team streamline entry while maintaining control, visibility, and accountability.
Improving Delivery Visibility and Subcontractor Accountability
alpha handles significant delivery traffic from carriers such as DHL, DPD, FedEx, and other logistics providers. Drivers book time slots in a separate system, but Verkada helps Alpha add real-time visibility around whether a truck has arrived, whether a driver is late, or whether a specific vehicle has entered the site.
As alpha launches license plate recognition, the team will be able to build more automated workflows for known vehicles and approved drivers. For repeat drivers, alpha can use license plate information. For other vehicles, the team can use AI-powered search and alerts to identify a vehicle by description, such as “a large yellow DHL truck.” Notifications can then be routed to the logistics team by email, SMS, or Teams.
That same visibility is valuable when incidents occur. Before Verkada, supporting a claim with a subcontractor or insurer required manually searching through video.
“With our old system, it was difficult to document damage for insurance or subcontractor follow-up,” said Pfeiffer. “Now, I can use AI search to find the full incident in minutes, share the footage, and show exactly what happened.”
What once took hours can now take two or three minutes. For alpha, the result is a faster, clearer way to resolve disputes and support claims with objective evidence.
Protecting High-Value Goods with Environmental Monitoring
While alpha’s initial Verkada camera deployment focused on exterior visibility, the company already uses Verkada Air Quality Sensors inside the warehouse to help monitor storage conditions.
Some goods stored at alpha’s facility are temperature-sensitive. With Verkada, the team can monitor temperature and receive alerts when it rises above a defined threshold, such as 25 degrees Celsius.
“We store products that are sensitive to temperature changes,” said Buertesch. “With Air Quality Sensors, we can monitor conditions in real time and get alerted if the temperature rises above 25 degrees, so we can act before inventory is at risk.”
For a warehouse storing customer inventory, environmental visibility is another layer of protection. It helps alpha identify potential risks before they affect stored goods and gives the team another way to demonstrate care and control over customer products.
Balancing Security with European Privacy Expectations
As a European logistics provider, alpha also needs to manage physical security in a way that respects privacy and data protection expectations.
Face Blur is one of the most important Verkada features for alpha. The company also posts signage at entrances to explain what data is collected, how it is used, and how long it is stored. Today, Alpha uses a maximum retention period of 30 days, which the team considers important because of the high-value goods stored in the warehouse.
“When customers trust us with high-value inventory, they need confidence that it is protected,” said Buertesch. “Being able to show them our security standards helps us earn that trust.”
Auditability adds another layer of accountability. While it was not originally one of alpha’s top evaluation criteria, the team now sees value in being able to understand who accessed the system, what changes were made, and when those changes happened.
“As more people use Command, it’s important that we can see who accessed the system, what changed, and when,” said Buertesch. “That gives us a clear record and helps us stay accountable.”
Expanding Visibility Inside the Warehouse
As alpha continues to expand its logistics services, the company is preparing to bring more Verkada visibility inside the warehouse.
Indoor cameras will help alpha strengthen oversight in areas where high-value goods are stored. Dedicated camera-monitored zones can create a stronger record of activity around critical inventory areas and give customers added confidence that sensitive or expensive products are being protected.
“We’re already discussing adding cameras inside the building,” said Pfeiffer. “For high-value products, a dedicated camera-monitored area would help us protect inventory, review incidents, and give customers even more confidence.”
Inside the facility, Verkada can also support worker safety and liability management. AI-powered activity detection alerts can help identify events such as slips and falls, while video evidence and incident reporting workflows make it easier to document what happened, review the event quickly, and share relevant context with internal teams, insurers, or other stakeholders.
For alpha, the expansion reflects a broader vision for the platform: one system that helps protect customer goods, document incidents, support claims, and improve visibility into day-to-day warehouse operations.
Building Trust Through Modern Logistics Security
For alpha, security has become inseparable from the logistics service it provides. The company is not just moving products through a warehouse; it is asking customers to trust alpha with inventory that may be high-value, time-sensitive, or difficult to replace. That trust has to be visible at every step — when customers arrive on-site, when goods move through the facility, and when the team needs to prove exactly what happened during an incident.
With Verkada, alpha can give customers that proof. The team can show how the site is monitored, how visitors and vehicles are managed, how environmental conditions are tracked, and how quickly incidents can be reviewed and shared. If a truck damages an entrance, alpha can pull the evidence in minutes. If someone crosses the perimeter, the team is notified immediately. If customers tour the warehouse, they can see a security operation that reflects the same standard of care alpha promises across its logistics services.
“Some customers have made it clear that they need strong camera coverage before storing goods in our warehouse,” said Buertesch. “For us, security is not just an operational requirement — it is part of how we earn and maintain customer trust.”
As alpha continues expanding its logistics services, Verkada gives the company a platform that can grow with it — from exterior cameras and air quality sensors today to connected access, automated gate entry, indoor visibility, and safety workflows next. For customers, that means greater confidence in how their goods are stored and protected. For alpha, it turns security into something bigger than loss prevention: a visible part of the value it delivers.
