Makro‘s electrification journey begins in 2021 with the replacement of the vehicles of its sales force, made up of more than 500 employees, with hybrid cars.
“Our most recent milestone has been the incorporation of 11 electric trucks on our last mile distribution routes in eight Spanish cities,” says Ismael Muñoz.
According to the Head of Last Mile Distribution at Mobility Portal España, these vehicles are already operational on urban routes in Palma, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria and Pamplona.
With this measure, it has managed to reduce emissions from its operations by approximately 100 tonnes of CO2 per year in total, which is equivalent to approximately 8,400 kilograms per car per year.
This represents a significant milestone, especially considering that the country’s estimated number of deaths associated with air pollution was 30,000 in 2019.
While in many cities, 40 per cent of PM 2.5 particulate matter, harmful to health, comes from traffic, according to the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
And not only that.
The company has also established an agreement with Iberdrola to promote electric mobility nationwide by installing a network of 280 charging points distributed across its 32 centers.
These chargers will be available to both customers and the Makro sales team, who can supply their hybrid and electric cars using energy from renewable sources with Guarantee of Origin (GdO) certificates.
Why have their own “refuelling” network?
According to the Head of Last Mile Distribution, this is because there is still “no state network with sufficient capacity for industrial vehicles.”
This is an aspect that is expected to be addressed through compliance with the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), as well as through electrification plans implemented by municipalities.
The company currently has ten industrial charging stations, which it will expand as needed.
“These equipment have been provided by the vehicle supplier, which, together with the agreement with Iberdrola on the supply, has allowed us to execute this project in an agile manner,” says Muñoz.
The main provider of last mile distribution services in Spain for the company and responsible for the acquisition of the 11 electric trucks is JAC Motors Iberia.
Specifically, the model used is the iJAC 7.5, which offers a real autonomy of more than 200 kilometers (km) with the refrigeration equipment operating throughout the day, or up to 230 km with a dry box.
This capability provides the company with reliability when planning its routes and guaranteeing the correct operation of its Hospitality Distribution Service.
As for the vehicles used by its sales force, Makro has established an agreement with Renault Spain and LeasePlan, through which it has been gradually integrating hybrid cars of the Clio E-Tech model since 2021.
This team regularly makes numerous trips to its clients’ businesses in the hospitality sector and to their own centres.
As part of its strategic growth and transformation plan, the firm is also developing a logistics expansion strategy.
Its objective is to expand its geographic coverage, offering services to more consumers in new areas and improving transportation efficiency by designing more effective routes, which reduces delivery and consumption times.
In this sense, digitalization is positioned as one of the key priorities supporting Makro’s business model.
It not only serves as a tool to foster the growth of their operations in the hospitality sector but also as a resource to enhance efficiency in the service they offer across all their sales channels.
What are the key aspects in Makro’s fleet management?
Firstly, it must have vehicles suitable for the service it provides to its customers, including vehicles adapted for multi-temperature transport of fresh, dry or frozen products.
As well as considering the efficiency and autonomy of these vehicles to ensure the optimization of their operations.
Secondly, it is important to design routes that are as efficient as possible.
This involves carrying out a detailed analysis of the company’s geographic coverage needs to plan routes that guarantee deliveries within 24 hours.
