JURIQUILLA, QRO.- For just over a year now, OXXO, one of the largest retail chains, has been implementing strategies to reduce the emissions resulting from its operations.
To make the leap, the company defined the project strategy with emissions compensation. Subsequently, it conducted an evaluation of electric truck suppliers, as well as charging infrastructure.
It also conducted tests with various original equipment manufacturers offering electric vehicles.
“Last year we started with one electric unit that was tested for about four months, and this year we will have four additional units to complete a fleet of five vehicles,” detailed Ilse Ogushi, Senior Distribution Team Leader for Supply Chain/Logistics Projects at OXXO, during her participation in the presentation “User Companies of Transportation, Challenges and Opportunities for Electrification,” held within the framework of the Second Sustainable Mobility Meeting organized by the National Association of Private Transport (ANTP).
Ogushi stated that the change is not just about buying electric vehicles, but about understanding how they will fit into operations, how they will be transported to the distribution center (cedis), and how they will be charged. “It’s not just about driving the unit, but paying attention to what our strategy needs to embrace so that progress can be made in the change,” she shared.
According to the supply chain and logistics specialist, the execution of OXXO’s electromobility plan will occur once everything makes sense, from a previous, during, and post-operation perspective. “That is, how the vehicles are integrated into the operation and how there is after-sales service so that this is cyclical and everything contributes to the issue of sustainable mobility,” she asserts.
Regarding the challenges the organization has faced with the change in energy matrix, Ogushi pointed out two main areas: the operational model and the infrastructure.
“In the specific case of the last mile, there are various variables, one of the most important being refrigerated cargo, because due to the distances traveled, this must be profitable in terms of battery usage. We have been exploring various options, either connecting the battery to the truck or using a separate battery bank, because the cargo needs to be refrigerated for eight to 10 hours (daily),” stated the OXXO spokesperson.
The second challenge is to have versatility in units that adapt and support OXXO’s operation, and it is also necessary to have the necessary infrastructure for the operation.
Finally, Ogushi referred to the total cost of ownership (TCO), stating, “It’s not just about buying an electric truck, but figuring out how it needs to deliver the same productivity as the fleet of vehicles with combustion engines provides today.“
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