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The guiding principle of the fleet management strategy of Mercado Libre , one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Latin America, is to promote a culture of road safety through the use of technology and the development of a culture around it.

Alejandro Tonatiuh Martínez, fleet manager at Mercado Libre in Mexico, explained during his participation in Fleet LatAm Summit 2024 that, as a technology company, it is focused on making the most of the available tools so that each of its four thousand operators arrive safely at their homes .

“The most important pillar of our entire strategy is called safety, in this sense we are very focused on two points: compliance for cost reduction and sustainability with the adoption of an environmentally friendly fleet. Our mission is to be the largest green delivery fleet in Latin America; to date we have more than a thousand electric vehicles in Mexico. This is supported by the concepts of productivity and profitability,” explained Martínez.

He also said that for the past couple of years Mercado Libre has been focused on joining the electromobility strategy. “ We are incorporating our thousandth electric unit into our fleet ,” he said.

In terms of safety, he explained that it is not enough to have the technology, video telematics or firm policies within the company, without a culture that supports all this work. The fleet specialist explained that one of the crucial points is “convincing” operators to drive safely .

“We are at an important moment in which we must take a step forward in fleet management. To do so, we currently have a control tower that helps us monitor each of the vehicles, not only to control driving habits, but also to monitor the physical-mechanical conditions of the units with the aim of preventing accidents, extending the useful life of the assets and having a beneficial impact on the operating costs of the fleet,” said the specialist.

With the control tower, a team of monitors are in constant communication with the operators , giving real-time feedback to optimize driving and maintain safe operation.

It is worth noting that Alejandro Tonatiuh Martínez was awarded Fleet Sustainability Manager of the Year at the Fleet Latam Summit 2024. In this regard, he explained to T21 that the recognition is the result of teamwork to make the vision of being the most sustainable and safe delivery company in Latin America a reality.

“I would invite companies that are looking to make a change in their operations to change their mindset in order to try new things because electromobility is already a reality. Although the change may be complex, the long-term benefits in terms of safety and profitability are undeniable. I would also invite them to take care of the operators because they are the most important thing in an organization dedicated to the movement of goods and merchandise,” he said.

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El cargo Sustainability and Safety: Pillars of Mercado Libre’s Fleet Management apareció primero en T21.

According to estimates by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 2019, transportation accounted for 9% of greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America. Of these, 44% were generated by freight transport, which in turn was subdivided into road transport, which accounted for 35%, followed by maritime transport with 6%, while air transport accounted for 3% and rail contributed 1 percent.

Given this scenario and with the aim of formulating strategies to prepare fleets for the future and make the leap towards environmentally friendly vehicles, Fleet Latam Summit 2024 was held, where Angélica Vesga, Director of Public Affairs and Communication at the World Resources Institute (WRI) , explained that in the face of climatic phenomena, whether due to floods or prolonged droughts and their impact not only at a social level, but also at a productive and economic level, it is necessary to have financial and governance systems that promote more sustainable mobility.

He explained that in the Latin American region it is a priority to align investments and policies, both in infrastructure for charging and in city design. He pointed out that it is essential to distribute public resources in transportation, as well as in energy-efficient constructions and new energies.

“While transport is an important part of the problem, it is also part of the solution. It is urgent to break the cycle of inaction, due to the lack of incentives and public policies. It is necessary for the various sectors to commit themselves: private initiative, authorities, public energy generating companies and social organizations,” said Vesga.

For her part, Mónica Mata, Program Manager for Latin America at The Climate Group , indicated that society must pressure governments to implement public policy instruments to adopt more sustainable mobility , and assured that it is necessary to create working groups to achieve the zero emissions goals in Latin America.

In turn, Francisco Cabeza, president of the Mexican Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (AMIVE) , explained that it is difficult to talk about long-term projects in Latin America due to changes in government and the lack of continuity in agendas for the transition to cleaner mobility.

Despite this, Mexico and Brazil are leading the electrification of fleets, but these are mostly concentrated in private fleets. Thus, the challenge is to generate dialogue with all the actors involved in the energy transition of transport.

Cabeza explained that it is necessary to outline economically viable projects and to specify where the adoption of this type of technology makes sense.

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El cargo Joint Actions Urgently Needed to Develop the Vehicle Fleets of the Future apareció primero en T21.