FM Logistic has deployed a fleet of EVs to address the needs of its client towards sustainable urban deliveries.
Story by Team CV
FM Logistic India has deployed first batch of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Bengaluru, comprising of three-wheelers (Treo Zor) from a leading CV manufacturer (Mahindra & Mahindra) having a payload capacity of 500 kg. Taking approximately three hours for charging and covering a distance of about 80 km in a single charge, the EVs have been deployed to carry out intra-city deliveries for WayCool, India’s fastest growing Agri-commerce company and a leading player in the FMCG and Food segment. FM Logistic India will be helping WayCool to carry out hyper local deliveries to local kirana stores, supermarkets as well as end consumers. Supporting WayCool’s strategy for advancing fleet electrification, the EVs will constitute five-per cent of the respective company’s total fleet. As part of FM Logistic India’s initial pilot to check for their effectiveness to carry out urban and hyper local deliveries, the EVs will be used to carry out intra-city deliveries for their customers in the FMCG, Food, Pharma and retail segments. In what is said to be an interesting pilot in terms of EV deployment in view of similar experiments and efforts being undertaken in other parts of the world, this particular move, according to Alexander Amine Soufiani, Managing Director, FM Logistic India, is about the challenges of sustainable development in our strategic vision. It is about the creation of solutions for a sustainable supply chain, he added. Stating that sustainability is at the heart of their operations, Soufiani explained that they were excited when WayCool approached them to develop a green network. “We chalked out a plan to setup a green distribution offer to help fulfill their delivery commitments within city limits. It gave us an opportunity to reducing the impact of our business activities on the environment,” he quipped. Planning to deploy 50 EVs and cover more geographical areas under its green distribution network by this year end, FM Logistic India is keen to play a key role in urban transportation needs.
Specialising in the design of dedicated, pooled and collaborative solutions that are not only cost effective but also help their customers to reduce their carbon emissions, the Mahindra Treo Zor electr three-wheelers FM Logistic India has sourced, are offered in three variants – pickup, flat bed and delivery van. With a payload ranging between 500 kg and 550 kg, the vehicles have a GVW of 999 kg. Voted as the SCV of the Year by Apollo CV Awards 2021, the Treo Zor has also finding use with a number of other fleets and e-commerce players to address their needs for a carbon-free sustainable transportation medium in urban regions. Back to FM Logistic India, and the company, to ensure success, is known to have leveraged its French principal’s experience and knowledge in such transportation strategies. FM Logistic, France, launched Citylogin in 2014 in Italy, Spain and France to support sustainable and effective urban logistics. The exercise is known to positively impact the delivery of goods in city centres without contributing to pollution, noise, congestion, etc. It is said to use small depots in urban areas and last mile delivery vehicles, including small hybrid or electric vans. The Treo Zors that FM Logistic has sourced for its client WayCool are expected to be deployed in Bangalore to begin with. They would, as is evident, help WayCool, to carry out its urban delivery commitments in Bangalore and its surrounding areas.
FM Logistic in India and the world over
Said to draw from its principal’s novel Citylogin urban transportation concept to add EVs to its fleet in India and address the need for carbon footprint free urban delivery needs, FM Logistic India is one of the few international 3PL logistics players in the country that has been investing in warehouse space since 2019. It was in 2019 that the France-based company announced a plan to invest USD 150 million over the next five years in its own warehouses and distribution centres in India. Also, announcing that this exercise would lead to employment generation of up to 500 jobs within twelve months, the company has been operating a multi-client facility in Delhi NCR. Expanding its multi-client warehouse in Mumbai and acquiring 31 acres of land in Jhajjar, near Gurugram to build a new warehouse, FM Logistic India is known to operate transport services for Caterpillar across India. This is claimed to involve the management of more than 1,000 suppliers.
The other key contract that FM Logistic India known to involve a major European retailer at Pune, the Jhajjar facility of FM Logistic India was designed by its sister concern, NG Concept, and provides 70,000 sq. m. warehousing space. Up to 100,000 pallets could be stored. Claimed to manage in-plant warehousing operations for the French stationery maker BIC-Cello at Vapi in Gujarat, FM Logistic India announced some time back that would continue to increase its footprint in India. It also announced that it is investing in new WMS (Warehouse Management System) and TMS (Transport Management System) to provide its customers with more visibility over their shipments. Motivated by the growth potential in logistics offered by the indirect tax reform (GST), the company acquired Pune-based Spear Logistics in 2016. The arrangement with WayCool providing FM Logistic India an opportunity to adopt some of the learnings of the Citylogin concept, which is about sustainable and efficient urban solution improving sales efficiency, decrease environment footprint, reduce congestion in the city, reduce emission (health pollutant and greenhouse gas), reduce noise and upgrade brand reputation, FM Logistic India is one the few logistics players in the country to constantly upgrade technology and seek an efficient transport fleet.
