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Bakers S.A. Limited, one of South Africa's largest independent integrated supply chain solution providers, has taken its first steps towards fleet electrification with the introduction of electric trucks, achieving significant cost savings and a notable reduction in carbon emissions.
For over 40 years, Bakers S.A. Limited has been a leader in freight, road logistics, warehousing, and people transport, establishing itself as a cornerstone of South Africa's logistics industry. Known for innovation and excellence, Bakers has consistently set benchmarks in the sector.
In 2019, Bakers demonstrated its commitment to sustainability through a landmark deal with Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern Africa, acquiring 77 Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks compliant with Euro V emission standards.
These trucks significantly reduce harmful nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions—by up to 90% compared to the Euro II engines still prevalent in South Africa.
Abdool Tayob, CEO of Bakers S.A. Limited, emphasises, “Investing in green solutions does more than just improve our image. It also delivers tangible economic and environmental benefits, which are important to us.”
The case for transitioning to electric trucks is stronger than ever. With the introduction of newer, more capable models, a stabilizing power grid, and improved access to renewable energy, businesses like Bakers see a clear opportunity to reduce costs, emissions, and reliance on fossil fuels. However, the shift to electric mobility comes with significant hurdles for an organisation like Bakers:
• Complex and expensive charging systems that are difficult to implement at scale.
• Grid capacity constraints that limit the feasibility of widespread EV adoption.
• Lack of performance insights before and after charger installation, making it difficult to optimize operations.
• Unclear cost analysis of EV adoption, including ROI and long-term financial impact.
Following successful in-house tests with the Mercedes-Benz eCanter, Bakers was ready to take the next step toward electrification, but had to overcome the challenges. To ensure a smooth and data-driven transition, the company partnered with Zimi Charge to assess the real-world impact of fleet electrification, determine charging infrastructure needs, and deploy charging stations across key sites.
This collaboration marks the first phase of what could become a large-scale shift to electric trucks, covering both urban routes and long-haul operations. By addressing the operational and financial challenges of electrification, Bakers and Zimi Charge are setting the foundation for a scalable, efficient, and cost-effective EV transition.
In the second half of 2024, Mercedes introduced several exciting new commercial EV options to the South African market, including the Mercedes eActros freight truck and eSprinter models. To support Bakers' transition to these vehicles, Zimi Charge partnered with them to develop a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model to evaluate the financial viability of purchasing the trucks. After careful analysis, the results confirmed that the investment made financial sense.
The next step was for Zimi to recommend a charging solution tailored to Bakers' operational needs. Given the fast turnaround required for their vehicles, a 120kW DC charger was identified as the optimal choice to efficiently charge both the eActros and eSprinter.
Zimi also assessed the power availability at Bakers depots across multiple sites and created an installation and roll out plan that minimised disruptions to daily operations.
With these preparations successfully completed, Bakers proceeded to implement the plan, purchasing the EV trucks and procuring the necessary chargers to support their operations. Zimi coupled the integrated charging solution with Zimi fleet, the fleet energy management platform, which provides them accurate insights into chargers, uptime, energy costs linked to location, vehicle performance and fuel savings. This, tightly coupled with their existing telematics solution, created a single view platform for viewing and managing the EVs as they deployed them across the business.
After a full quarter (twelve weeks) of monitoring both vehicles in real-world conditions while delivering auto spare parts for a major customer, we obtained the following results:
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Luqmaan Hansa, General Manager at Bakers, says, “At Bakers, innovation in logistics is integral to our operations, and this partnership with Zimi marks a pivotal step toward a sustainable future. By integrating electric vehicles into our fleet, powered by Zimi's advanced charging technology, we have significantly reduced our environmental impact while enhancing operational efficiency. This collaboration demonstrates the potential for sustainable solutions to transform the logistics industry, setting a new benchmark for efficiency and environmental responsibility.”
Having proven that the commercial EV business case is viable, Bakers is planning scaling up the roll-out of electric vehicles across its network, aiming to integrate these sustainable solutions into the operations of many blue-chip customers.
By doing so, Bakers will help its clients achieve cost savings while significantly reducing CO₂ emissions.
In addition, Bakers is set to introduce solar power at many of its open and customer depots. This initiative will not only reduce electricity costs and emissions but also offer substantial energy savings, creating long-term value for its customers' operations.
As Bakers continues to embrace sustainability and cutting-edge technologies, the company remains committed to driving innovation in South Africa’s logistics sector.
Through forward-thinking strategies and eco-conscious solutions, Bakers and Zimi are paving the way for a smarter, greener future in logistics.
