Sustainability news

Takealot e-bikes empower employees to go further

Over the last ten years, Takealot has followed the key principles of innovation, simplicity, and outstanding customer service to secure its place as South Africa’s leading ecommerce retailer. Now, with the company’s progressive e-bike initiative starting to gain traction, we took the time to speak to Takealot’s Head of Outbound Logistics, Jaco Venter, and Mark Musto, National Franchise Operations Manager, to find out more.

Outbound Logistics is a complex role, but for Jaco, it really comes down to ensuring orders get from warehouse to branch and branch to the customer safely and on time. As Jaco says, ‘Making sure we deliver on our promise to our customers.’ Sounds straightforward, but when you consider this involves coordinating over 100 branches across the country, servicing 4 million orders every month, and tracking over 15,000 drivers delivering daily, you begin to appreciate the true scale of the task.

Takealot is a thriving business with more drivers and vehicles on the road, a sustainability challenge with the attention of Group CEO Mamongae Mahlare, Jaco tells us. She’s championing greener thinking across the Group, and it was with this in mind the idea of equipping drivers with battery-powered e-bikes was first proposed. Electric vehicles were already under consideration, but, as with the rest of the world, the EV industry in South Africa is still establishing itself. It brings with it a unique set of complexities around cost, supply delays, charging infrastructure, maintenance, and battery replacement.

Which is what makes the e-bike proposition so appealing. E-bikes are easier to source, less costly to run, and far better for the environment than petrol motorbikes. But there’s another more compelling reason to introduce e-bikes, as Mark explains. “Because e-bikes are restricted to a 30Km per hour speed limit, there’s no need for a license to drive one. This opens up a whole new employment opportunity for struggling job seekers to join our team, build some capital and start their lives.”

With a network of >100 bikes already on the road, and a total of 500 active bikes targeted for the end of the financial year, the project is really starting to take off. New drivers typically undergo 6-8 weeks of bike training, largely focused on keeping them safe on the roads and aware of their surroundings. Some areas just aren’t practical for e-bike travel, so travel is kept to daylight hours and largely focused on dedicated e-bike delivery zones.

The project has not been without its challenges. The bikes simply aren’t as robust as motorcycles, and the average lifespan of a battery is two years. Takealot keeps costs low by leasing the bikes under a full maintenance agreement from a delivery rental partner and connects branches directly to them to secure bikes.

The reaction from customers to e-bikes has been overwhelmingly positive. “Customers love them,” says Jaco, “They’re silent, so no more motorbike noises in quiet suburbs, with some estates around the country, only serviced by e-bikes.”

Takealot is now focusing on middle-mile operations - the journey between warehouses and branches -perfectly suited to electric trucks. In the coming months, they’ll be rolling out new electric trucks and trialling electric panel vans early next year. Continuing their exploration of lower-cost alternatives like the e-bike, they’ve also recently introduced 3 electric vans for use around Cape Town’s city centre. “With petrol at such a high cost, we simply have to find more cost-effective and sustainable alternatives," said Jaco.    

For Jaco and Mark, the e-bikes project is a fitting example of how the move towards electricity can profoundly impact the environment and South African society as a whole. Knowing their project directly contributes to the SA Government’s goals for improving school-leaver employment prospects is a great incentive to succeed. Mark sums up the Takealot outlook perfectly, ‘We want to grow the nation. We want to encourage people to go further, to get a job; to look confidently into the future and grow.’