How To Transition to Sustainable Fleet Operations Using Data and Logistics with Essa Al-Saleh

Episode Description

For this episode of the eCom Logistics Podcast, we welcome Essa Al-Saleh, CEO and Board Member of Volta Trucks. Today, Essa shares his experience as a leader in the logistics space and how he used this background to innovate in the electric fleet market.

He talks about building a culture as a leader that encourages creativity and drive especially during challenging moments like economic crises. He also tackles how fleet owners and operators can smoothly transition to the electric models from the traditional combustion engine systems.

Essa recognizes how much of a challenge this change can be but also discusses the overall benefit of the sustainable truck for urban distribution.

ABOUT ESSA

Essa Al-Saleh is the CEO and a Board Member of Swedish electric-vehicle manufacturer Volta Trucks, an electric commercial vehicle company that is leading the transition from the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) ecosystem to a safe and sustainable truck for urban distribution. Volta Trucks is driving the transition with its re-imagined, superior product and its “Truck as a Service” solution which seeks to de-risk the transition for fleet operators.

He previously spent more than two decades at Agility Global Integrated Logistics in Baar, Switzerland, where he was appointed president and CEO in 2007. During his time at Agility, he transformed the company from a 300-person, single-country operation into one of the top ten global logistics businesses, operating in over 100 countries, employing more than 18,000 people, and with over $4 billion in revenues.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 03:05 Essa’s journey with Agility Global Integrated Logistics
• 06:28 Advice for leaders in logistics when dealing with crisis moments
• 11:34 On building culture and “punching above your weight”
• 21:22 What the banning of diesel engine trucks in Paris would mean for fleet operators
• 26:55 Opportunities in the North American market
• 34:03 Understanding the challenge of transitioning to an electric fleet

QUOTES

13:46 The elements that allow you to “punch above your weight” – Essa: “We want everybody in the organization and find ways to make everybody in the organization feel empowered to make the right decision, not be afraid to make the decision, and if they do make a mistake they own up to that mistake and learn from it. That’s an empowerment opportunity.”

38:56 Utilizing fleet management services in their platform – Ninaad: “Most of what we have seen up until now is there is a truck mount solution that is running a Zebra Terminal Insight in there using LTE or 5G, communicating through a software that does not really communicate with the truck other than the GPS information. Now, the truck itself starts becoming a device that gives you the information in real-time.”

Find out more about Essa in the links below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/essa-al-saleh-122b821/
• Website: https://voltatrucks.com/