Ensuring timely, safe and fresh delivery of all designated fruit and vegetables. That is the challenge our drivers must meet every single day. The products are delivered to Delhaize from Bakker Belgium, Bakker Barendrecht, auctions and local growers. Every banana, cauliflower, meal box and our other wholesome and delicious products are transported with full care and circumspection.  

When a product is loaded onto a truck bound for Delhaize, this is the result of careful planning. Our planners schedule the trips to the customer in close collaboration with their colleagues in logistics and shipping. Often it’s quite a puzzle but thanks to teamwork with the other departments, a problem-solving attitude and a touch of creativity, we always manage to fit the pieces together.  

Our planners coordinate with all parties involved to schedule when our trucks will arrive for loading and unloading, and assign the trips to the right driver. This requires a fair bit of autonomous thinking and personal initiative from our staff.  

Our drivers come in both at the start and the end of the chain. They collect fresh produce from the auction and local growers. Some products are transported directly to a Delhaize distribution centre and in this case our inspectors carry out the inspection at the grower’s. Many products are initially delivered to Bakker Belgium, where a quality check is carried out before the products are correctly packed and prepared for shipment. The drivers take care of the final step in the chain: transport to our customer

And we carry out this transportation as sustainably as possible by optimising routes and reducing empty mileage. Sustainability is also a key criterion for our trucks and trailers. We do everything in our power to reduce our CO2 emissions. 

Meanwhile Bakker operates a number of trucks with battery packs that provide 100% electric cooling for trailers. The energy is generated kinetically by the movement of the vehicle and is enough to cool the trailer electrically, both in transit and during loading and unloading. This results in a reduction of CO2 emissions and fuel savings so that our delicious, wholesome fruits and vegetables are transported with even more sustainable cooling.  

We also have a special e-truck. At the start of 2023, this was the very first e-truck to be deployed in Belgium. The e-truck is fully electric, eliminating all CO2 emissions! Both Bakker Belgium and Delhaize’s distribution centre are equipped with charging infrastructure.