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How Cross-Industry Collaboration Can Spur the Digitalisation of the Last-Mile Distribution Sector
Last-mile distributors play a critical role in bringing energy and other life-changing products and services to customers in sub-Saharan Africa, and digitalisation is key to enabling these companies to operate at scale. But as Javier Baranda Alonso at Energy 4 Impact explains, both distributors and digital service providers often struggle to understand and service each other’s needs. He shares insights from a research report that highlights ways to accelerate the digitalisation of last-mile distribution by building bridges between the two sectors.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise, Technology, Telecommunications
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Press Release: Essmart and One Acre Fund Partner to Expand Farmer Services
After successfully piloting farmer services in Bihar, India, we’re now partnering with Essmart, a last-mile distribution company, to increase access to agricultural products for rural farmers in Northern India.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- distribution, scale
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From People to Packages: How a Nigerian Ride-Hailing Business Weathered the Pandemic by Shifting to Last-Mile Delivery
The effects of COVID-19 have impacted business around the world, and consumer-focused sectors in Africa have faced particular challenges. As Nikhil Goel at Gokada explains, the crisis has exposed the urgent need for digital-first approaches to work, shopping and other aspects of daily life – and opened new opportunities for nimble enterprises that can tap into this growing demand. He explores how Gokada has successfully navigated the pandemic by shifting its business model from ride-sharing to last-mile delivery.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology, Transportation
- Tags
- distribution, e-commerce
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Embracing Digital Solutions in Last Mile Distribution: Six Steps for Introducing New Tools to Sales Agents
COVID-19 has accelerated the shift towards greater digitalization that was already well underway in the last mile distribution sector. According to Gerwin Jansen and Yvonne Achieng at Bopinc, more digital services are coming onto the market to meet this demand – but regardless of the benefits of these tools, if sales agents don’t embrace them the business impacts will not be realized. They explore how last mile distributors can successfully embed digital solutions in their sales teams, presenting a six-step approach to rolling out new digital services to agents.
- Categories
- Technology
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Improving COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Around the World: Leveraging Partnerships and Technology to Optimize Medical Supply Chains
Effective vaccine distribution is key to overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries. Similar vaccination efforts for routine childhood diseases have been widely successful, but targeting an adult population presents unique challenges, say Wade Warren at Deloitte Consulting and Marian W. Wentworth at Management Sciences for Health. They explore four challenges that vaccine distribution efforts will face – and four tried-and-proven ways to improve the process.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Transportation
- Tags
- COVID-19, distribution, partnerships, vaccines
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Scaling the Last-Mile Distribution Industry With Data-Driven Lending
Low-income consumers in emerging markets rely heavily on last-mile distributors (LMDs) for access to life-changing products, from smartphones to solar home systems. But as Erin Junio at Angaza explains, despite the critical role they play in the sale and distribution of these products, LMDs struggle to access the funding they need to scale. She explores the funding challenges these businesses face — and how data-driven innovations in lending are emerging to close this financing gap.
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How Decentralized Business Models Can Serve India’s Rural Communities During – and After – COVID-19
Centralizing business operations can improve efficiency, but it can also hinder a company's ability to innovate and tailor products for local markets. Mahesh Yagnaraman at Acumen shares how two companies used their decentralized models to quickly address COVID-19's challenges and adjust their offerings accordingly. He explores how these agile models can better identify the needs of their communities, no matter how remote, and reach them effectively.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise
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Creating Sustainable Last-Mile Distribution for Beneficial Products: Two Network Archetypes (and How They Can Scale Up)
Last-mile distributors (LMDs) are critical to getting beneficial goods to underserved populations in hard-to-reach areas. Lucie Klarsfeld McGrath of Hystra and the Global Distributors Collective shares the results of a detailed analysis of these crucial distributors, which fall into two archetypes: local livelihood LMDs and dedicated salesforce LMDs. She explains the characteristics of each group and discusses what they bring to manufacturers, service providers, funders and other organizations looking to work at the last mile.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- distribution, scale, SDGs
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