Sharing our expertise in last-mile distribution

Many people in developing countries live in areas that are hard to reach, through poor infrastructure or geographical isolation. This means they have very limited access to essential products and services that are readily available to others. Generally, what they can get hold of is either more expensive or lower quality. They are also unable to participate in – and benefit from – business value chains.

Serving these consumers is often not viable for large companies. But for social enterprises, they can present a significant opportunity. And many of these entrepreneurs are developing ingenious solutions to overcome the challenges, build successful enterprises and enhance the livelihoods of the individuals – predominantly women – and communities involved.

But there’s a problem.

Last-mile distribution, as it’s called, is challenging because each country and context is usually very different. And with little co-sharing of knowledge and skills, social enterprises tend to design and build their distribution models from scratch each time. Essentially, reinventing the wheel. Ultimately, this means they aren’t able to scale up quickly. And that affects our business too.

ASPIRE highlights six key building blocks and a six-step process, to help last-mile distribution enterprises focus on and build in the right level of operation rigour at each stage of development. For instance, at the outset, it helps decide if social distribution is right for them and what partnership model would be appropriate. Right through to getting the team in place, testing assumptions, replicating the model in multiple locations and, ultimately, aiming for impact at scale.

Developing a successful inclusive distribution enterprise or partnership takes months of patient and strategic investment. It’s important to layer success on success. And that’s where ASPIRE can help.

Speaking about the motivation to collaborate with Unilever on the initiative, Emile Schmitz, BoP Innovation Centre’s Director for Marketing and Distribution, says: "Leaning on Unilever’s deep expertise, we co-created a framework that can support any inclusive distribution team, regardless of product, target group, market or cultural context.

“ASPIRE doesn't give all the answers. It simply provides an intuitive set of building blocks, questions and guiding principles that can help kickstart and develop models. We are already applying ASPIRE successfully across various programmes, and hope it will help others optimise their distribution and marketing efforts to low-income populations.”

In Ethiopia, Unilever’s distribution to rural communities is restricted due to poor infrastructure. This limits access and affordability for over 70% of the population who live in remote territories. To reach these under-served communities, the team worked with the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership to develop a social distribution initiative that creates income opportunities for women micro-entrepreneurs, while improving access to goods and services for rural consumers.

The team used an ASPIRE workshop to design a cost-effective logistics and distribution strategy, as well as an agent retention model to build a reliable delivery system for servicing these communities. The programme is currently being validated, but the innovative approaches are already improving retailer performance and establishing a positive culture.