The last mile is hard enough to deliver GDP within Europe, but is impossible in countries such as Africa, especially land locked countries in the rainy season.
There is a plethora of issues.
Weather conditions – seasons can be extreme, temperatures between day and night may vary dramatically..
Vehicles may not have temperature control and may in some instances be a moped a push bike or shanks pony!
Lack of co-operation and communication is a key issued which is slowly being addressed.
Hubs and warehouses may not be GDP client , they may or may not have air-conditioning or a fan let along power to run a cold room or fridge. NEPA still has power cuts today and people still steal diesel for their cars and then the generators will not run to cool the storage sites.
Delivery sizes are small and delivery partners are not compliant.
There are many methods used to help create better conditions during the last mile.
Demand planning smaller just in time orders Better sharing of information and records helps to prevent shortages or out of stocks.
Flexible models “ Push and Pull “ or” Informed Push and Pull “
Recycling where possible to minimise waste.
Sharing insight and knowledge to help educate everyone in the supply chain.
KPIs and donation policies help to reduce the risk to product quality.
Moped can have their top boxes lined with insulated foam to get product where it needs to be delivered and the insulation can give another few hours of protection which may just save the product from being destroyed.