Last-mile delivery is the weakest link in India's distribution systems. Discuss with examples from print media, e-commerce and public distribution.

Last-mile delivery is the final leg of a supply chain, from the local distribution point to the consumer, and it is usually the costliest and least predictable part [1]. When India launched the National Logistics Policy, 2022, it named faster last-mile delivery as a goal [2]. This shows the last mile is a weak link, though not the only one.

Why the last mile is fragile

• Deliveries are many, small and scattered, so costs cannot be spread over large loads.
• The work depends on an informal workforce that the main operator does not directly control.
• It is exposed to congestion, bad weather and poor addresses.

Print media

• The newspaper is a perishable product: "a ten-minute delay at the printing press can send ripples through an entire distribution network" [1].
• On one rainy day, a rain and lightning forecast moved the start from 3 a.m. to 2 a.m. The biggest worry was whether vendors would turn up at all [1].

E-commerce

• Delivery riders are gig workers without fixed contracts. The Code on Social Security, 2020 is the first law to define them, and it requires aggregators to contribute 1–2% of turnover to their welfare [3].
• Failed deliveries, cash-on-delivery returns and the cost of reaching rural areas eat into margins.

Public distribution

• One Nation One Ration Card runs in all 36 States/UTs, and about 97% of transactions are authenticated biometrically on ePoS machines [4].
• Even so, the Fair Price Shop is where problems show up: authentication failures, weak connectivity, and elderly beneficiaries being excluded.

Counter-view

• Problems often start upstream. A press delay [1] or poor freight links pass costs down the chain, and the Policy treats logistics cost as a problem of the whole system [2].
• The last mile is also where new solutions have appeared, such as ration portability through ePoS [4].

Way forward

• Register vendors and riders under the Social Security Code [3].
• Use IMD forecasts to plan routes in bad weather.
• Digitise addresses.
• Provide offline backup for ePoS authentication.

The last mile is where weaknesses across the whole chain show up: perishable goods, informal workers and exposure to weather. With protection for workers and technology that keeps working when connectivity fails, it can become the strongest link. That would serve SDG 8 (decent work) and the Policy's aim of bringing logistics costs down to global benchmarks [2].