The role of multi-nationals in building solutions in humanitarian logistics

Cynics may claim that traditional corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives were about throwing money at a problem and being rewarded with a glossy brochure and a few great photo opportunities for the annual report. Whether or not this perspective is fair, today’s public private partnerships (PPPs) are far more engaging as companies play an active [...]

Social Products Route-to-Market Framework

I recently designed a framework for developing a Route-to-Market strategy for Social Products. The framework is based on some of work we have done in emerging markets .  See the outline and download the document (PDF) below. What are social products? A Social Product is not necessarily a physical offering and can also include services [...]

Public-private partnerships- Where can companies contribute?

Like the private sector, many not-for-profit organizations are involved in supply chain logistics, aiming to get needed products to their clients as efficiently as possible.  In emerging markets such as Tanzania, streamlining in-country supply chain can be a complicated undertaking. Many not-for profit organizations are acknowledging that their supply chain capability and capacity, while a [...]

The private / public mix in health logistics

I guess that it will be clear how important the public sector is for health logistics in developing countries. But how about the public sector? What could be its role? Combine the words “logistics” and “private sector” in one sentence, and obviously third party logistics (or 3PL) will jump immediately to mind. However, there are [...]

Africa mobile technology – learnings from the not-for-profit sector

Mobile phone networks have proven to be a vital piece of technology for Africa. The technology is playing an important part in bridging the infrastructure divide and assisting entrepreneurs and businesses to improve efficiency. The mobile revolution is still in its infancy and organizations are slowly adopting new tools and technology to conduct business.  The [...]

Aquatabs – the Hybrid Social Distribution Model

Aquatabs – the Hybrid Social Distribution Model Last month I spoke to Michael Gately, Marketing Director of Medentech.  The company is well known for its Aquatabs brand of rapidly dissolving tablets. It is one of the best known and most respected names in point-of-use water purification globally and is used to disinfect billions of litres [...]

Gambia is Good

On a recent trip to West Africa I had a chance to make a short stop in Gambia. As part of our company’s increased interest and research in the supply chain in social products, I made contact with Amy Hause, General Manager of Gambia is Good (GiG). TN: Who is GiG? GiG is a horticultural [...]

Ethiopia’s inclusive distribution model

Arriving in Ethiopia in 1998 the local Coca-Cola operation  was hardly an operation to search for best practices. Today, the picture looks very different. Harvard University (download PDF) recently conducted research on the Coca-Cola Ethiopian manual distribution center (MDC) and published a report on the model. The Ethiopian MDC project, launched in 1999, is today viewed as [...]

Village Billboards and supply chain

Erik Hersman blogs about Zach Lutische, a man with an interesting concept envisioned for rural Kenya. “The concept involves putting up a network of rural billboards around Kenya, using them as a way to gather and create a nexus point for community information. Anyone in the village can put up a notice, news or advertisement [...]