Mahindra Logistics (MLL), one of India’s leading third-party logistics (3PL) solutions providers, recently signed an MoU with 1Bridge, a Bengaluru-based social enterprise and one of India’s village commerce networks, to work together on last-mile delivery and distribution of products in rural India.
While Mahindra Logistics specializes in supply chain management and serves customers across various industries, including consumer goods and eCommerce across India, 1Bridge is a bridge that connects the supply side of the value chain, that is, industry stakeholders within the consumer goods, eCommerce, Fintech to the demand side of the chain – that is, the rural consumer at the village level through its village entrepreneurs and a technology platform.
Signing this significant partnership with 1Bridge, Rampraveen Swaminathan, managing director, and chief executive officer, Mahindra Logistics, said, “This collaboration will complement MLL’s logistical expertise, pan-India network and a wide customer base with 1Bridge’s deep presence across villages in rural India through its network of local business associates and district-level stations. We look forward to working collaboratively towards a strengthened supply chain network in rural India.”
Madan Padaki, chief executive officer, 1Bridge, said, “We are delighted to partner with a leader like Mahindra Logistics, as this will enable a start-up like us to learn faster and deliver better consumer experience to the village consumers.”
So far, 1Bridge has its operations spread across 6000+ villages across 65 districts in 6 states in India, namely Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha. Through its strong village network of 6,000+ local entrepreneurs, known as 1Bridge Advisors, who advise and execute various transactions like product origination, digital services, and local deliveries to their local communities – 1Bridge has enabled 25M+ deliveries to the doorsteps of local consumers and over 5M+ digital transactions. This model has also substantially facilitated rural employment and income generation resulting in substantial earnings for these local entrepreneurs.
To begin this partnership, Mahindra Logistics and 1Bridge have begun pilot projects in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu on deliveries of consumer/home appliances and groceries. Over the next three years, the partners intend to build an efficient last-mile delivery capability covering over 100,000 villages in India.
Mahindra Logistics (MLL) is an integrated third-party logistics (3PL) service provider, specializing in supply chain management and enterprise mobility (people transport solutions). Founded more than a decade ago, MLL serves over 400+ corporate customers across various industries like automobile, engineering, consumer goods, and eCommerce. The Company pursues an “asset-light” business model, providing customized and technology-enabled
solutions that span across the supply chain and people transport operations. MLL is part of the newly created Mobility Services Sector of the Mahindra Group.
For more information, visit www.mahindralogistics.com
