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Field Implementation | India | Field Insight
September 2013

Distribution in India

By: Safe Water Network | Ryan Hebert | Ravi Sewak | Hew Crooks | Sumanta Mitra | Shanker Batra 


Cost-effective delivery systems are key to ensuring the financial viability of safe water stations. Our Safe Water Stations operate at low margins in order to maintain affordable prices for consumers. Our target goal is to turn 75% of households in a given community into customers. To reach this threshold we developed distribution models and provided the necessary training to distributors. SWN identified specific areas that made delivery expensive, and determined ways to make them more cost-effective, such as selecting vehicles with the best cost-benefit and identifying issues associated with seasonality.  

The key to comprehensive distribution 

Profitable water distribution can be difficult because of the burdens of distance and poor infrastructure. Local distributors and bulk purchasers prove to be valuable players in safe water distribution as they have the capacity and motivation to integrate safe water distribution into their businesses. In large communities, part-time assets are valuable to offset costs, as well as confirming that consumers are willing to pay for the value-add of distribution.

Cost-effective delivery systems are key to ensuring the financial viability of safe water stations. Our Safe Water Stations operate at low margins in order to maintain affordable prices for consumers. Our target goal is to turn 75% of households in a given community into customers. To reach this threshold we developed distribution models and provided the necessary training to distributors. SWN identified specific areas that made delivery expensive, and determined ways to make them more cost-effective, such as selecting vehicles with the best cost-benefit and identifying issues associated with seasonality.  

The key to comprehensive distribution 

Profitable water distribution can be difficult because of the burdens of distance and poor infrastructure. Local distributors and bulk purchasers prove to be valuable players in safe water distribution as they have the capacity and motivation to integrate safe water distribution into their businesses. In large communities, part-time assets are valuable to offset costs, as well as confirming that consumers are willing to pay for the value-add of distribution.