Last mile is the final leg of the supply chain: from the last distribution center to the recipient’s door. It is the shortest in distance and, almost always, the most expensive per unit and the most visible to your customer.
Why it is the expensive part
Because it loses all the economies of scale of the rest of the chain. A vessel moves thousands of containers at once and a truck moves one; last mile moves parcels one by one, with stops, traffic, delivery windows and failed attempts that force the trip to be repeated. All of that is paid on the shortest leg.
Why it matters when importing from China
When you calculate the true cost of your product in your customer’s hands, not in your warehouse. An importer who optimized international freight and never looked at last mile can find that the final leg eats a bigger share of margin than the entire Pacific crossing.
The common mistake
Budgeting to the warehouse and treating last mile as a detail to solve later. It is an operational design decision: where you place inventory, which carriers you work with and what delivery times you promise. The closer the stock sits to the customer, the cheaper and more reliable it gets.
We design the full chain, from the Chinese supplier to your end customer: logistics from China and domestic distribution. Write to us.
