From Raw Material to End Consumer: Supply Chain Challenges and Strategies for Building a Resilient Indian Handicraft Sector

Abstract

The Indian handicraft sector connects cultural heritage with rural employment, entrepreneurship and creative economic activity. Yet its supply chains are fragmented, decentralized and often informal. Challenges arise across the entire chain, including irregular raw-material availability, limited working capital, dispersed production, inconsistent quality, information asymmetry, dependence on intermediaries, weak logistics, limited digital integration and restricted consumer access. This conceptual article synthesizes literature on handicraft value chains, supply-chain management, digital adoption and sustainability to examine these interconnected constraints. It proposes an Artisan Integrated Supply Chain Framework (AISCF) that coordinates material, information, financial, knowledge and feedback flows from suppliers to consumers. The framework emphasizes collective procurement, cluster-level capacity planning, common quality and packaging systems, digital order and inventory visibility, transparent value-adding intermediation, consolidated logistics, traceability and omnichannel distribution. The article argues that supply-chain modernization should strengthen rather than displace the cultural identity and livelihoods of artisans. Coordinated action by artisans, producer organizations, intermediaries, retailers, digital platforms and policymakers can improve resilience, market responsiveness and fair value capture.