Digital startup Packworks aims to empower store owners beyond the traditional supply and logistics chain with the introduction of the SuperStore app, an online hub where members benefit from the ease of end-to-end commerce transactions at the end.
Through the app, store owners can handle inventory, accounting, and data collection for their business. They can also benefit from financial products and order supplies at a cheaper price without having to coordinate and purchase new inventory.
Packworks founders Hubert Yap, Bing Tan and Ibba Bernardo came up with the idea when they faced similar experiences growing up with entrepreneurial parents.
“We have observed that small businesses have difficulty tracking their inventories and obtaining supplies for their businesses, especially those in the provinces. That’s when the idea of creating a one-stop-shop for everything came up,” Tan said.
Witnessing first-hand the challenges posed by limited access to sari-sari shop owners, especially in remote locations, the co-founders promised to share their technical know-how and inspire them to move from analog processes to digital. use of technology.
The application is easy to use with a low bandwidth and small footprint that will allow users to transact business more efficiently while managing interest charges online or through an electronic payment system.
Packworks strives to help micro-entrepreneurs grow and grow by bringing them scalable and accessible technology.
Enterprises started as a solution for multinational companies in the Philippines to connect with neighborhood stores in 2018.
In 2019, the Packworks rolled out nationwide with just 220 stores and a value of $400,000. After a year, it amassed 27,828 stores with $30 million, and it reached 130,000 stores with $139 million in 2021.
The SuperStore app, funded through a successful 112 million peso seed round, is Packworks’ mobile enterprise resource planning platform for sari-sari store owners.
End-to-end logistics group Fast Group and global private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, with participation from ADB Ventures, Arise, Techstars and IdeaSpace Foundation, led the round.
Brice Cu, country managing director of CVC Capital Partners and board member of Fast Group, said the platform is constantly looking for ways to improve the country’s supply chain.
“Laying Packworks’ digital fabric on top of this network and leveraging its emerging data offers exciting insights into creating supply chain efficiencies, especially when combined with experience and national scale. of Fast,” he said.
The startup also plans to build a department that engages sari-sari stores directly and provide additional services with partners and build an open platform for financial institutions and brands to connect directly with store owners.
“We started helping 150,000 sari-sari shops. We help communities across the Philippines grow and become more resilient. Imagine how many more we can help with all these great partners. Our vision is now global,” said Bernardo.
Packworks aims to become a platform for other institutions to help the base of the pyramid by addressing the challenge of the sari-sari store by streamlining the value chain and cutting out the middleman.
“We believe the idea will help millions more families who solely depend on profits from their sari-sari shops to make ends meet every day,” Tan said.
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