Technology is now an important part of our lives. It has redefined almost every aspect of our society and continues redefining how we approach things, including business conduct. For Packworks founders Hubert Yap, Bing Tan, and Ibba Bernardo, an opportunity to harness technology for good was present in our neighborhood sari-sari stores. Limited access to technology presented a stumbling block for sari-sari stores, especially in far-flung regions of the country. With this insight, the founders of Packworks committed themselves to the goal of providing micro-entrepreneurs access to knowledge and tools that can help them digitally transform their businesses. Thus, their mission to help micro-entrepreneurs through scalable and accessible technology began.
Founded in 2018, Packworks started as a solution for sari-sari store entrepreneurs that aimed to provide them with relevant technology to help them grow while connecting them to multinational companies to give them more opportunities. Today, the platform has transformed into a way out of poverty for the millions of sari-sari store owners across the Philippines.
Through the Packworks’ Super Sari Store app, sari-sari store entrepreneurs can become more efficient in managing their business by giving them access to tools and knowledge such as a wider range of suppliers and financial products to help them grow and prosper especially during difficult times such as economic crises and natural disasters.
“Packworks empowers sari-sari stores through scalable and accessible technology, with its team composed of dedicated developers, programmers, and technicians that work to put the power back into the hands of the people at the heart of Filipino communities by providing them with digital opportunities previously only available to big companies,” Packworks Founder Ibba Bernardo said.
An easy-to-use app that uses low bandwidth and has a light footprint, the Super Sari Store app uplifts and changes the lives of thousands of sari-sari store entrepreneurs across the archipelago. It can be used offline, and the entire running process can be carried out remotely, even without Internet access.
“It [Super Sari Store app] allows the users to process their businesses more efficiently with the goal of addressing the high cost of poverty, where store owners pay the highest interest rates and pay more for consumer goods,” Packworks Founder Hubert Yap said.
As a company that strives to give sari-sari store entrepreneurs the best options and opportunities to grow, Packworks plans to cover 220,000 sari-sari stores by year-end.
“Packworks aims to become a platform for other institutions that would like to help the base of the pyramid by addressing the sari-sari store challenge by enabling the value chain and enabling efficiency and transparency,” Packworks Founder Bing Tan said.
And their journey will not end there. It will make sari-sari store owners’ lives even easier with the launch of a seamless purchase-order-to-receiving system where their inventory is updated automatically. Significant improvements on the app’s UI and UX design have also been made to improve user experience. Packworks has also begun its rollout of promo discount and loyalty programs to help stores earn more.
This is just proof that Packworks will continue to usher the digital revolution to sari-sari stores.