WATCH: This startup is helping sari-sari stores go digital

MANILA, Philippines – Sari-sari stores, ubiquitous in Philippine neighborhoods, serve as vital lifelines for local communities.

Sari-sari stores operate in small, cramped spaces, which means owners must be very careful about which products to carry and efficient with the available space. Limited capital is also a big consideration in inventory management.

In an episode of Business Sense, Packworks CEO Bing Tan said they are addressing pain points, including inventory management and linkages to major retailers for more efficient resupply.

“[Big businesses] say sari-sari stores are hard to reach, which is ironic because they are in every corner. So we focused on figuring out how to digitize the sari-sari store,” Tan said in English and Filipino.

With the Packworks system, Tan said sari-sari stores can better monitor their inventory and order directly from distributors with just a few clicks. The system also enables sari-sari stores to scan barcodes and give receipts.

Tan said they aim to digitize some 500,000 sari-sari stores soon, with possible expansion somewhere in Southeast Asia. – Rappler.com