Who does not know warung or grocery store? Warung have indeed become a part that cannot be separated from Indonesian lives. Warung is not only a place for buying and selling, but also a place for social activities. Even for some people, warung also often become their place to owe.
Now when everything is online, the existence of warung remains unforgettable. Because it's impossible to just buy an instant noodles or crackers via online. The place we are going to is definitely warung.
Unfortunately, many warung cannot develop. Even for years, the owner life has not changed, the items sold are all that. There is no change. This is what made Agung Bazharie and his friends motivated to establish Warung Pintar, a start-up that focuses on developing grocery stores.
According to Agung, there are currently at least 3 million grocery stores in Indonesia. But the scale of the business is still a micro business and it is difficult to develop. Most warung cannot develop because they do not have extensive access, the owners also do not have extensive knowledge, some are still 'blind' in technology.
Not all of them are true, many owners have social media accounts or communicate via WhatsApp. From there they actually have basic capital. It's just that according to Agung, there is no technology that can really help them.
Agung, who once tried to help in a warung, had the idea to make Warung Pintar. He also received various supports, ranging from access to get cheaper goods, electronic devices to software to support his business.
One by one the warung owners are interested in partnering with Warung Pintar since November 2017. Now after two years, there are at least 1,000 Warung Pintar in Jakarta and surroundings. With technology support and research that emphasizes three pillars, Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics and blockchain, warung owners feel the benefits of the application. IoT helps increase the accuracy of retail data entry. Big data analytics helps them understand customer behavior. While the blockchain helps create transparency.
Efforts to lift warung degree began to be seen from the increase in income of stall owners who joined Warung Pintar. There is even warung which previously only earned Rp. 150,000 per day, now become Rp. 4 million per day.
Until now, the demand for grocery stores to join Warung Pintar continues to grow. Even in December 2018, there were 12,000 warung owners who wanted to join. Although part of his business, Agung has no ambition to make Warung Pintar a unicorn, a start-up company with a 1 billion US dollars valuation. For Agung and his friends, there is other thing that are more important, it is raising warung degree.