Ganjar Pranowo Encourages Digitization Of MSMEs So Turnover Can Be Raised

Ganjar Pranowo (Photo via Central Java Provincial Government)

JAKARTA - Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said the digitization of MSMEs has become a must in today's business world. In addition to making the products that are sold well known, digitizing MSMEs can also boost turnover and open up wider business opportunities.

"It's a must if you want your business to go digital. If you don't, you will definitely be bullied by others. When MSMEs go digital, they start to change the way they do business. The packaging must be good, the photos must be good, the onboarding process is carried out until the Later, they were taught logistics management. Like it or not, they have to learn. The learning doesn't take long, especially if there are examples," said Ganjar in his written statement, Sunday, April 10.

Ganjar had a chance to talk about the secret of double profit in online sales of MSME actors in Central Java. Uniquely, MSME actors are actors who have started an offline business before finally entering e-commerce.

As stated by the owner of the Eboni Watch business, Afida Fajar Aditya. When asked by Ganjar about sales, he admitted that his wooden watch business has grown rapidly since entering e-commerce. Usually per month sales only range from 50-200 units after entering digital (e-commerce) increasing to 1,500 units per month.

"The increase can be more than 500 percent and the fastest increase is during the pandemic. Buyers start from Aceh to Papua, if overseas are South Africa and Russia. Consumer feedback is actually a big benefit so that it can improve better," said Fajar.

The same thing was also conveyed by Reni Rubiati, the owner of the Batik Parisya business. Since entering e-commerce in 2015, his business has received a mentoring team. The first month sales were still below 100 pieces but continued to increase and now it can reach 600 pieces per month.

"In the era of the pandemic, we are also given options for appropriate promotions so that consumers have an interest in shopping," said Reni, who claimed to have participated in Ganjar.

Ganjar then responded how the increase in sales experienced by Eboni Watch is a real example of how input from consumers can improve product quality.

"Feedback is very good. (If) we get feedback from consumers regarding quality, it is recorded properly, we will be able to make improvements for the better," said Ganjar.

Fajar, Reni are also SMEs in e-commerce, they use input from consumers to determine the right price and discount. The training provided may be very helpful for e-commerce to determine the right sales strategy. Ganjar even saw how Fajar and Reni promoted their products online.

"That's good. If you don't go in and get training from e-commerce, surely the language and diction used are not that good," he said.

Finally, Ganjar said that the businesses that spread and increased after entering e-commerce were food and beverage and fashion. Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic.

"During the (which) turnover pandemic, it went up quite high, yes, food and beverage. These were selling hard and there were many businesses that could be done from home. This means that there is a lot of innovation and creativity as well as many options for doing business digitally, " he said.