Pakde

Pakde, whose name translates to "uncle" in Javanese, was established in 2016 by co-founders Nicko Batubara and Maria Octavyani Manao. The founders identified a critical need in the market based on their prior experience running a fashion business, where the operational burdens of packing and shipping became significant constraints as their business expanded. This firsthand experience fueled their ambition to create a solution for other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing similar logistical hurdles. Batubara, formerly an Assistant Vice President at Citi, and Manao, with a background at Nestle, left their corporate careers to build Pakde, driven by a belief in its potential to support the growth of SMEs in Indonesia.

The company operates as an end-to-end logistics and fulfillment provider, primarily serving online businesses and SMEs in Indonesia. Pakde's business model is designed to simplify operations for its clients, allowing them to focus on core activities like marketing and product development. Its revenue is generated through fees for its services. For warehousing, charges are based on the size of the goods and the storage duration, with daily rates per item, such as Rp10 for cosmetics or Rp50 for a t-shirt. The company provides a comprehensive suite of services including inbound logistics (receiving and checking goods), warehousing and stock management, and outbound logistics (packing and shipping orders directly to consumers). To manage these processes, Pakde developed its own Warehouse Management System, which allows clients to track their inventory.

Initially funded by an angel investor, the company secured a seed funding round of $400,000 from TNKapital in October 2018 to fuel its expansion. By this time, Pakde was operating warehouses in Jakarta and Bandung and serving a growing client base that included local apparel brands. The company demonstrated significant growth, with warehouse transactions increasing by up to 194% in early 2018. In a strategic move to broaden its service capabilities, Pakde was acquired by Shipper, a logistics aggregator platform, on September 30, 2020. This acquisition integrated Pakde's warehousing and fulfillment expertise into Shipper's larger network, creating a more holistic logistics solution for customers.

Keywords: logistics fulfillment, warehousing, e-commerce logistics, SME support, third-party logistics, 3PL, supply chain management, inventory management, order fulfillment, last-mile delivery, warehouse management system, Indonesian startups, Nicko Batubara, Maria Octavyani Manao, Shipper acquisition, fulfillment services, online business operations, stock management, packing services, shipping solutions