SiKulak, an ITS Student-Created Application, Helps MSMEs Manage Data-Based Stock

Surabaya, ITS News  — Stock management and wholesale purchasing decisions remain challenges for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) operating in grocery stores, most of which operate manually. To address this issue, students from the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) have developed the “SiKulak” (Smart Wholesale System) application, a digital innovation designed to help MSMEs manage inventory and make wholesale purchasing decisions more effectively.

This community service activity was motivated by the challenges still frequently faced by retail MSMEs, particularly in inventory recording and procurement. In practice, businesses still rely heavily on manual record keeping, memory, and habit when determining restock times and selecting suppliers. This can lead to out-of-stock items, poorly planned restocking processes, and sub-optimal purchasing costs.

Therefore, SiKulak was developed to help shop owners record stock, monitor inventory levels, compare supplier prices, and obtain data-driven refill recommendations. This app is expected to streamline stock management and procurement processes. It’s also designed to be user-friendly for shop owners in their daily operations.

One of SiKulak’s advantages is its supplier price comparison feature, which not only considers the price of the goods but also the total procurement cost using the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) concept. This feature allows MSMEs to compare several alternative suppliers more objectively before purchasing.

Additionally, SiKulak is equipped with digital stock management features, ABC product classification, stock status indicators, an operational dashboard, and restock notifications. Through ABC classification, products can be grouped based on importance or turnover, allowing shop owners to focus on monitoring the products that most impact sales.

The activity is implemented through several stages, starting from observing partner needs, identifying problems, designing solutions, developing the application, and providing training on how to use SiKulak for partners. During the training, partners are introduced to various key features of SiKulak, including how to access the application, manage product data, monitor stock, search for wholesale products, compare prices, and read information on the dashboard. With this assistance, partners are expected to be able to use the application independently in their daily business activities.

The presence of SiKulak is a contribution from ITS students in supporting the digitalization of MSMEs, particularly in inventory management and procurement decision-making. Going forward, SiKulak is expected to continue to be developed and implemented more widely in other MSMEs, including grocery stores. With this application, the wholesale and stock management process will no longer rely solely on estimates, but can be carried out in a more planned, practical, and data-driven manner. This aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly point 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth. (*)