In Indonesia, small and medium-sized businesses account for 60% of the GDP. However, D2C businesses still find it difficult to outsell bigger names. Praktis aims to level the playing field for them.
The firm, which manages every aspect of order fulfillment for D2C brands and suppliers—from the acquisition of raw materials to it—announced today that it had secured $20 million in Series A investment. Triputra Group and SMDV also participated in the round, which was spearheaded by East Ventures, a growth fund.
Although SMEs account for 60% of Indonesia’s GDP, many have trouble scaling out their company operations, according to Adrian Gilrandy, co-founder and CEO of Praktis. These include finding reliable suppliers, getting fair pricing, the cost of labor, and high exposure to fixed costs.
Through its platform, Praktis’ customers are able to manage these business operations, including raw material purchases, production, fulfillment, and logistics. Gilrandy said Praktis also aggregates purchasing and processing for economies of scale. This leaves D2C brands free to focus on other parts of their business, including brand building and marketing.
The startup plans to scale up by growing alongside the D2C brands it serves. Gilrandy said its ecosystem can easily be applied to other verticals; for example, it started in fashion before moving on to the beauty industry. Praktis claimed 12x growth year-on-year from 2020 to 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated adoption of its services, and 4x growth year-on-year from 2021 to 2022.
With its new capital, Praktis plans to grow its workforce, build up its end-to-end supply chain ecosystem, and create technologies for both brands and suppliers.
Additionally, the business said today that Leonard Pontoh has been named as its chief financial officer. Pontoh will also be a member of the board.
Willson Cuaca, the managing partner and co-founder of East Ventures, said in a statement: “We are thrilled to double down on our investment in Praktis as they strive to empower D2C brands in Indonesia and hit profitability much faster than we expected.”
