Gedong Songo: Digital Solutions for UMKM Fashion
ITB has once again proven its excellence as a nation's academic powerhouse, producing future leaders capable of building and addressing societal challenges. This is demonstrated through Gedong Songo. This project, the result of the hard work of a team of ITB students led by Farid Fadhil Habibi (18212022), provides a solution to the economic challenges of the Indonesian people, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Gedong Songo is a project developed by Farid Fadhil, M. Harris, Nina Nugraheni, Ivolda Arsyad, and Qorryna Zendy which is realized in a site called KaryaUKM.comThrough the website, Gedong Songo acts as a bridge between consumers and MSMEs that meet their desired quality and specifications. In the project, which has been running for several months, the Gedong Songo team, which focuses on the tailoring and garment manufacturing market, has seen the significant potential and benefits of developing Gedong Songo.
Gedong Songo for the Community
Broadly speaking, there are two main objectives and uniqueness of Gedong Songo. First, Gedong Songo facilitates specific producers, namely MSMEs who are reached through visits to villages. Second, on this consumer-based site, customers are facilitated to determine their own order specifications, such as fabric type, type of clothing, material quality, and so on. Furthermore, through these specifications, consumers will be connected directly by the Gedong Songo admin to the right producer. "We do visit each producer to ensure that the ones we facilitate are small businesses that really need economic support but with quality. To ensure customer satisfaction, the producer sector is also helped," said Farid.
Gedong Songo began with Farid and his friends' concern about the sluggish Indonesian MSME sector. They believed this was a shame, as many small producers actually had excellent products but were hampered by a lack of access to the national market network. If left unchecked, these MSMEs would likely be squeezed out by larger industries. Therefore, by combining current technological developments with the knowledge they had gained during their studies, the idea emerged to leverage internet access to further develop the sector.
Pengembangan Gedong Songo
Going forward, the site, which will be ready for release in two months, will be further developed with more exciting features. One of the features planned by the Gedong Songo team is acustomer service. Slightly different from similar services usually seen on shopping sitesonline, features on the site KaryaUKM.com This will be handed over to parties who are experts in the field fashion or textiles. Through this feature, customers can consult about design specifications and the right manufacturer for their individual needs. Furthermore, Gedong Songo also plans to adopt international technology that allows clothing manufacturers to determine clothing specifications simply by inputting the consumer's height and weight. These features will undoubtedly be a major draw for fashion enthusiasts. They are also expected to help support the needs of both producers and consumers.
Beyond just feature development, the Gedong Songo team also recognizes that there are far more Indonesian MSME sectors beyond clothing and garment manufacturing that need development. One of these is furniture. Going forward, the Gedong Songo team hopes to support a wider market share and reach more MSME producers. Furthermore, the Gedong Songo team, still based in Bandung, hopes to expand its MSME search beyond Bandung to include other provinces in need, such as Central Java.
The Role of ITB and the State
During the progress of this project, of course it cannot be separated from the parties who support it. One of them is the Ganesha campus itself. “ITB was very helpful in our project. Especially, when we sign up to PKM "And haven't received the funds yet, ITB will help fund it first," said Farid. In addition to financial assistance, ITB also provides support through training, seminars, and other forms of training. ."We are very grateful for the support from ITB," Farid added. Of course, successful work is inseparable from the alma mater that nurtured and supported it.
Going forward, the Gedong Songo project is expected to receive government support. The government's role in supporting this project will be significant, particularly in providing human resources and the substantial costs. If they can secure financial and infrastructure support from the government, the Gedong Songo team is optimistic they can make significant changes in the MSME sector and, ultimately, the national economy.
ITB Journalist Apprentice 2016: Agatha Victoria (FTI 2015)