Producing products and getting them into the hands of consumers is not only a challenge for new businesses—even the most well-known brands face their own set of logistical hurdles. But even with the ambition to expand internationally, for most small businesses, it’s simply out of reach. Between the logistics, costs involved, and marketing of products, there is a lot to tackle.
Andalin, a Jakarta Founder Institute portfolio company, is giving small businesses across Indonesia a jumpstart by connecting them to buyers at the international level. Led by Co-Founder & CEO Rifki Pratomo, Andalin offers smart digital cross-border shipping. CEO Pratomo explains,
Andalin is an online marketplace for freight forwarders in the first export and import activities in Indonesia. The products we provide related to export and import activities are shipping goods by air, namely Air Courier and Air Cargo, as well as shipping goods by sea, namely Full Container Load and Less Container Load.
To date, the company has secured both a seed round and a 2019 Series A fundraise of USD $500k. Their initial success is due in part to their strong partnerships with e-commerce sites, repeat clientele, and most importantly, the filling of available shipping space that would otherwise go unused. Among their many successes is taking home the top prize of Tech in Asia Jakarta’s Arena Pitch Battle, and being recognized as an Alibaba Gold-level supplier.
Over the past three years, Andalin has built a robust geographic web to support imports and exports for small and mid-sized businesses to destinations like the U.S., Italy, China, Korea, and many others. The company’s efforts are empowering more than 15 million small businesses in the Asian market that often struggle with the ability to import or export goods. For imports, it’s a cool $4 million in volume for these companies, but the real value is in exports which amount to about $26 million in volume. And Andalin is connecting these dots.
Take for example some of their infographic success stats from 2019, visualizing that they have shipped products on enough journeys to circle the globe 143 times. The shipping weight of goods imported and exported to Japan alone would be worth its weight in equivalence of 22,500 sumo wrestlers; and most importantly, the logistics and service they provide their clients have saved them enough time that they could have built six Eiffle Towers!
Andalin’s solution is a little similar to how Airbnb works: people have open, unused space, so they rent it out. Similarly, cargo ships and air carriers have open and available space—but they often only work with large organizations, so these literal gaps of air are all lost dollars. Andalin handles the logistics to find only trusted suppliers, keeps the process online, and offers affordable rates, since it helps both the shipping company and supplier. Their solution handles both international and domestic courier logistics, including customs clearance, while staying more affordable than big name competitors like DHL, FedEx, and UPS. In addition to working with suppliers, they also work with ecommerce brands and drop shippers, to act as the shipping supplier for international purchases. CEO Pratomo emphasizes,
At Andalin, we strive to democratize import and export service for local businesses. It is our core passion to transform these local businesses into global business players, regardless of their size. We don't merely make products or solutions, but we make meaning.
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