Packworks

Packworks, operated by ThePack Solutions Inc., is a Philippine technology company that builds a business-to-business platform for sari-sari stores, the small home-based neighborhood retail shops that distribute consumer goods across the country. Its core product is a mobile enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, Packworks: SuperStore, designed to be low-bandwidth and light-footprint so that store owners can manage inventory, ordering and sales on basic devices. The platform is accessible via web, mobile app and chat-based messaging, with chat support intended to keep data available where internet connectivity is unreliable.

Beyond store management software, the company positions itself as infrastructure connecting sari-sari stores with brands, distributors and financial institutions, layering services such as inventory financing, e-payments and micro-insurance through partners rather than operating those services itself. Packworks also aggregates transaction data from its store network and publishes periodic studies on sari-sari retail trends, including regional growth patterns, seasonal demand and the effect of AI-assisted inventory planning on store sales.

Founding story

Co-founder and CMO Ibba Bernardo had worked with sari-sari stores for years but repeatedly encountered difficulties getting users to adopt technology or keeping projects on schedule, and decided to work directly with the stores and their communities. The company started in 2018 as a way for multinational companies in the Philippines to connect with neighborhood stores, beginning with five sari-sari store partners, and bootstrapped to about 150,000 stores before raising outside capital.

Business model

Packworks provides a mobile ERP and commerce platform to sari-sari store owners and acts as a connective layer between those stores and multinational brands, distributors and financial institutions. Rather than operating financial or fulfillment services directly, the company partners with third parties to deliver inventory financing, e-payments and micro-insurance to stores on its network, and describes its role as the underlying infrastructure of the sari-sari value chain.

Traction

Store network grew from 220 stores and $400,000 GMV in 2019 to 27,828 stores and $30 million GMV the following year, then 130,000 stores and $139 million GMV in 2021 and about 150,000 stores by mid-2022, with stated targets of 220,000 stores by end-2022 and 500,000 by end-2023. The company's website reports more than 300,000 stores, roughly 1 million monthly transactions and a 35% increase in average monthly sales for participating stores. The SuperStore Android app has surpassed 100,000 downloads.

Latest developments

Packworks has continued publishing data studies from its store network: a November 2025 report found a 46% increase in daily GMV and a 17% rise in total sales among more than 300 AI-using stores analyzed over two weeks; an April 2026 study reported regional sari-sari growth outpacing Metro Manila in 2025, with a 116% increase in active stores in BARMM and 58% in Negros; a February 2026 report covered a Chinese New Year sales surge; and a June 2026 report cited a 79% surge in median sales of top products among stores using AI for inventory planning.