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Terence Lee · · 8 min readA low-key $300m company plans to disrupt Indonesia’s supply chain ‘mafia’
Bizzy Group has had a busy few years behind the scenes.
The Jakarta-based startup was established in 2015 as an e-procurement platform.
Andrew Mawikere became its CEO two years later and brought on a key investor: Sinar Mas Digital Ventures, the venture capital arm of one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates, Sinar Mas Group.
That relationship deepened in 2018 after an unusual move. Bizzy merged with Sinar Mas companies that are larger and older – a logistics firm founded in 1992 and a distribution company that was set up the following year.
Bizzy Group was born.
Bizzy Group CEO Andrew Mawikere (left) / Photo credit: Bizzy
The company has the lofty ambition of simplifying Indonesia’s unruly logistics network. With Mawikere at the helm, it sought to unify all parts of the supply chain, from ports to warehouses to distributors, wholesalers, and retailers.
These puzzle pieces would be linked through an open digital platform that would allow any manufacturer to deliver goods to any part of the country.
How Bizzy shortens the supply chain / Image credit: Tech in Asia
The group, which is valued at a combined US$300 million, made US$290 million in sales last year. Bizzy Digital is the startup that’s building the platform sitting atop the established distribution (nearing profit) and logistics (now profitable) arms. The digital unit is raising US$9 million and is close to securing a lead investor for the round.
Getting into shape
The journey leading up to the fundraising had been rough. Bizzy had to merge a team of startup yuppies with blue-collar workers that form the bulk of the organization.
“The drivers, warehouse workers, salesmen – you cannot govern them through OKRs (objective and key results),” says Mawikere, referring to a goal-setting system that’s popular among tech companies.
And while digital workers prize flexible work arrangements, blue-collar workers value structure. “They have to be in the warehouse by a certain time, and they have to leave by a certain time,” he adds.
Breaking the wholesale mafia
Uncovering hidden logistics fleets
Long way to go
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