QuickNeeds helps small retailers go digital

By Almira Louise S. Martinez, Reporter

QUICKNEEDS, a mobile app launched earlier this year, is helping small retailers of essential household goods digitize their operations as demand grows for online ordering and business management tools.

“Our app is very basic — we provide a platform for small businesses to operate online,” QuickNeeds founder Sandrei Mangubat told BusinessWorld in an interview.

“We made an all-in-one app where all the basic essentials can be ordered by our customers through the platform,” he added.

Launched in January, QuickNeeds targets small businesses that often continue to rely on manual processes to manage sales, deliveries and inventory. Among its users are merchants selling liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), drinking water and rice.

Mr. Mangubat said many of these businesses still use handwritten records, creating challenges in tracking transactions, monitoring deliveries, and managing collections.

“Our merchants are mostly concerned about the manual work that they do when they record their sales,” he said. “They are still having a hard time because it’s all written on paper, and their delivery rider sometimes forgets to record the transaction.”

The platform lets business owners monitor revenue, expenses, net profit, orders and delivery operations in real time. It also helps merchants track collections, borrowed assets and the performance and location of delivery riders.

Mr. Mangubat said one common problem among water delivery businesses is the loss of reusable water containers lent to customers.

“Technically, in water delivery stations, they lend water containers to their customers for marketing purposes,” he said. “Sadly, since their records are manual, the containers that were borrowed often get lost and are not returned.”

QuickNeeds is entering a market where digital adoption among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) remains limited despite growing interest.

A study by Boston Consulting Group found that 77% of MSMEs are interested in using more digital tools. However, only 16% use digital solutions, while 74% think their businesses are too small to justify such investments.

Half of respondents also cited a lack of technical expertise as a barrier.

QuickNeeds has more than 1,000 users nationwide, including 706 customers, 219 water suppliers, 97 LPG merchants and four rice sellers.

The company aims to expand its customer base to 5,000 by the end of the year as it seeks to bring more neighborhood retailers online.