KUALA LUMPUR: As the Movement Control Order (MCO) entered the third phase yesterday, many businesses continue to feel the impact of Covid-19 and are now looking to get up to speed digitally to adjust to the current times.
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in its blog shared a story about Adib Abu Bakar, the owner of Percetakan Darul Rizq, a graphic and art printing service based in Felda Jelai, Gemas, Negri Sembilan, which was one of the earliest to embrace digitalisation.
“While going online is not traditional for a printing shop, Adib knew it was necessary if he wanted to expand his customer outreach and remotely manage his operations,” it said.
It said by taking his operations online, Adib’s sales have gone up by as much as 50% as he managed to avoid any disruptions and completed all job orders.
“As Malaysia moved into two-and-a-half weeks of the MCO, Percetakan Darul Ridz managed to hit the RM5,000 mark and is now looking to reach RM8,000 by mid- or end-April,” it said.
Adib said before the MCO took effect, he was already running online marketing and customer engagements on Facebook and Instagram.
“Since we are all operating from home now, the business is now 100% online-focused and all orders and enquiries are now managed via social media platforms.
‘The switch was almost immediate,” he said.
On challenges, Adib said he had to find other means to get printing supplies when his primary sources were shut down.
“All the issues we faced as a business are mostly on how we need to ensure there is no supply shortage. Since sales are still coming in, even from before the MCO became enforced, we cannot afford to run out of printing supplies,” he said.
He said to avoid a shortage of printing supplies, an arrangement was made with supportive merchants nearby to ensure a steady flow of deliveries of consumables.
He added that in order to deliver his work on time, he now solely runs the printing processes at his own shop.
Adib said while his storefront remains closed, orders are still coming in via his online platforms.
He said as his business continued to thrive during the MCO, it became clear to him that his focus must be 100% online.
“At least for this period, we will be powering all the way via web-based platforms.
“Having more time now also means getting the chance to explore new technologies out there,” he said, adding he is looking to buy large-scale printers as part of his expansion plans once the MCO is lifted. — Bernama
