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PART I

INTRODUCTION

This part discusses the overview of the business, background of the

business, type of business and its products.

1.1 Background of the Business

Sari-sari, by the way means all kinds or various. The store sells all kinds of
everyday essential goods in miniature packets, or as a single item, which is
commonly referred as “tingi”. An individual can purchase a small amount of
cooking oil or a piece of egg according to his/her budget. Even a cigarette can be
bought by the stick.

One distinctive thing about the store is that the customer is outside the
store. The customer must pinpoint the goods he wants to purchase and the
goods are transferred from a metal bar opening in front of the store. Goods are
hung from the ceiling and small items such candies are placed in small plastic
jars for the customer to have his/her choice. However, it is impossible to display
all the items it sells, but most buyers have the knowledge that the most basic
items are sold.Found outside the stores are wooden benches for customers to
consume their purchases like snacks and their favourite drink.

The Tanalgo sari-sari store is established last February 28, 2016. This
business is personally owned and operated by Mrs.NemiaTanalgo whose
purpose by putting up the store is to increase their source of family income. It
was loacated at Brgy. Sajaneba, Sto. Nino, South Cotabato. This business is
given by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)as a livelihood
showcase. The owner is an OFW formerly but because of her illness she went
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home after three months. So, as a return the OWWA gives her a 10,000 worth of
grocery package as a starting business.

The store opens early and closes late at night, because anyway the
proprietor lives literally at the back of the shop. It is also a usual small-scale
industry that could serve as a primary source of income. The store requires
minimal investment. Family members help in the daily chores of the store, which
adds additional savings to the business.

1.2 Rationale of the Proposed System

The neighbourhood sari-sari (variety or general) store is part and parcel of

daily life for the average Filipino. The store usually carries basic goods such as
canned food, instant noodles, coffee, soda, and other things that Filipinos get on
a daily basis. They also sell candy, chips, and beer, but can have literally
anything commodity the community needs. It is most conveniently purchased
from the sari-sari store nearby at affordably portioned quantities, sometimes even
on credit. Apart from the most affluent communities, the sari-sari store is a
constant feature of residential neighbourhoods in the Philippines both in rural
and urban areas, proliferating even in the poorest squatter communities. About
93 percent of all sari-sari stores nationwide are located in residential areas and
are typically operated from a portion of the owner’s house.

The sari-sari store also saves the customer extra transportation costs,
especially those in rural areas, since some towns can be very far from the
nearest market or grocery. The store also serves as a secondary or even primary
source of income for the shopkeepers. The owners can buy commodities in bulk
in groceries then sell them in the store at a mark-up price. Trucks usually deliver
LPG and soft drinks to the store itself. The store requires little investment since
the products are cheap and only a few modifications on one side of a house are
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needed to convert it to a sari-sari store. The sari-sari store also allows credit
purchases from its "suki" (repeat customers known to the store owners). They
usually keep a record of their customers' outstanding balances on a school
notebook and demand payments on paydays.

So a sari-sari store is not only a place you can purchase your immediate
needs. It is also a place where you can have fine time with the neighbourhood
and get to know them.