Wijaya Putra University (UWP) Surabaya consistently provides community service in accordance with the Tri Dharma of Higher Education (PT).

One way is by providing mentoring to two local business partners: Rebana Gresik Tiga Putri and Rebana Spesial Adnan Khozin.

Through the Community Service Program (PkM) under the Empowerment of Regional Superior Product Business Partners (PMUPUD) scheme, UWP diligently provides tips to help these two partners continue to grow.

The Chief Executive, Andi Iswoyo, stated that the entire series of activities was carried out successfully thanks to the close collaboration between the university, business partners, students, and government support.

"We are grateful that this activity went smoothly. The technology and innovation provided have proven to bring significant changes. Partners are now more independent, not only in production, but also in business management and digital marketing. This increase in turnover is proof that simple, targeted innovations can have a significant impact," he said.

This year's PkM program took the theme "Improving the Capacity and Quality of Rebana Musical Instrument Products Based on the Digital Economy in Gresik Regency."

This program is implemented with the full support of the Directorate of Research and Community Service (DPPM), Directorate General of Research and Development, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.

From the outset, this program was designed to address the fundamental problems faced by rebana artisans in Gresik.

The first partner, UD. Rebana Gresik Tiga Putri, faced challenges in its two-story production warehouse, where distribution of goods was still carried out manually using ladders.

This often resulted in damage to semi-finished goods and slowed down the production process.

The second partner, Rebana Spesial Adnan Khozin, faced challenges in utilizing its new production warehouse due to limited modern equipment.

Both partners also experienced similar issues with manual and unorganized inventory management, as well as suboptimal digital marketing.

Through the PMUPUD program, various innovative solutions and appropriate technologies were implemented.

For Partner 1, the community service team designed and provided electric scaffolding to facilitate the movement of goods between floors, making it more efficient and safe.

For Partner 2, the program provided additional equipment in the form of a 58-liter compressor and two wood sanding machines, significantly increasing production capacity and quality.

In addition, both partners were assisted in using digital applications, namely Kasir Pintar for sales recording and Kledo for inventory recording and financial reporting using the FIFO method.

Finished goods were inventoried using a code and barcode system, ensuring neat, transparent, and easily auditable stock records.

The program not only focused on production and management aspects, but also addressed marketing strategies.

Partners were trained to utilize marketplaces and social media to expand their sales reach.

Students actively helped create creative content in the form of product photos, promotional videos, and digital poster designs, enhancing the professional appearance of Gresik rebana products online.

The impact of this program was significant. These included a 40% increase in production capacity, a 50% increase in business management efficiency, a 20% increase in online sales, and a 15–36% increase in partner turnover.

Ika Arista, owner of Rebana Gresik Tiga Putri, added that previously, distributing goods in the two-story warehouse was very difficult for workers, and many semi-finished goods were damaged during transportation.

"With the electric scaffolding and the stock recording system through Kledo, our work is easier, neater, and more efficient. We feel greatly helped by this program," she explained.

Meanwhile, Adnan Khozin, owner of Rebana Spesial, also expressed the significant benefits of this program.

"The addition of a sanding machine and compressor has really accelerated our production. The quality of the results is also more consistent. Furthermore, through the marketplace, our products are becoming more widely known, not only in Gresik but also outside the region and even outside Java. This opens up significant opportunities for our business development going forward," Adnan said.

On this occasion, the Implementation Team and partners expressed their high appreciation to the government through the DPPM Ditjenrisbang Kemdiktisaintek, Kemendikbudristek, for the financial and policy support that made this program possible.

"We would like to thank the DPPM Ditjenrisbang Kemdiktisaintek for their full support of this activity. This assistance and mentoring is very significant for increasing the competitiveness of Gresik's rebana products, which are now better prepared to compete in the digital economy era," Andi concluded.

With this achievement, the PMUPUD Rebana Gresik program not only demonstrates the successful application of appropriate technology and digitalization in small businesses, but also serves as a model for.

It is hoped that this success can be replicated to empower more local MSMEs in Indonesia.

RADAR SURABAYA