E COMMERCE IMPLEMENTATION IN IMPROVING COMPETITIVENESS OF SMES OF COFFEE PRODUCT IN CIWIDEY, WEST JAVA

Abstract

Coffee is a product with a large interest in the world. One of coffee producing countries and coffee exporters is Indonesia. Indonesia ranks 4th as the world's coffee producer and exporter. One of some area known have the best coffee quality is Ciwidey in West Java Province. However, Ciwidey Coffee SMEs still have problems in marketing their products, resulting in a meaningless increase in terms of prosperity. Some coffee SMEs still sell coffee to collectors at a relatively low prices. This is due to a lack of information on prices competition and a lack of farmers' ability to use e-commerce to increase their competitiveness. This study aims to find out how far e-commerce is implemented in the coffee business in Ciwidey and what are the important factors in e-commerce utilization to increase the competitiveness of coffee farmers. This study uses a descriptive research method with a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques are carried out through focus group discussion (FGD), interviews, and questionnaires. The results show that e commerce has been used by coffee farmers in marketing their products but is still very limited. The most important factors in implementation are managerial and technical factors