Flexport > Case Studies > Santa Cruz Bicycles Enhances Supply Chain Efficiency with Flexport

Santa Cruz Bicycles Enhances Supply Chain Efficiency with Flexport

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Technology Category
  • Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
  • Transportation
Applicable Functions
  • Logistics & Transportation
  • Procurement
Use Cases
  • Supply Chain Visibility
  • Time Sensitive Networking
About The Customer
Santa Cruz Bicycles is a manufacturer of high-end mountain bikes based in Santa Cruz, California. Each bicycle is hand-assembled to order in their California factory. The company is committed to pushing the limits on what goes into making the highest-quality mountain bike. They source pieces from over 100 suppliers worldwide to support the assembly of their bikes. The procurement team at Santa Cruz Bicycles, including Angela Jensen and her fellow buyers, are responsible for purchasing parts from these global suppliers and ensuring the timely arrival of the many moving components of Santa Cruz’s supply chain.
The Challenge
Santa Cruz Bicycles, a high-end mountain bike manufacturer based in California, faced significant challenges in managing its procurement timeline to align with its manufacturing schedule. The company sources parts from over 100 suppliers worldwide, and struggled to receive timely updates on the status of parts in transit. This lack of visibility made it difficult to keep their team aligned and meet launch schedules. Angela Jensen and her fellow buyers, part of the procurement team at Santa Cruz Bicycles, were responsible for purchasing parts from 150 global suppliers to support the assembly of their bikes in their California facility. In addition to procurement, much of their time was also spent ensuring the timely arrival of the many moving components of Santa Cruz’s supply chain.
The Solution
Santa Cruz Bicycles turned to Flexport to bring visibility into the location of each moving part of their supply chain. Flexport’s platform allowed different members of Santa Cruz’s buying, receiving, and finance teams to access the information they needed, ensuring timely production of each bicycle through easy collaboration. After a successful trial with Flexport, Santa Cruz decided to switch over 100% of their business to the platform. The real-time tracking and shipment data provided by Flexport saved the team significant time. The platform also facilitated collaboration between Santa Cruz suppliers, its warehouse receiving, and accounts payable teams. Flexport’s reporting and analytics feature allowed Santa Cruz to pull historical data such as landed cost per SKU and container utilization to make more strategic decisions.
Operational Impact
  • The use of Flexport has significantly improved the operational efficiency of Santa Cruz Bicycles. The platform has brought about a centralized collaboration, reducing confusion between teams. Real-time alerts on shipment delays allow the warehouse team to update their schedules promptly, making a huge difference in time-critical situations. Beyond the benefits of the platform, the account team at Flexport has been a valuable partner for Santa Cruz Bicycles, eliminating the need for a separate logistics department. The ability to pull historical data for strategic decision-making has also been a significant advantage for the company.
Quantitative Benefit
  • 57 suppliers onboard to the Flexport network
  • 60 unique parts required to manufacture each bike are managed more efficiently
  • 3.36 million individual parts shipped with Flexport

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