New Challenges call for New Solutions!
Updated 03-12-2022It's no secret that the supply chain is for the most part, a dumpster fire. The bicycle industry is by no means an exception to this rule. Here's an update as to where we are in March of 2022 at R+E Cycles.
Although a lot of bikes are still taking 13 weeks or more to get out, there is some good news. The good news is, there are now some models that we can now build in 6 weeks again! Which models we can do this with change from week to week. To find out which ones can do now, shoot Smiley an email or call him at 206-527-4822.
The challenges we're experiencing:
Supply Chain: The manufacturers and distributors that keep the bike industry moving for the most part are still out of product. There are small moments in time when they may have some stuff, but then it's gone and they are empty for months again. This has led to a scramble on everyone's part to secure whatever is available. We have to contact many different sources to find special parts. If we are able to find your part it must be purchased immediately or it will be gone. Shipping prices continue to increase at a phenomenal rate as well.Everything Takes Longer: All of this means hours more work searching for parts and increased costs in both price and shipping. It also means great levels of inefficiency as we finish building and painting frames/forks only to have them hang for months waiting for parts. These inefficiencies build up in phone calls to and from customers, as well as long conversations with vendors. Customers, rightly so, want to know why their bike isn't done, and we have to research why and call them back later.
Re-Work: Another serious problem with having frames hanging for months is that they can get paint damage and require repainting. All of this makes for a huge loss in productivity.
Repair Struggles: Parts issues not only make for inefficiency in manufacturing, they also make bike repairs much more challenging. We have to schedule work further out on the calendar. This means that the shop fills up with an increasing backlog of repairs. We then need to keep bumping repairs back until we can get the parts. Our system, like others, was not designed for such a chaotic supply chain. It's a snowball effect that affects every aspect of our work.
The Solutions We're Implementing
All New Software: As you may or may not know, we are a 'do it yourself' kind of company. We not only build our bicycles, we also write all of the software we use here in the shop. As it turns out, this came in extremely handy in dealing with the challenges listed above.
In June of 2019, I was already in the middle a huge update of our Next-Fit™ Software that we use for everything having to do with selling, parts selection, paint, frame design, and building a Rodriguez bike. I was also a few months into 2 year migration from Macintosh to all Linux computers and servers. The entire project I expected would take 5 years. Little did I know, I was about to make a 90° turn in the software, and put the entire plan on steroids to complete it a few years early.
When the shutdown began in Feb. 2020, I began my days at 4:30AM, with a colossal project that would merge every bit of software we've written over 27 years, convert the language it was written in to something more modern and portable, write all new software for managing the repair shop, and move it all onto modern Linux servers. Most of the existing software I had written myself, but some was a collaboration with other employees here, and some parts had been written fully by other employees that weren't me, and no longer here. It was a heavy lift, but it had to be done if we were going to adapt to the 'new normal'.
Improvements
- Access: Now our software is written in non-proprietary languages, so we can run it from any computer, phone or tablet. I can easily use any of it from my home (or anywhere in the world) without having to 'login' to a shop computer. It's as easy as opening a web page. I can also easily allow access to any employee from their home as needed. It's way faster too!
- Real Time Parts Tracking: It's crucial to know exaclty when the last part is going to show up for a build. Now that our parts ordering system is merged with our Next-Fit™ software, just a mouse click and any employee can tell a customer what part(s) we are waiting for in order to finish their bike. If we have a date that the part is supposed to arrive, it is right there in the system. No more 'tracking things down' or callbacks.
This easy access helps us prioritize when to build the frame and paint it. No more painted frames hanging for months waiting for parts. This all saves way more time and frustration than anyone can realize.
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Flexible, efficient work order scheduling: With our new BikeBiz Pro™ Work Order module, we can tell with a click of a mouse what our next date for a repair can be. We can easily move a work order to another day when the parts are still not here.
We no longer hand write work orders either. I merged our 1999 cash register software, BikeBiz Pro™, with the new module, and now it looks up customers names and addresses easily. When a work order is finished, a mouse click puts the information directly into the cash register software. It also talks directly to the Next-Fit™ system and integrates scheduling the wheel builds for new bikes, as well as the assembly for new bikes.
All of this elimination of duplicate work, hand writing forms, and easy schedule management saves us hours per week in the repair shop. Hours we can spend doing actual work. It also cuts way down on mistakes from lost paperwork, eliminates over scheduling, and helps us to prioritize efficient assemblies. It's a win, win, win, win!
- New Spoke Software: One thing that's been on my list for a few years now is re-writing the software we wrote for calculating spoke lengths. This was written decades ago in a proprietary language. Introducing Spoke Genius™ software. Like all of our software, this is accessible and runs from any device in our shop. It accounts for many changes that our industry has seen in regards to hubs, and eliminates confusion and mistakes.
The Heavy Lift: I did the software stuff from 4:30 to 8:00AM seven days a week throughout 2020, and 2021. I showered, and went to the shop at 9:00AM and worked until 7:00. Then I went home and continued ordering parts from my kitchen, or writing software at the dining room table, for an hour or two each night. It was a lot more work than I had imagined doing in my 50's. This lasted until January 2022. The project is now about 65% done and in place. Work still continues, but I leave work at 5:30 or 6:00 and no longer work when I get home at night.
Much needed help arrives: In 2021 sometime (I can't keep track of what day or month it is right now), my son-in-law, Brian, came to me about learning to write software. He thought maybe I could help get him started, and he would go to school. Well, I jumped on that right away. There's no better school than the 'school of hard knocks', right? He started with some small parts of the large software I was in the middle of. The calendar part of the new work order module is all Brian. He also wrote the piece that connects bikes on order with the parts they are waiting for. These were challenging projects that I just handed him, and he delivered both. Now he's graduated to full programs. He actually wrote all of our new warehouse tracking system, and Spoke Genius™ with the exception of the spoke math (which I just took out of the old system). Currently he's writing a new front end to Next-Fit that will bring that piece into modern times too.
OK, even though I whined a little, don't let that fool you. I love what I do. In fact, everyone here at R+E Cycles is here because they love bicycles, and the customers we get to work with each day. We have the best customers in the world! Thank you all for choosing us as your shop, and bike builder. We will continue to do our best to provide the service and quality we always have.
Signing off now
- Dan
