Finding a bike repair shop has never been easier
aye4fin and bike-angebot develop new service platform bikereparieren.de for cyclists
There are over 79 million bikes in Germany, and the number is rising. As a cost-effective alternative to a car or as a flexible substitute to public transport, the bike boom has taken another leap forward, even during the pandemic. While many industries have gone through difficult times, retail sales of bikes and accessories increased 12.5% in the first lockdown in March and April 2020. This trend has been evident for several years, already between 2015 and 2019, the industry’s sales increased by almost a third (31.7%) and there is no end in sight.
However, the development of bike workshops in the same period is alarming: the number remained almost constant over all the years so that appointments are absolutely scarce. Thus, in the last season, many cyclists waited 6 weeks or longer for an appointment, which is extremely frustrating for every passionate cyclist.
bike-angebot and aye4fin have recognized this problem and made it their goal to jointly create a sustainable service platform that benefits both cyclists and bike repair shops.
By setting up this digital platform, cyclists can now conveniently make a workshop appointment near them online and without long waiting times. Thanks to the large number of partner workshops, the service is already in use nationwide and regionally in Austria.
“The cooperation was a logical consequence for us from the very beginning. The team from bike-angebot not only had the relevant idea, but also has more than 10 years of experience in e-commerce and digitization of the bicycle industry,” says Thomas Tittelbach, founder and CEO of platform and payment expert aye4fin.
“In aye4fin, we have found the ideal partner to build the joint platform efficiently and in a customer-friendly way. Many ideas for a successful service platform were already there, but the cooperation has enabled us to implement our expert knowledge in a targeted and service-oriented manner,” adds Friedemann Vieweger-Hanke, managing director of bike-angebot.
Bike workshops also benefit from the cooperation, among other things, there is significantly less administrative effort due to the online booking, a more continuous workshop utilization is achieved and spare parts can be purchased from the exclusive B2B store.
“Through digitalization, we want to make the process as simple, efficient, and smooth as possible for our partners,” explains Thomas Tittelbach, Managing Director of aye4fin.
Problem recognized – solution found?
With bikereparieren.de, we create the possibility for bike lovers and frequent riders to quickly and easily find a workshop appointment nearby. Our goal is to make the process as simple, fast, and efficient as possible for customers: all that is required is to enter some key data about the bike and select the desired service, such as maintenance or repair. Afterward, you will receive an appointment with a bike professional in your area in a timely manner.
The advantages of digitization are obvious:
- No lengthy phone calls to workshops.
- No long travel times to the selected workshop.
- No long waiting times. bikereparieren.de customers usually receive an appointment within 10 days.
- All information about the bike, the desired service, and the customer data are made available to the partner workshop online so that they can optimally prepare for the appointment.
The two managing directors have also set themselves ambitious goals for the future: the bikereparieren platform is being continuously optimized and an online appointment calendar and an overview of available workshops will soon be visible. Payment for the repair or service directly via the platform is also planned for the near future.
About aye4fin
aye4fin advises digital platforms and marketplaces on digitization, implementation of regulatory requirements, optimization of core processes, and payment transactions. As a system-neutral partner, we support you from strategy consulting to functional and technical implementation to the ongoing management of your platform.
Our core competencies:
- Design of the marketplace business model
- Execution of RFP processes
- Support of business and technical implementation
- Optimization of relevant workflows
- Ongoing support of technical and process optimization
About bike-angebot
bike-angebot GmbH & Co. KG is the operator of the marketplace of the same name and offers Germany’s largest selection of bicycles and e-bikes. For more than 10 years, we have been supporting the bicycle industry with customized solutions in the field of e-commerce and digitalization, thereby allowing specialist retailers to focus fully on their core competencies without losing touch.
Our core competencies:
- Marketplace & partner stores: we operate a marketplace with over 1,100 specialist retailers. In addition, we offer individually designed webshop solutions.
- Accessories: thanks to our multi-channel strategy, we help our specialist dealers achieve a huge reach.
- Bike leasing: in addition to our in-house leasing model, we also work with the leading leasing companies.
- Master database: our master database lists more than 120,000 top-quality data records across all manufacturers
- Marketplace solutions for manufacturers