Intent on making Yakima “sweet and easy,” new management has overhauled how the company sells to dealers. Starting last month, Yakima unveiled a new dealer program that greatly simplifies how dealers place preseason orders.
Ordering car racks from Yakima as a dealer was seen as every bit as complicated as buying one as a consumer. The new sales program is designed to remove several obstacles that made working with Yakima difficult, said Ron Ten Berge, who was hired as VP of sales and business development in July.
The new program rests on four major initiatives, which include:
Better distribution: Construction of a West Coast warehouse in Riverside, CA that reduces transit times for dealer shipments to the West Coast, which used to have to go through a distribution center in Memphis.
New dealer sales program: Simplification of pre-season dealer incentives. For the last 18 years, Yakima ran separate programs for each of its product segments. That meant that to qualify for pre-season discounts and free shipping, dealers had to place separate minimum orders up to six months in advance for cartop boxes, roof racks and trailer hitches. Now, dealers can mix and match across the company's product line to hit the order minimums and delay inventory until much closer to when they need the product. Moreover, their pre-season discounts will be tied to their trailing twelve month order volume. This system will apply equally to REI and independent dealers.
New B2B e-commerce site: Implementation of a B2B e-commerce system with CenterStone Technologies that allows dealers to order product online. Already, more than half Yakima's dealers have adopted the CenterStone system.
QBP Deal: Yakima is now selling through Quality Bike Parts, a major distributor to independent bike dealers. This means bike shops can order smaller quantities on short notice and bundle them with other vendors product for free shipping through an existing vendor, rather than having to establish an independent account with Yakima.
The new program would not have been possible without the new distribution center or the CenterStone implementation, which allows Yakima to deliver orders within a matter of days, said Ten Berge.
“In the past, we would write the preseason order in October, which required the retailer to forecast their March or April needs,” he said. “This really gives the retailer the opportunity to buy much closer to the season, reduce inventory carrying costs and ensure that Yakima becomes sweet n easy. What we are trying to be is a very easy-to-do-business-with partner.”
