Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative started from and are still based in Edinburgh. The first shop in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, has long been recognised as the best-stocked bicycle store in Scotland but now their clients can experience a similar offer at the new branches in Aberdeen, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield as well as the online store.
This expansion, along with a need to support the growing online business, (including accessories and bespoke cycle production) meant that the paper based system they were using was just not going to cope. Bicycles are their passion and a co-operative is how they organise themselves. Every Edinburgh Bicycle worker becomes a co-op member, with an equal share in the business, after serving a one-year 'apprenticeship'.
The EBC ethos and shared desire to constantly improve the service levels they offer to their customers drove them to look for a powerful warehouse management software tool, which would not only cater for their retail replensihment orders, but would also streamline their inbound and outbound processes across their many business verticals.
Snapfulfil was chosen for its features and functionality, but also because it shared some of the same principles, such as working together in partnership and striving for mutual success. Bill Rennie, Warehouse Manager for EBC remarked, "We are going through a period of expansion and our need for a WMS was high on the agenda. I looked at various systems on the market and decided that the Snapfulfil model best suited our needs i.e. the ease of setup, compatibility with our existing 4D system, fulfilment of all of the warehousing needs and last but not least, value!"
The co-op's mission statement is to 'Promote cycling in the UK as a pastime, and as a method of transport by making it easier and more enjoyable to own and ride a bike.'
To quote the Pulitzer Prize-winning Californian novelist, William Saroyan, 'The bicycle is the noblest invention of mankind. I love the bicycle. I always have. I can think of no sincere, decent human being, male or female, young or old, saint or sinner, who can resist the bicycle.'
