DT SWISS Africa: Tech Q&A

[DieselnDust]

I am not talking about Midas etc

But ford, is factory => dealer/shop floor not middle man

 

Not exactly. Yes there is a factory but that factory sells to a Ford Distribution centre and that sells to a retailer. Some of the retail is owned by Ford but others are owned by Imperial, Avis, BarlowWorld etc. so there is no direct link from factory to retailer. The distributor is Ford but its still a separate business from the factory.

[PhilipV]

All I'm saying is charge a reasonable amount and I might support the LBS. In most cases I can import parts for the same or cheaper (including shipping & duty) than buying locally.

 

Same goes for "labor", just be reasonable with what you charge and you will be supported, simple as that.

Reasonable is subjective no? Especially if you don't know the costs involved.

 

I've had people ask me to do the same, and then their idea of reasonable wouldn't even cover my fixed cost for the service. (Specialised transport service.) So then they have to do it themselves or make a spoeg en plak plan.

[TheoG]

...

 

And that is without the luxury of a computer based stock system, that is off his own experience.

But hey, all shops are crap....

 

Not all, just a lot of them ...   .  Unfortunately, in my immediate vicinity, options are very limited.

[DieselnDust]

As mentioned in my opening post we have a direct to consumer site for aftermarket parts and a b2b for our dealers where they have access to our entire range including the extensive spares offering we do

 

Our prices are what they are as we feel we offer more than enough added value to our customers and our model works by supporting a local bike shop of your choice at checkout when a portion of that sale goes to said bike shop.

 

The prices are relative and while they might be not be the cheapest in a global market you are free to purchase whatever you want from where ever you want.

 

If you like and appreciate the value we and our dealers provide, you are welcome to support us. If you don't, that's completely fine too.

 

 

One possible option to look into is a bundled option. Hub sets with service tools. That way its a SKU and bundled from the factory. demand planning might be a little tricky at first because you don't have historical data. 

However this does lower the cost of the tools as the distribution costs are now added to the bundled SKU rather than each individual item.

[MarcHD]

Reasonable is subjective no? Especially if you don't know the costs involved.

 

I've had people ask me to do the same, and then their idea of reasonable wouldn't even cover my fixed cost for the service. (Specialised transport service.) So then they have to do it themselves or make a spoeg en plak plan.

 

"spoeg en plak" 

[MarcHD]

One possible option to look into is a bundled option. Hub sets with service tools. That way its a SKU and bundled from the factory. demand planning might be a little tricky at first because you don't have historical data. 

However this does lower the cost of the tools as the distribution costs are now added to the bundled SKU rather than each individual item.

 

We do exactly that Diesel.

 

From the start of doing the brand we initially did an unbelievable amount of research on what spares were likely to be required given the unbelievable amount of brands using DT parts on their bikes.

Even going as far as researching the exact lengths of spokes required for the most popular models of bikes from the most popular brands (Specialized Epic for example) and making sure we constantly have these lengths in stock - as just one example.

 

Further to this we also had no sales history or inventory turns to work with when we started with DT Swiss and needless to say in the proceeding years we have kept extremely close eye on this data for which myself as brand manager have a dashboard for demand planning/forecasting so in depth I had to update my computer to run it smoothly. Not joking.

 

On top of this my partners and I have a very good relationship with all our brands and will go to great lengths to reduce shipping costs as much as possible to reflect in the prices the end consumer pays being as lean as possible. I won't go into detail, but with our CEO being an ex auditor we are what you call fastidious in our planning.

 

I myself also have several years of experience working in bike shops, two of which were as a manager, and have a good sense of the timing in which a new purchase is likely to require spares X or replacement part Y and plan for this according to the events, season changes and sales history. 

 

In spite of all of this, one can imagine the swift pace with which consumer demands change (lock down levels changing overnight for example) can mean no matter how much we try our best to offer the most convenient, supportive and cost effective path to purchase and after sale service - we can sometimes run into problems no amount of planning, safety stock or best practices can prevent.

 

Hope this helps make sense?!

[TheoG]

Mark, I see "DT SWISS Shimano 12spd Freehub For Star Ratchet Hubs (Microspline)" is in stock on the dealer site, but not even an option on the retail website.

 

Where (close to Alberton) can I get hold of one at what price?

[DieselnDust]

We do exactly that Diesel.

 

From the start of doing the brand we initially did an unbelievable amount of research on what spares were likely to be required given the unbelievable amount of brands using DT parts on their bikes.

Even going as far as researching the exact lengths of spokes required for the most popular models of bikes from the most popular brands (Specialized Epic for example) and making sure we constantly have these lengths in stock - as just one example.

 

Further to this we also had no sales history or inventory turns to work with when we started with DT Swiss and needless to say in the proceeding years we have kept extremely close eye on this data for which myself as brand manager have a dashboard for demand planning/forecasting so in depth I had to update my computer to run it smoothly. Not joking.

 

On top of this my partners and I have a very good relationship with all our brands and will go to great lengths to reduce shipping costs as much as possible to reflect in the prices the end consumer pays being as lean as possible. I won't go into detail, but with our CEO being an ex auditor we are what you call fastidious in our planning.

 

I myself also have several years of experience working in bike shops, two of which were as a manager, and have a good sense of the timing in which a new purchase is likely to require spares X or replacement part Y and plan for this according to the events, season changes and sales history. 

 

In spite of all of this, one can imagine the swift pace with which consumer demands change (lock down levels changing overnight for example) can mean no matter how much we try our best to offer the most convenient, supportive and cost effective path to purchase and after sale service - we can sometimes run into problems no amount of planning, safety stock or best practices can prevent.

 

Hope this helps make sense?!

 

 

I see the good job you guys are doing. People have forgotten how ridiculous the DTSwiss pricing was under the previous distributor. They were really taking the p*** to the extent I walked away from DTSwiss.

No with the constant availability of spokes, spares, tools and with DT in the suspension business too I'd love to build a almost complete DT Swiss equipped bike maybe even on a Pivot platform.

[DieselnDust]

Mark, I see "DT SWISS Shimano 12spd Freehub For Star Ratchet Hubs (Microspline)" is in stock on the dealer site, but not even an option on the retail website.

 

Where (close to Alberton) can I get hold of one at what price?

 

 

I think the reason its dealer owner is due to incompatibility with some of the 142mm hub shells. Having a big warning on the website won't deter someone ignoring, purchasing and starting a DTSWISS is P*** thread on Bike hub. Have to protect your brand too

[MarcHD]

Mark, I see "DT SWISS Shimano 12spd Freehub For Star Ratchet Hubs (Microspline)" is in stock on the dealer site, but not even an option on the retail website.

 

Where (close to Alberton) can I get hold of one at what price?

 

This counts as a spare part Theog, which is why you will only find it available through purchase from a registered dealer.

 

Happy to reach out to any of the dealers near you and let them know your desire to purchase and they can let you know their best price. Understand I won't be able to offer a price here as each store will determine their final price based on various factors.

[TheoG]

This counts as a spare part Theog, which is why you will only find it available through purchase from a registered dealer.

 

Happy to reach out to any of the dealers near you and let them know your desire to purchase and they can let you know their best price. Understand I won't be able to offer a price here as each store will determine their final price based on various factors.

 

Thanks, can you rather just give me a list of dealers near me and I will take it up with them?

[Showtime]

I still can't get my head around what I as a consumer can do on your website?

 

If I look at a XM421 Rim for example it says login to see prices. It that login something anybody can register or is it a dealer login?

 

EDIT I see the difference between getstoked.store and getstokeonline now.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Showtime

[MarcHD]

I see the good job you guys are doing. People have forgotten how ridiculous the DTSwiss pricing was under the previous distributor. They were really taking the p*** to the extent I walked away from DTSwiss.

No with the constant availability of spokes, spares, tools and with DT in the suspension business too I'd love to build a almost complete DT Swiss equipped bike maybe even on a Pivot platform.

 

Wholesale prices used to be higher than current MSRP and that's if there even was stock available.

 

In 5 years in retail I never once saw a DT Swiss hub sold through a store until we started doing the brand. 

 

Hope we an continue to serve 

[MarcHD]

I still can't get my head around what I as a consumer can do on your website?

 

If I look at a XM421 Rim for example it says login to see prices. It that login something anybody can register or is it a dealer login?

 

EDIT I see the difference between getstoked.store and getstokeonline now.

Hi Showtime,

 

As mentioned in my first post. You are on the B2B (dealer only) site which includes spares etc. and will need to be a registered dealer to login and see those prices.

 

For aftermarket upgrades direct to consumer you can visit our B2C: 

https://getstokedonline.co.za/product/dt-swiss-xm-421-29-25mm/

 

Hope this helps

[MarcHD]

Thanks, can you rather just give me a list of dealers near me and I will take it up with them?

 

Sent you a DM with this list and recommendations 

 

Cheers!

[TheoG]

Sent you a DM with this list and recommendations 

 

Cheers!

 

Thanks for this initiative, at least now I have "somewhere" to go if I have a DT Swiss related issue.  I have 350 straight-pull center lock hubs on my bike, very good quality, like them a lot.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Theog