Fitness Equipment Manufacturer Logistics

Purchasing exercise equipment can be an emotional decision for a consumer.  We all know the reasons and motivations behind these purchases and since this type of purchase often represents a significant investment, your customers want to get running, peddling or rowing right away to start getting the value they expect from their purchase.

Most fitness machines such as rowers, spin or air bikes, treadmills, etc. are purchased online and delivered to the customer’s home.  More times than not, the product will require some degree of assembly which can be problematic.  Not all consumers are equally “handy” which can delay usage of the equipment, causing frustration for the buyer which may extend itself online in the form of an unfavorable review.

A while back, an At-Home Bike Manufacturer was selling bikes like crazy.  One of the main challenges they faced was shipping the product to the customer “near-fully” assembled as well as safely with near zero chance of transit related damage. 

Simplified Assembly via Last Mile Manufacturing

We completely redesigned their shipping/packaging and assembly process.  We created a way to ship the bike to the end user 99% assembled (4 screws to attach the monitor) vs. their previous method which required the customer to spend 45 minutes or more assembling the bike, or if they opted for the “white glove service” it could take days before their bike was assembled.

Improved packaging saved money and made happier customers

The “white glove service” required two people to deliver and assemble the bike onsite.  Aside from the lead time to schedule this service, it made their delivery expense very high.   Our “near-fully assembled” model along with redesigned and easy to navigate packaging not only improved customer satisfaction but also significantly reduced their shipping expenses.

Improved Production Quality

Prior to working with PanurgyOEM, this customer used multiple assembly partners to build and package their bikes.  Reducing the number of assembly partners from more than 5 to PanurgyOEM, not only streamlined their logistics process but improved overall build quality by having a single partner who employed a standardized build and QC process.

Sales Order Lead Time

 As we mentioned earlier, oftentimes there is a degree of emotion tied to the purchase of fitness equipment – lose weight, improve health, etc.  This, tied with the consumer’s expectation of near immediate delivery can sway a purchase decision away from a fitness equipment company who is posting a delivery timeframe of 8-12 weeks.   

Many exercise equipment vendors now offer a training subscription service, billed monthly.  A critical part of that business model is to capture subscription revenue as soon as possible.  Implementing our efficient build and shipping process, companies may expect to capture 1-3 months of subscription revenue that would have been otherwise lost due to a sluggish fulfillment timeframe