Challenge
Keeping quality of products high while obtaining constant business growth which created data management and version control challenges.
Solution
Adding 3DEXPERIENCE® Works collaboration, data management and collaboration solutions, including Collaborative Designer for SOLIDWORKS®, Collaborative Industry Innovator, Collaborative Business Innovator, 3D Creator, 3D Sculptor, and 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Professional.
Results
- Allowing everyone within the company, as well as partners and suppliers to collaborate
- Easily scale as business constantly grows
- Manage 23,000 components easily on the cloud
- Removed a folder structure for managing information
The Dutch own 23 million bicycles, roughly 1.3 bicycles per person. Cycling is a way of life in the Netherlands. Egbert Jan Kruitbosch and his sons Wim and Herman were clearly onto something in 1955 when they started a bike parts wholesale business and delivered the parts via cargo bike.
Today, Kruitbosch is led by third generation Kruitbosch family members and has 160 employees and a warehouse in Zwolle in the Northeastern Netherlands. A leading supplier to specialist bicycle shops in the Benelux countries and Germany, the company’s tagline is “Beyond Cycling,” and it sells many different types of bikes and bike accessories and much more. Kruitbosch views bikes as an extension of personal lifestyles, even as fashion statements.
Kruitbosch also offers complete support services to dealers, such as furnishing and setting up online shops, brick-and-mortar shops, and various workshops. It also advises on sales, logistics, and interior designs, including annually updated shelf plans that help tempt customers and maximize sales. The company strives to be innovative and progressive in its products, support services, and working methods. Kruitbosch designs e-bikes, sport bikes, and a comprehensive range of 23,000 components, accessories, and spare parts for all of them.
Related Resources
Engineering Challenges
With constant business growth came data management challenges for the Kruitbosch engineering department. Product engineer Erik Hartsuiker recalls that the company used to store everything on a SharePoint or network drive, which created version and revision management issues and the risk of data being overwritten.
At first, Hartsuiker thought just a data management package would provide more structure. When local reseller CADMES gave a presentation about possible solutions, a cloud-based system, and specifically the 3DEXPERIENCE® Works suite of solutions really stood out.
“I was actually immediately convinced of the added value of the platform, primarily the 6W tags we can add. As a result, we no longer have to create our own folder structure. Within the platform, you can find everything based on the information you add to your 3D model,” Hartsuiker notes.
Leveraging Everyone’s Expertise
Hartsuiker adds that an additional advantage of 3DEXPERIENCE Works is that everyone with permissions within the company and even outside the company, such as partners and suppliers, can access the system and participate in the process. “The advantage of this is that you all speak the same language, you work from the same version of the files, and there can be no difference in data,” says Hartsuiker.
He concludes, “We have the ambition to remain competitive with our bicycle brands in both the Netherlands and Europe. And the solutions offered [on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform] will certainly help to achieve that goal.”
Kruitbosch has evolved into an international chain with a partner network that consists of over 2,500 dealers. It reaches the end customer through offline and online specialty bicycle shops.
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