Asheville, North Carolina (December 6, 2022) — Addressing what they see as the bike industry's ongoing third party logistics (3PL) needs, Kitzuma Cycling Logistics is taking advantage of the return to relative normalcy in supply chains -- and the major resulting increase in inventories -- to focus on further developing its services platform. Fulfillment and warehousing, which have nearly doubled since Kitzuma began offering them in August, are at the forefront of their efforts.
In the three months since launching with two brands, Kitzuma now has five bike brands employing these services, and they expect more brands to follow soon. With two large warehouse spaces, in Salt Lake City and near their HQ in Asheville, there is space still available, and they're happy to expand capacity if needed. Their first clients included: fabled Italian legacy brand Cinelli and upstart e-bike brand Econic One. They've since added e-mobility/recreation brand Envo Drive Systems and Blaupunkt as well as UNNO, makers of high-end e- and human-powered MTBs. They're currently in talks with additional leading international brands as well.
"We are thrilled with the early success as we begin to realize our goal of becoming the single source for warehousing, assembly, QC and e-commerce marketplace – via our partnership with Bike Exchange – and of course delivery," says CEO Taylor Essick. "Brands from across the US and around the world are finding that our cycling experience and fulfillment expertise is the perfect solution for their domestic 3PL needs. It can be prohibitively expensive to set up your own warehousing operation, so we make it easier for the manufacturer/brand to more economically enter or expand their presence in the US market by removing that investment of time and resources."
Kitzuma aims to continue attracting a variety of new clients for their 3PL services including bike brands, manufacturers and retailers, whether they're US-based or international brands currently doing or wanting to do business in the US. And even with their own shipping temporarily on hold, they'll continue to pack and ship clients' bikes across the US via other services – and will begin their own delivery service again in Spring '23 – so they're truly a one-stop shop for today's streamlined brands.
Econic One, one of their first 3PL clients, is a perfect example of this. "We first looked to Kitzuma because of their assembled-bike shipping model, but we quickly realized we could benefit in many other ways too by employing their 3PL services," says Matias Alvarez, COO. "Now everything is handled out of one location, allowing for increased efficiency for our growing business. Their communication and knowledge are always outstanding – even following their recent shipping changes, with their help arranging new options, we didn't miss a beat."
For more information on any of Kitzuma’s services, please email us at info@kitzuma.com or call at 855-KITZUMA.
