Cervélo Spins Around the Globe

A Speedy Development

What company founders Phil White and Gérard Vroomen couldn’t have predicted was the pace at which their company would grow. Within two years athletes riding their bikes placed at time trials, won triathlons and raced the Olympic Time Trial in Atlanta. More importantly, Cervélo’s regular, noncompetitive customers had a profound appreciation for its designs, evident by the company’s rapidly increasing sales.

It didn’t take long for word to spread through the cycling community that Cervélo had something special to offer. The company soon found itself with an unexpected U.S. customer base and a growing number of suppliers. This meant warehousing and fulfillment assistance south of the border was required, which made business more complex.

"What we needed was a way to ensure our suppliers and customers in the U.S. and overseas could easily access our bikes andensure their needs could be met locally,rather than from our base in Switzerland," says Nenad Minic, production manager for Cervélo.

In addition, Cervélo needed a cost-effective and safe way to transport its high-end bikes to customers outside of North America.

Even though the bikes have a very durable frame, there was always the risk of minor cosmetic damage during the shipping process. To ensure each bike arrived at its destination shiny and gleaming, Cervélo leveraged the vast expertise of UPS and brought in one of the logistics company’s many consultants to advise them on how they can most safely ship their bikes to avoid even slight, cosmetic damage.

Integrated Solutions UPS Trade Direct® Cross Border

To meet its varying and growing needs, Cervélo enlisted the help of UPS Trade Direct Cross Border service.

• Cervélo consolidates multiple shipments to destinations in the U.S. and sends them as one shipment, reducing the cost and complications associated with customs clearance.
• Once the bikes cross the border, they are separated into individual orders and delivered directly to suppliers and customers.

"Using Trade Direct® Ocean also helps trim days off our overseas shipments and gives us, our suppliers and our customers, peace of mind that their bike will arrive on time and can be tracked while in transit," said Minic, referring to the specially designed online software that allowed Cervélo and its customers to pinpoint the exact whereabouts of a package in transit in real time.

UPS Express Critical TM

On occasion, customers demand to receive their bicycles in record speed. For those in a hurry, Cervélo uses UPS Express Critical service, which allows them to get their bikes onto the next flight to and from 180 countries.

Expanding Internationally

With a five-fold increase in production volume since 2003 and the same large increase in its customer base, Cervélo has now expanded its operations into Europe and Asia.

"With UPS, we are able to cater to the needs of our customers – regardless of how far away they may be or how immediate their needs," says Minic. "That allows us to focus on what we do best – making great bikes and helping athletes win."