SRAM gets a digital tune up through a new consumer-facing site

Digital upcycling

Founded in Chicago, IL in 1987, SRAM has grown to be one of the world's largest bicycle component manufacturers and one of the most recognized and trusted brands with cyclists worldwide. SRAM designs and manufactures high-end bicycle components, including shifters, derailleurs, brakes, chains, suspension, power meters, and other cycling parts.

While SRAM had the ability to digitally enable their robust network of bike manufacturers, distributors, and retail partners through an Optimizely-based B2B digital commerce site, they knew they had an opportunity with their B2C site to expand their market reach, own their brand experience from start to finish, and better understand their customers’ buying patterns and needs.

Looking for a partner with deep technical expertise, SRAM chose to work with BlueBolt on their B2C project. BlueBolt developed the solution on the Episerver Commerce platform, leveraging the brand’s previously implemented B2B site and infrastructure to create an experience that demonstrates the excellence of the SRAM brand, while providing not only a way for customers to purchase, but also to learn more about SRAM products through rich content.

Project objectives

• A redesigned site experience on desktop and mobile to enable a frictionless research and buying journey across the site, including a shared shopping cart across brands.
  
  
• Implement a custom configurator specific to the Quarq product site, which enables a user to build their chosen product directly on the product detail page. This is a unique customization within Optimizely that takes any number of SKU’s and drills down options based on the buyer’s selections, to deliver one final finished product and price.
  
  
• Provide refreshed brand experiences for Quarq and Zipp, with the addition of the “My Account” section that enables users to store their information, access order history, and create wish lists, resulting in more meaningful customer touchpoints and encouraging brand loyalty across all of SRAM’s brands.
  
  
• Provide a way for their loyal fanbase to further immerse themselves in the SRAM lifestyle and connect with the brands directly.

Blueprinting the B2B approach for B2C operations

SRAM wanted to leverage the “piping” already in place for their B2B portal on Optimizely, which enables their thousands of OEM’s, distributors, and retailers worldwide,  to spin up a channel to reach their B2C customers. Optimizely was a robust and flexible option to fill both their B2B and B2C needs with one platform, and provide the rich content tools to bring the SRAM lifestyle to life onsite.

Having already implemented a rich B2B portal for their global network of OEM’s, Distributors, and Retailers, SRAM now sought to connect deeper with end-users of their products and own the brand experience throughout. BlueBolt worked with SRAM to come up with the right mix of Content and Commerce to enable this B2C journey on the site, while also providing the facilities to locate local distributors and retailers through their global dealer locator onsite. Through these efforts their customers have the opportunity to purchase through their channel partners or directly from SRAM. SRAM also now has the ability to own the brand experience from the point of entry on the site to the post-purchase customer service and follow-up experience.

Optimizely Commerce Cloud offers SRAM the ability to scale as their business grows. Hosted on the Microsoft Azure Cloud, the website is sheltered from downtime that may result in problematic customer experiences. This serverless environment mean the SRAM team can focus on a truly customer-centric experience.

As part of this implementation, SRAM integrated to their PIM for product data, along with their global SAP ERP system for inventory and order management.

Planning for the long-run

SRAM has been working with Optimizely for several years building out their B2B portal and catalogs, to serve their global network of OEM (bike manufacturers), Distributors, and Retailers.  Having worked with the platform for so long, the team at SRAM knew the power and flexibility that Optimizely provides for both B2B & B2C and it was a no-brainer to use it for their D2C launches.