Top sports on marketplaces: the thriving success of Fitwinkel.nl
20%
12,5%
100%
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As a part of Sporttrader, Fitwinkel has established itself as a prominent name in the world of sports and fitness products for over 20 years. The company is dedicated to promoting a fit, vibrant, and healthy lifestyle for both consumers and businesses. They achieve this through their own webshops, various marketplaces including bol.com, and six physical franchise Fitwinkels spread across the Netherlands.
The journey began in 2001 with the sale of braces from a garage. Since then, Fitwinkel has experienced impressive growth, shipping over 200,000 orders annually throughout Europe. One of the key factors contributing to their success is their range of proprietary brands: Virtufit, Flow Fitness, and Empose. Fitwinkel boasts its own product development team, responsible for selecting, designing, testing, and improving existing and new products. Additionally, they have their own photography studio to showcase their products effectively across all sales channels.
LOTS OF MANUAL WORK AND PHASING OUT OF THE OLD CONNECTION WITH BOL.COM
The Challenge
Initially, Fitwinkel used the Logic4 integration with bol.com, however, Logic4 has chosen to phase out its own bol.com integration. This decision was made due to the extensive integration of bol.com with sister company EffectConnect. This development prompted Fitwinkel to search for a new marketplace integrator that can support their comprehensive source system and provide highly specific capabilities for automated selling on bol.com.
"After discussions with several marketplace integrators, we decided to go for EffectConnect. The crucial factors here were the pricing and the extensive functionality. Since our average order value is relatively high, paying a percentage on the order value would quickly add up. With EffectConnect we pay a fixed amount per order, regardless of the order value. We also like the personal contact and short lines of communication. Thanks to smart automation via EffectConnect, we now save a lot of time on manual tasks."
UNIQUE AND ADVANCED FEATURES THAT HAVE YIELDED TREMENDOUS RESULTS
Solutions
Before implementing EffectConnect, Fitwinkel spent a lot of time on manual corrections regarding prices, stocks, and shipping methods. Since the implementation with EffectConnect, this is now a thing of the past, a true time-saver.
An advanced price planner
As an online seller, it is crucial to always have your assortment available for the right price. The right price depends on various factors that tend to change frequently.
"Previously, we had to manually set up and process price changes using an Excel sheet. For instance, we would need to run an import at 8.00 am in the morning. If it didn't go well, we would fall a few hours behind. Thanks to the EffectConnect price planner, this is no longer necessary, and our prices are always up-to-date, competitive against our competitors, and (of course) profitable."
Creating Product Bundles
The ability to merge products was one of the reasons Fitwinkel chose to switch to EffectConnect. The bundle module allows multiple products to be combined into one new product. When a bundle is ordered, the correct inventory adjustment is automatically made, eliminating the need for manual work.
"I find EffectConnect a clear and user-friendly interface, it works easily and is fairly self-explanatory. There are many options and the functionality is great."
Product-specific shipping methods
"Our wide range of products comes in various shapes and sizes. For example, a treadmill has a different size and weight compared to a dumbbell. As a result, these products are not shipped using the same carrier. Prior to integrating with EffectConnect, we had to manually select the appropriate shipping method for each product. Thanks to EffectConnect, we have been able to automate this process, ensuring that every item now has a shipping method tailored to its specific requirements."
Dynamic delivery times for the ultimate delivery promise
"The Fulfillment Manager by Effect Connect offers an advanced solution to seamlessly switch between the inventory of Logistics via Bol (LVB) and our own stock. This system always presents our customers with the best offer. By automatically transitioning between LVB inventory and our own stock, we can reduce shipping costs, alleviate the burden on our warehouse, and uphold the delivery times of bol.com."
"Especially in terms of efficiency and reliability we see big differences, since we switched to EffectConnect we haven't had any major issues."
Reliable platform with a stable connection
A reliable and stable connection is of utmost importance to Fitwinkel. Bol.com sets high standards for their sellers. If you experience frequent disruptions, it won't be long before you face consequences or even risk closing your store. Bol.com is a significant sales channel for Fitwinkel, making a solid connection an absolute necessity!
GROWTH IN REVENUE AND PROCESS OPTIMIZATION
The Outcome
Achieving a 20% increase in revenue
Since transitioning to EffectConnect, Fitwinkel has experienced a remarkable 20% growth in revenue. A significant amount of manual work has been automated, resulting in an average time savings of 4 to 5 hours per week for Fitwinkel. This has allowed for smoother operations and enhanced efficiency within various processes. Furthermore, thanks to this newfound efficiency, Fitwinkel now has the flexibility to explore opportunities for improving their product offerings and expanding their reach.
Perfectly Aligned with Logic4
"We utilize Logic4 as our core system. It is a comprehensive system that requires a fair amount of customization. Through the collaboration between EffectConnect and Logic4, the systems have been seamlessly integrated, ensuring seamless operations."
Logic4 is an all-in-one webshop platform and business software designed for small to medium-sized enterprises in e-commerce, wholesale, and retail industries. With Logic4, you can manage your B2B/B2C webshop(s), procurement, inventory, product information, CRM, quotes, orders, invoicing, accounting, dashboards, and more, all from a centralized system.
This customer case study is a collaboration with Fitwinkel. We had the opportunity to interview Sebastiaan Trentelman, Senior Online Marketing, and Britt de Mönnink, E-commerce & Franchise Manager at Fitwinkel, about their firsthand experiences with marketplaces and the remarkable growth they have achieved.
Are you ready to thrive?
Just like Fitwinkel, do you want to establish a successful presence on marketplaces with your own brand(s)? Whether you actively sell or not, there are plenty of opportunities to strengthen your brand's presence!
