Every month, OVRSEA meets with its shipper customers to discuss the latest freight and logistics news and current and future challenges. This week, we meet Philip Greenfield, Vice President Supply Chain of Cowboy, a young and growing Belgian manufacturer of electric bicycles. Importance of rail transport, component shortages, internationalization strategy... For The Merchant, he looks back at the major supply chain issues facing this successful scale-up.
Hello Philip! Can you introduce yourself?
I joined Cowboy in April 2021 as Vice President Supply Chain, after more than 30 years of experience in this field, first as a consultant in the Big Four and then as VP or Director of Supply Chain for large companies such as Danone Waters, Toys R Us or Dyson. The position of VP Supply Chain is new at Cowboy, since this activity used to be outsourced. With the growth of the activity and its evolution, it was internalized.
What is Cowboy in few words?
Present on the market for nearly 5 years and growing rapidly, Cowboy is a scale-up company specialized in urban electrically assisted bicycles (EAB), rather at the high-end entry level. Our headquarters are in Brussels, as is our team of engineers who are in charge of design, technological development and customization of components. We distribute in 11 markets in Europe and, since September, in the United States.
What are your particularities and logistics challenges?
Our bike is a European bike. We have many suppliers of raw materials or components in Europe and the assembly is done in Hungary. Of course we also depend on Asian suppliers, so transporting components from Asia is an important part of our supply chain. Like the rest of the mobility industry today, we are also faced with the same issues, particularly around electronic components. In terms of transport, we use all three major modes, but rail accounts for over 50% of our shipments. Even if its price has quadrupled since 2019 and transit times have increased by 30% on average since the beginning of the crisis, rail remains a very good time/cost compromise. Airplanes are still essential for the transport of urgent components.
How has this crisis changed your strategy?
Faced with increasing lead times from suppliers, we have learned to anticipate our orders as much as possible. Adapting also means keeping stock. Then, we had to be patient and engage in discussions with suppliers, particularly on the question of prices. As far as transport is concerned, like everyone else, we had to integrate the new situation concerning longer transit times and to say goodbye to just-in-time delivery! For us, all these challenges have coincided with an explosion in demand in the global electric mobility market.
Do you see a return to more normalcy in 2022?
For the first six months of 2022, we do not expect any positive changes. After that, everything will depend on the evolution of the pandemic, but also on the ability of suppliers to increase their production and of carriers to improve their performance. For our part, we continue to look for new European suppliers or Asian players committed to Europe.
As the year comes to an end, what advice would you give to your peers?
I have in mind the English word grit, the ability to resist during a challenge. In other words: persevere and remain determined. All these qualities are crucial today, they are what allow us to always find solutions. In an abnormal context, there is no ideal solution! Staying focused on your objectives is key. I also believe that you have to trust the market, remain optimistic about its ability to innovate and find solutions. This is an essential belief for me. I always prefer to approach the future with optimism... it must be my American side (laughs).
A few words about The Merchant before leaving us?
As a logistics manager, I have to stay on top of new developments and changes in the industry to make the best decisions. " The Merchant" simply helps to reinforce this visibility!
