Zapp Electric Vehicles Ltd. has announced details of its innovative and unique drop-ship-direct-to-customer (“DSDTC”) sales model, which offers convenience, flexibility and transparency for all customers.
The platform is designed to ensure Zapp vehicles are “easy to buy, easy to own,” from the point of configuring and ordering a vehicle through the entire duration of ownership. True to this mantra, Zapp’s omni-channel approach offers customers the choice of building and ordering their i300 electric performance city bikes online or from one of Zapp’s authorized resellers.
Zapp plans to have a network of both online and physical boutique-style authorized resellers, in addition to its existing online configurator and sales platform on the Zapp website.
At any one of the global network of boutiques, customers can test ride the i300 as well as be aided through the configuration process by trained sales staff. Customers can also configure their bikes and pay deposits online if they prefer. The process is focused on making it simple and enjoyable for the customer.
Zapp’s agile manufacturing model means each i300 is built to order and delivered to customers in a “demand pull” model rather than a “wholesale push” model, which means authorized resellers do not hold stock from Zapp; rather they serve customer demand, offer advice and guidance, and provide test rides. Both the boutique-style authorized resellers and online authorized resellers will be paid a commission by Zapp after the customer receives the bike.
The demand-pull strategy ensures that only bikes that have been ordered are built, reducing materials and energy wastage, which is a key part of Zapp’s commitment to Gen-2 sustainability.
David McIntyre, chief commercial officer at Zapp, said, “Zapp’s sales model has been devised every step of the way to make its vehicles both easy to buy and easy to own. We’re proud to offer a high level of customer convenience, from the point of configuration and purchase all the way through their ownership of the vehicle. Our agile manufacturing model means we can fulfill customer orders quickly and efficiently, which reduces financially wasteful and environmentally harmful wholesale stock build-up.”
Crucially, no matter how the customer opts to select his or her bike, it is ordered through Zapp’s global sales platform. Zapp implements a global pricing strategy, which offers customers assurance that they are getting the price offered on Zapp’s website. Customers can thereafter avoid having to deal with pushy salespeople or haggling, which many find off-putting in the traditional dealership-based automotive retail model.
As part of Zapp’s DSDTC model, the i300 will be delivered to an address of the customer’s choice, wherever is most convenient to them. The bike will be delivered in a “Zapper van” and handed to him or her by a trained “Zapper” technician, who will provide a full handover of the bike. To increase customer convenience, any ongoing regular servicing of the i300 will also be performed on-site at a location of the customer’s choice — whether at home or an office, or somewhere else — by a Zapper in a Zapper van. Each Zapper van will be equipped with a full toolkit and spare parts inventory.
Zapp’s DSDTC sales model is being rolled out for Zapp’s debut product, the i300: an electric city bike that combines the convenience and agility of a step-through form factor with a high-powered electric motor for performance motorcycle levels of acceleration. This customer-first sales model will underpin each future product released by Zapp.
