Customer

Cinelli Milano is a historic company founded in 1948 and the world's leading lifestyle brand in high-performance cycling. Specializing in the production of premium bicycles and cycling components, Cinelli is known for its innovation and quality craftsmanship, with a tradition rooted in the history of professional cycling.

In 2023, a significant event marked the return to its origins: Cinelli reintroduced frame production directly at its Milan headquarters, marking the first time since 1981 that the main manufacturing facility was once again housed in the brand's historic factory.

Project Context

Client: Cinelli
Project Type: Ongoing Support for Omnichannel E-commerce
Platform: Shopify
Channels Managed: B2C (public site), B2B (reseller platform), Synchronized Inventory

Challenges Faced

Cinelli manages a particularly complex e-commerce ecosystem, where synchronization between B2C and B2B channels, inventory management from multiple warehouses, and integration with back-office systems like SAP represent significant challenges. The project was structured as monthly support to address these complexities on an ongoing basis.

Main Issues Identified

1. Multi-Warehouse Inventory Management: Shopify reads availability from two separate warehouses, creating complexity in synchronization.
2. B2C/B2B Product Synchronization: Need to maintain consistency between the two channels while maintaining specific constraints for retailers
3. Pre-orders and Partial Pre-orders: Requesting advanced features not natively supported by Shopify
4. Bulk Product Import: Frequent issues with legacy tools (Matrixify) and the need for correct templates
5. SAP Integration: Order synchronization between Shopify and SAP for production management
6. B2B Customer Management: Automatic customer segmentation based on complex criteria (reseller certificates, metafields, purchase history)
7. Multilingual Translations: Need for AI-powered automated translation with intelligent management of industry-specific vocabulary
8. QuickBooks Online: Accounting Sync Analysis for Both Sales Channels

Implemented Solutions

1. Configuring Companies and Representatives

A comprehensive step-by-step guide was created to properly configure B2B companies and connect customers to their representatives. This documentation standardized the process and reduced future configuration errors.

2. Pre-order Analysis

Objective: Identify the best solution for pre-orders and partial pre-orders (with split pre-payment)

Rated Solutions:

• Solution 1: Using Shopify's native functionality to sell when the product is out of stock (limited, no custom behavior)
• Solution 2: Specialized pre-order apps (apps with advanced features such as validity periods, partial payments, "coming soon" modes, custom badges)

Decision: Solution 2 - Implement a "Built for Shopify" certified app that supports:

• Configurable validity periods for pre-orders
• Partial payment option on pre-ordered products
• "Coming soon" mode with countdown
• Customized messages, buttons, and labels
• Back-in-Stock Email Notifications
• Intelligent inventory management (order deduction vs. fulfillment)

Validation: The app has been successfully tested to verify the correct handling of partial payments within a single order.

3. QuickBooks Online Analysis

Conducted an exploratory analysis to assess the feasibility of accounting synchronization between Shopify and QuickBooks Online, which is essential for managing B2C and B2B flows separately.

4. Intelligent Customer Segmentation

Customer segmentation system into three categories:

• Customers with specific metafields filled in
• Companies that have purchased but without a registered Reseller Certificate
• Bulk customers without reseller certificate

Benefit: Automate B2B purchasing approval management

5. Translation Solution Selection

After comparative testing of 4 AI translation apps, a solution was recommended for:

• Intuitive and consistent interface
• Automatic synchronization with updated content
• Transparent and convenient limits on the number of productions/collections/items
• Support for up to 20 languages ​​in the premium plan
• Compatibility with third-party apps

6. Strategic Planning

It represents the fundamental planning work that organized the project into coherent phases, coordinating:

• Brainstorming team divided into multiple sessions
• Reorganize tasks by priority and dependencies
• Alignment with roadmap analytics
• Customer synchronization call

7. Migrating Products from Matrixify

Problem: Matrixify was frequently generating errors due to incorrectly populated templates

Rated Solutions:

• Solution 1: Matrixify refactoring + in-depth training
• Solution 2: Migration to native CSV import + new templates + training (IMPLEMENTED)

Advantages of Solution 2:

• Completely redesigned and optimized template
• Native access without dependency on third-party tools
• Shopify Native Process Training

8. Price Synchronization SALE

Migration of discounted price synchronization logic from Matrixify to a custom solution, ensuring reliable updates during promotional periods.

Support Organizational Structure

The project is structured as Monthly Ongoing Support .

Benefits Achieved

1. B2B Process Standardization: Consolidated Documentation for Corporate Account Management

2. Pre-order Feature: Robust and certified solution for pre-orders with partial payments

3. Reliability Sync: Migrating from Legacy Tools to Native Shopify Processes

4. Multilingual Preparation: Roadmap defined for international expansion

5. Continuous Support: Monthly support framework that ensures constant maintenance and evolution