An absolute clusterf**k: Bowman Cycles speak out on supply chain issues after unhappy customers complain

Now in liquidation

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08933432

Very sad to hear this, they made cracking frames - i bought two over the years. This bloody pandemic. 

I purchased two Bowman frames and had to return both due to manufacturing issues. First one was the original Palace R. I returned it for a warranty replacement but no stock meant I was offered the new 3C due for release. I went for that but due to pandemic-related delays it ended up being over 12 months before I actually got my replacement :(. 

I got it, rode it, loved it, and then noticed a huge crack in the chainstay. I returned that frameset and then plumped for a refund rather than wait again and roll the dice again on a 3rd replacement frame. 

A shame considering how nicely both frames rode and how well the looked but... a sub-optimal customer experience to say the least. 

Wish I'd read this before Christmas. I ordered a chainstay bridge mid-December and now I know why it's not arrived. Trying to get my money back via PayPal. I feel for them as my wife runs her own business too but why have your website shop still open and taking money if you have supply chain issues. Website down now, phone cut off and no response to emails. Lucky I only ordered an inexpensive part.

Well, its been 2 weeks since this article and I haven't heard a thing from Bowman reagrding my order. If they can't be bothered to pop into the warehouse and stick a couple of (paid for) gear hangers in a jiffy bag then I don't hold much hope for anyone else's order. 

I keep reading the headline as "Bowman Cycles speak out on chain supply issues" and imagining a huge warehouse full of bikes all ready to go except they are waiting for chains to be fitted.

Having seen glowing reviews I decided N+1 could be built around a Palace3 disc frame.  I test rode a Weald at the factory, which confirmed my decision, and helped me finalise size required.  Unfortunately the lead time for Palace frame & forks in the appropriate size was over 6 months and I wanted the bike sooner, so ended up buying a carbon frame which would have been roughly same price but I got a mahoosive dicount due to a slight paintwork defect.  If I ever have to replace my steel-framed commuter, the Weald would be on the list of options, but only if the lead-time is reasonable, and I would be building it up myself (including the wheelbuild) , for me that's half the fun.

Where I work, we have a hard and fast rule: any email is dealt with within  3 working days. Even if the reply is a holding email, you must reply, because if people feel ignored, that's worse. Be clear, polite, professional and honest. It's not hard: 'We're currently experiencing unprecedented supply chain issues and cannot give firm dates on fulfilling existing orders. We hope to be able to give more information in the near future. If you'd like to discuss your options in more detail, please give us a call.'

And on that front, not answering the phone is also a no-no.

The potential silver lining here is that there is a market for good quality alloy frames, finished to a high standard, at a reasonable price. In fact, I'd argue it's the bit of the market that a lot of the big boys have left vacant.  Look at Mason: they are selling Definitions and Bokehs as fast as they can make them. 

I hope Bowman pull themselves out of this hole, as businesses going pop and people losing their livelihoods benefits no-one, but there are lessons to be learned, about supply chain management, customer service, and (after describing the situation as a 'clusterf**k'), apparently PR.

I bought a Palace R frameset a few years ago and the customer service was crap then. 

Just a note to say we're aware of comments posted here and on our forum about the relationship between Bowman Cycles and Noble Wheels, and are waiting for a response. Another note, just be careful with making accusations when you don't know the full facts. 

This is a shame to read this after reading the comments from the forum last week, but in some way heartening that at least they are still active and haven't gone bump. 

Clearly Bowman have made some bad judgements reagrding customer service and lack of customer service through these issues. It sounds like they've been using any part they can get their hands on to actually get complete bikes out of the door, which I can understand, however the customer should have been informed or given the option where appropriate. 

I'm a fan of the Bowman frames and have very nearly brought one a couple of times over the years. I hope they can find a way to build themselves out of this hole.

However as others have mentioned, are the days of outsourced manufacturing to the far east numbered? Every business should be doing the caluculations to account for higher costs to manufacture, longer lead times and higher freight costs. Cashflow decisions however can be explained easier, no-one could have foreseen where this pandemic would take us two years ago.. and if the decision was to keep some cash in the bank or spend it on a supplyline which was delayed.. then I can see how some companies might have come unstuck.

The whole of the UK bike industry has struggled with covid-19 and Brexit. If you're doing much worse than other peers, then maybe you can't just blame the same problems your peers faced.

Maybe there's some weight in the argument that "We're only small, the big businesses have proper supply-chain teams and snapped up all the shipments, it's so unfair". But Decathlon and Canyon and Sigma &c didn't monopolise all the customer-service skills, so why was Bowman's customer service so awful, too?

I can't get back the time I wasted waiting, but I can take care not to trust any bike business in future if Neil Webb is associated with them.

Coming off the back of the biggest bike boom in a generation, where any business with a bike has made money hand over fist. But Bowman are in trouble? Sounds like they messed up.

What I can't figure out is the supply chain issues would impact complete bikes, but framesets should have been unaffected. I think there might be something more to this.

You outsource, you have to accept the risk. Marketing yourself as "bespoke" when you really aren't is another risk which has now been "found out".

A real shame as the frames look good, global supply is difficult for everyone at present - I would suggest keeping the old bike going!

I feel sorry for Neil here. He's seeing his business going down the toilet, losing his income and whatever else he has secured against it. Who knows where his heads been in a situation like that and how it's affected his mental health.

Yep, a quick email is easy to put together but sitting down and writing it could be the hardest thing to do in a time like that.

I have their 1st gen Pilgrims frame and have just managed to find a new Weald frame. Bowman bikes ride awesome and a lot of thought and design goes in to their frames.

I wish Neil and his team luck for the future and hope they can stick around. 

Oh the joys of being a manufacturing company that off-shores all it's manufacturing to the other side of the world.

Ultimately, Bowman Bikes are a design led business, not a manufacturer. That should allow them plenty of time to focus on their customer service responses.

Yes, supply chain issues really are hitting smaller brands. I'm experiencing similar issues while prototyping cargobike manufacturing here in the UK on a far smaller scale than Bowman and only relying on Shimano for internal hub gears. Everything else is UK made, yet huge issues still arise as bigger brands call the shots over the minnows like myself.

Emailing customers costs nothing but time - there's no excuse for this.

It would also be good to see an explanation for the problems reported by some customers who received noble branded wheelsets that noble themselves have reportedly said are not their product / not items they supplied.