At the end of 2014, SHIMANO, a globally operating company in the field of the development and production of bicycle parts, introduced its new ‘STEPS’ electrical power train on the Belgian and Dutch markets. In order to introduce this new system successfully, a training programme for all technical dealer staff formed an essential element of the total approach of its market introduction.
The challenge
Innovam was asked to supervise the entire training programme and to train the dealer staff so that they would have the necessary knowledge and skills regarding maintenance and service of this new product. The objective was to train the entire Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg dealer organisation based on the participation of 60 staff members per day.
How
The required training materials and practical assignments were developed in co-production with SHIMANO. The intensive collaboration with SHIMANO made it possible to develop good-quality practical assignments with a clear focus on personal experience and learning. As this was a bilingual rollout, Innovam called in its Dutch and French language Technical trainers. Both trainers have years of knowledge of and experience with the available e-bike systems that are now available on the market. Innovam also took care of the complete project supervision and training administration. This approach has enabled Innovam to take the burden from SHIMANO’s shoulders.
The result
In just one quarter, more than 10,000 dealer staff were trained in three markets. The participants rated the training programme a solid nine. During training, the participants also had the opportunity of advising SHIMANO on the further technical optimisation of these first STEPS power trains. SHIMANO reflects with satisfaction on this collaboration, with the added result that Innovam subsequently provides an annual update training programme regarding the implemented system improvements. The knowledge and skills of the dealer staff therefore evolve alongside the implemented product improvements.
