We have previously touched on the shortage of skilled professionals within the bike industry. In particular, the deficit when it comes to mechanical knowledge and expertise. The more product data we sink our teeth into, the more we realise that it is a fairly unique skill set that is needed to decipher the mountains of data that we will need to process in order to bring Bike Matrix to life.
Our team needs to understand all technical specifications, they need to be able to navigate technical documents, exploded parts diagrams, spare parts catalogues, compatibility charts, and also have lazer eyes to pick up on errors. This skill set is not easy to come by, nor is the ability to find someone studious enough to sit trolling through this data, hour after hour, day after day in order to bring this product to life! Thankfully, we have a team that posses just that skillset, and better still, thrives on this style of data manipulation.
We are currently processing large sets of product data from manufacturers who have come on board to support our service. Inside these data sets are hundreds of thousands of products that are readily available for purchase within the industry, both Original Equipment (OE) and Aftermarket (AM). Our task is to classify each product and format the product data against our proprietary fitment codes and compatibility algorithms so that the suitability of a given product, as a replacement or upgrade for a given bike, can be assessed. The goal, is that anyone using a platform with Bike Matrix integrated is able to select a bike and then only see parts that are compatible with that bike. No more guessing, navigating to other websites, diving into tech specs, asking a mechanic, or checking on your favourite forum.
When it comes to compatibility assessment, our integration works on simple API's that interrogate our database for a true or false answer for a given product. Basically; "is this part compatible with this bike?" For the most part this will appear and function much like the automotive equivalent that you use when looking for wiper blades or an oil filter for you car. Behind the scenes though, is a complex array of logic that determines if a component is suitable and compatible to the bike and surrounding components.
Eurobike certainly confirmed for us the massive task ahead. With so many bicycle and component manufacturers currently in existence and the number of manufactures making parts and bicycles for other brands, gathering and processing all this information will be a mammoth undertaking, but we are under no illusion. We were humbled to have so many manufacturers at Eurobike show a keen interest in having their products included in our database and we will continue to work closely with manufacturers to ensure that the data we are working with is as accurate as it can be.
Pay close attention in the coming months as the momentum has started and we are fleshing out the first stages of our product ready for beta testing.
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