HERMES is the B2B marketplace of EUREKABIKE — in pilot, 980+ connected retailers, 190,000+ normalised products
01 — Scope

What we do. What we do NOT do.

EurekaBike and HERMES operate inside a narrow scope, stated in advance. In B2B, scope is one of the foundations of trust, which is why its limits are not merely declared — they are implemented inside the model itself. We are the data-intermediation layer between brands, distributors and retailers in the bike industry. We are not distributors, we do not run logistics or warehousing, and we have no intention of starting; the architecture of the product was designed precisely to keep us in that role.

Explicit governance

The two columns that define what our job is

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What we do
Data and fiscal intermediation
  • We normalise product data across brands One canonical price list. The same product, carried under different codes by several suppliers, is recognised as one.
  • We are the party that invoices the retailer By design, HERMES invoices the retailer. The distributor invoices HERMES for what was sold. Consolidated cash flow on the distributor's side, a single compliance counterpart on the retailer's side, and channel anti-bypass enforced at system level.
  • We orchestrate the commercial rules Visibility, retailer segmentation, territorial rules, pricing policy — always configurable by the partner. The rules a distributor or a brand sets are the rules the system enforces.
  • We run the HERMES B2B e-commerce system A lean ordering interface for retailers. The distributor keeps its operational job and its own commercial relationship.
  • We produce market intelligence Comparative analytics on sell-out, prices and geography. Sellable as a long-term product.
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What we do NOT do
The distributor's physical role
  • Logistics and warehousing We do not ship, we do not hold stock, we do not manage transport. Logistics stays entirely with the distributor, who carries on with its own processes.
  • Direct sale to the end consumer HERMES is B2B. We do not sell to consumers. For B2C there is AGORA, the consumer marketplace.
  • Operational returns and claims They stay inside the distributor. HERMES tracks the state of the order but does not step into the operational flows underneath it.
  • Renegotiating price lists HERMES applies the price lists the distributor puts into the system. We do not ask for discounts and we do not renegotiate commercial terms partner by partner.
  • Becoming a substitute "global distributor" It is a model that does not combine with ours: the cost structure and the operational skills behind logistics plus warehousing plus commercial relationships run in the opposite direction to an intermediation layer. This is not a sacrifice we impose on ourselves, it is a road we could not materially take.
Why this choice

Our job is different from yours.
That is why we are complementary.

A distributor builds value through logistics, warehousing, commercial relationships built over years, credit capacity towards retailers, knowledge of the territory. These are trades that take years of specific accumulation — not things a company "decides to do" from one quarter to the next, and certainly not part of our operational estate.

What we do know how to do — aggregate and normalise data across the supply chain, and carry the fiscal intermediation of the system — is the result of six years of a vertical system specialised in bike. It is hard to build, but it is not your job. That is why the combination works: we do different things, on different layers, and they reinforce each other.

Fiscal intermediation — the fact that HERMES is the party invoicing the retailer — does not take a relationship away, it simplifies an operation: the distributor consolidates cash flow onto a single counterpart, sheds credit risk fragmented across dozens of retailers, and is freed from a share of administration that today weighs without generating margin.

For distributors who read HERMES as a potential threat, the reassurance is not in statements of intent but in the model: even if we wanted to "become the global distributor", the structure of our revenue and of our organisation would not allow it. Scope is what lets us stay predictable over time.

"The project is as interesting as it is dangerous for a distributor like us, because you could become the global distributor yourselves."

— Trade Marketing Manager at one of the leading Italian bike distributors

It is a concern that senior managers at distributors have put to us repeatedly and directly. This entire page is our structural answer.

Next section

Go to the commercial model

Scope explains what we do. The commercial model explains how — which fees we chose, how visibility is decided, and which transparency commitments we take on towards our partners.

Commercial model and transparency →