In the e-commerce era, as product update cycles accelerate so does the need to update manuals, price lists, documentation and other product data created by manufacturers. That’s a big problem Boston-based Salsify is attacking with its new product content management offering. And now Salsify, founded by former execs from Endeca, has $ 8 million in Series A funding to staff up for that quest.
This market is huge and ripe for disruption, said David Skok, partner with North Bridge Venture Partners, which, along with Matrix Partners, is providing the Series A funding. Companies now churn out product manuals, price lists, guides and promotional materials, often different versions for different audiences using the same data. Salsify can automate that process. “It’s a classic Boston company, unsexy but incredibly important,” Skok said.
One backer, Michael Skok, partner at Matrix Ventures (and David Skok’s brother) said Salsify addresses a key gap for e-commerce players. “The key to getting individuals to purchase on an e-commerce site is really good product descriptions, images, videos, etc.,” he said via email. “However for manufacturers and e-commerce vendors managing that product information is a huge headache. Salsify aims to create an on-line network that allows both sides, (manufacturers and e-commerce vendors), to share and collaborate on that information, cutting out manual processes, and speeding time to market. We believe that the market for this capability is huge.”
Product content management is one focus of the company and product syndication is another, said Rob Fernandez, who co-founded the company with Jason Purcell. If you’re a manufacturer wanting to sell stuff via Wal-Mart or Amazon, there are very strict requirements on how you submit product data — set numbers of fields and if you screw that up there are penalties, Fernandez told me. Salsify’s SaaS service will take care of that for you.
Competitors include Hybris, now owned by SAP, Unica and Sterling Commerce now both part of IBM, and Oracle’s ATG. Thomson Reuters is a legacy player here with all its product and industry directories.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Dvortygirl
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