“next-generation web catalogs – what’s next?”

This month’s topic:

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“Next-Generation Web Catalogs – What’s Next?”


Live Poll #1How does your company currently do business online?

A. Online catalog hosted on your websiteB. Online marketplace hosted on your websiteC. Online marketplace hosted on another

websiteD. Some combination of the aboveE. None of the above


Agenda• Today’s e-catalog

solutions• Pluses and minuses• Opportunities for

improvement for your customers and yourself

• Arbortext products• Q&A


Live Poll #2What is the most significant issue in maintaining your website?

A. Generating contentB. Retaining website staffC. Meeting management goalsD. Keeping the site upE. Maintaining site performance


The reason we’re here• “What is the most significant issue in

maintaining your website?”– 43% -- Generating content– 17% -- Retaining website staff– 16% -- Meeting management goals– 14% -- Keeping the site up– 10% -- Maintaining site performance

-- E-Commerce Enabler Software; Rapid Growth and Faster Change, Tucker Anthony Cleary Gull


E-Catalog Approaches• PDF version of print

catalog• Hand-crafted Web

pages• E-catalog software• Internally developed

system


PDF Catalogs• Unsuitable for browsing

online• Opaque to search engines• No linking, especially

across documents• No integration with

shopping carts• No personalization• Resellers can’t reuse• Limited update frequency


Hand-Crafted Web Pages• Time-consuming to

develop and change• Typically limited in

depth and breadth• Out of synch with print

catalogs• Broken links• No personalization• Manual reuse


E-Catalog Software• Moderate integration• Lots of “data scrubbing”• Limited descriptive info

– just for selling• Point solution

– Out of synch with print catalogs

– Requires high-level expertise and ongoing maintenance


Internally Developed System• Complex development on Web

app servers and databases• Lots of “data scrubbing”• Limited descriptive info – just

for selling• Content owners can’t run the

process• Out of synch with print

catalogs• Requires high-level expertise

and ongoing maintenance


Live Poll #3What approach does your company take for online catalogs?

A. PDF catalogB. Hand-crafted Web pagesC. E-catalog softwareD. Internally developed systemE. None of the above


War Stories• Company buys from its

competitors because it lacks product information

• Separate divisions look like different companies, leading to brand erosion

• Company’s separate Web and print processes lead to high errors and costs

• Leadership in a commodity market gained through high-quality information on all media

• Company selling obsolete products forced to substitute better products

• Prospects experience “Web rage” after 12 minutes of unproductive searching


Content = Business“Good content is absolutely critical to the development and livelihood of B2B e-Commerce, but its role is frequently misunderstood and its significance is under-appreciated”

– Goldman Sachs

“The more content-oriented a site is, the more reason it gives people to buy. Content is one of the main drivers of purchases online…”

– Forrester Research

“It’s a nightmare. Suppliers don't have usable content in their back-end systems. Buyers can't make sense of disparate product data coming from all their suppliers.”

– AMR


Opportunities for Improvement• Offer all of your information – both for product

selection and self-service• Information ideally substitutes for the salesperson

and service/support person• Deliver easily navigable and personalized

information• In synch with print, CD-ROM, any other media• Implement highly automated processes• Reduce system maintenance and TCO


Underlying Technical Needs• Capture all product information (both pre-sale and

post-sale info)• Store in a single source that is the “single source

of truth” for optimal quality• Content must be media-neutral and processable

– Automated delivery to Web, print, PDF, CD-ROM, other– Automatable for greater functionality– Precise personalization– More targeted searching– Consistent in appearance and organization


Why XML Meets the Needs• XML encodes both metadata and content• XML represents any type of information in a media-

neutral, absolutely consistent format• Consistent data enables

automation• Automating content processing

and delivery allows you make your content more dynamic, more appropriate, more useful and more adaptable


XML – reality vs. hype

• Pitfalls– “Check box”

item– XML usage

vs. XML support

– Partial solutions

• Positives– Web standard– Widely

supported– Highly

adaptable– Stable


Capturing Content

• Today, product information comes in word processing and desktop publishing formats

• Aggregating content from multiple formats into XML is the key

• But it’s hard: inconsistency inhibits conversion

YOU


Live Poll #4How important is XML content to the future of your online business?

A. ExtremelyB. Very muchC. A littleD. Not at allE. Don’t know


Overview of Arbortext• Largest supplier of XML software for creating and publishing

information on multiple media• Founding member of W3C XML Working Group• Over 40,000 seats installed worldwide• More than 300 Global 2000 customers• Worldwide presence

BostonAnn Arbor

San Jose

London Paris

Tokyo

Munich


Intermarket:Content That Means Business

• Deliver personalized product information to Web, print, PDF, CD-ROM and wireless from a single source

• Deliver content to multiple marketplaces from a single source

• Capture, create and maintain rich catalog content and post-sale self-service information

• Serve customers globally

http://www.arbortext.com/Products/Product_Overview/Epic_Intermarket/epic_intermarket.html


Live Poll #5How easily will your current web systems meet your future content and commerce needs?

A. Extremely difficultB. Moderately difficultC. Moderately easyD. Extremely easyE. Don’t know


Intermarket

Epic Editor (XML)

MS Word

FrameMaker

Web forms

Interleaf

Rich Catalog and Self-Service Content Rich Content Distribution

E3

Repository

Market- places

XML/DOM foundation for unlimited flexibility and fast time to results

Intermarket Overview


PDA

OEB

WAPWeb

Intermarket ArchitectureEpic E-Content EngineAggregationTransformationPersonalization Integration

AdministrationRepository

Content Manager

User/Group Manager

Content Loader

Interchange

Syndication Manager

Print/PDF

Print Composer

Wireless Composer

Web Composer

Syndication Engine

Syndication


Multiple Catalogs• Create multiple catalogs

based on a single source of content; e.g.:– Functional area (Electrical and

Plumbing)– Location (Dallas Division and San

Jose Division)– Customer (Premier Customer and

Standard Customer)– Media: Web, print, CD-ROM,

wireless


Catalog Functionality• Navigation – Multiple Taxonomies

– Unique product classification schemes– Standard schemes (e.g., UN/SPSC)– Unlimited levels of classification

• Search (direct and synonym-based)– Full-text– Product and

property search


Capture Structured and Unstructured Content

• Content Loader captures content from:– Other marketplaces– XML databases– Excel spreadsheets– CSV files– Word documents– FrameMaker documents– Interleaf documents– Relational databases

• Direct creation of rich content– Client-based Epic Editor– Browser-based Epic Editor– Browser-based Web forms

Interleaf

FrameMaker

MS Word

Excel

CSV Files


Multiple Languages• Multiple Languages

– Designed from the ground up for multinational applications

– All user interface components

– All content– Automatic selection

based on profile


Content Exchange (syndication)• Import and export

catalog content through the Open Applications Group (OAG) exchange model (or any other data model)

• Syndication Manager– Manual control– Scheduled distribution– Event-driven distribution

(e.g., workflow approval)

E3

OAG

xCBL

cXML

BizTalk

Others

BizTalk


Live Poll #6How would you rate the usefulness of the information you received at this webinar?

A. Very usefulB. Moderately usefulC. Slightly usefulD. Not useful at allE. No comment

This month’s topic:


Thank You!To learn more about delivering world-class product information with Intermarket, please call +1 734.997.0200 or go to www.arbortext.com.

PG Bartlett: [email protected]

“next-generation web catalogs – what’s next?”

Documents

print processes

site up10

web app servers

breadthout of synch

processout of synch

website staff16

businessgood content

online catalogs