Catalogue automation and integration out of Edmonton

Print Action, Apr 2003

MBase Commerce Inc. last month signed an agreement to have Evanikoff Consulting LLC, located in San Francisco, exclusively market its new technology and develop a referral partner program. While it is possible that you have never heard of these two companies, it is also possible that their business strategy will have a huge impact on the print production of catalogues and the use of cross-media publishing.

Bill Evanikoff, who heads Evanikoff Consulting, is the former vice president of internet business for ACCPAC International, which provides business management services for the likes of IBM and Sun, among 500,000 other end users. ACCPAC is a subsidiary of Computer Associates International, the huge information-technology firm that posted some US$3-billion in revenues last year. mBase is an Edmonton-based company headed by venture capitalist Richard Caron.

With a technology called InteliCat, mBase provides companies with software for automating the design and layout production processes of an entire print catalogue for on-demand publishing. After the layout is designed within QuarkXPress, InteliCat uses standards to complete the catalogue's production on its servers. The piece is then automatically submitted to the client via the internet for proofing, editing and approval. The data is maintained on the servers for retrieval, as opposed to standard practise of reproducing the entire catalogue, as businesses would exhaust resources collecting, maintaining and editing product data and images. These are the same principles behind Creo's initiative in its new Timna development.

Sales managers, executives and marketing personnel are known to devote hours to updating product text descriptions, photo images and price changes for catalogues. Then someone needs to manually insert the images and the data into desktop publishing software. mBase claims that its automated InteliCat technology allows for the complete design, layout and production of a 150-page catalogue in under 20 minutes. Perhaps more importantly, InteliCat centralizes the catalogue data and images to support both print and electronic output.

The InteliCat technology integrates traditional business marketing products into a business-to-business e-commerce system by using the same database for secure online transactions. MBaseONLINE is a online store featuring quantity pricing, photo zooming, multi currency, credit applications and secure online payment authorization. The system can integrate with the client's backend.

MBaseCD can generate up-to-date CDs at any point with the latest prices, titles, descriptions and photos. The CD is primarily a transitional tool, attached to the print catalogue, to migrate users to the online store or to assist marketing in remote locations.

While the company notes that a report predicts that catalogue sales are forecast to reach $155.4 billion by 2005, compared with $110.6 billion in 2000, the future of mBase's technology is well positioned because it is based on cross-media integration. And the exposure of InteliCat through ACCPAC's partner channel, among others, may just give this Edmonton-based company the push that venture capitalists dream about.

Last May, mBase also signed an agreement with Independent Distributors Inc. (IDI) of Mississauga. IDI is Canada's largest industrial distribution association with more than 80 industrial distribution companies in 172 locations across the country. It generated sales in excess of $550 million last year. mBase's technology will power IDI's ability to electronically service national accounts. Buyers will be able to purchase goods from independent distributors and receive national contract pricing and single invoice billing.