Concept:
Searchandise Commerce, which was founded in July 2008, is aimed at taking merchandising tactics in the brick and mortar world and translating them to the Web. In physical stores, retailers vie for coveted spots, such as end caps or kiosks, to increase awareness and actively engage consumers as they conduct product research or commence the purchase process.   As product research increasingly begins on the Web, the analogy for premium positions are the top spots on search engine results pages or featured product zones on retail sites. With more online shoppers beginning product research on retail sites rather than on search engines, retailers can offer manufacturers an opportunity to boost their on-site visibility by applying the strategies of in-store merchandising, and combining it with the tactics of paid search. Searchandise Commerce is designed to enable manufacturers to apply cost-per-click bids to advance a product position within a search list, or any section where products are presented. Unlike traditional paid search solutions, all traffic stays on the retailers’ Web site.

The company addresses manufacturer and retail needs, in turn, offering the consumer a seamless shopping experience. When consumers conduct product searches on a retailer’s Web site, Searchandise is integrated transparently within the search algorithm. Searchandise Commerce solutions target retail eCommerce managers and manufacturer channel and brand managers.

Concept:
The couponing industry is moving into the digital age as numerous Web, mobile, and device-oriented solutions are now in place to deliver digital content. The problem is there is not an industry standard solution for integrating digital content with retailer point of sale (POS) systems. Designed to remedy the problem retailers have dealing with numerous integration points, which has potential to  deter consumers, MDot Network is an open platform that sits between the hundreds of companies producing digital content and the retailer’s POS. MDot’s solution is designed to provide a single point of integration that connects the coupon issuers to the retailers and the retailers' clearing house.

Team:
Founder and CEO Bill Catania, who came up with the original concept, heads Erie, PA-based MDot Network. Catania has direct experience in new business start-ups through his Motorsports/e-Commerce based business RaceFan, Inc., an Internet-based motor sports marketing venture.

Mike Kavis, CTO, and Greg Rapp, VP of Engineering, architected the transaction processing engine and the open platform for eOffers. Kavis and Rapp both have over 20 years of IT experience and are both former Chief Architects at Catalina Marketing, with a combined 40+ years of retail and loyalty marketing experience.

Concept:
Created in 2008, AisleFinder is an in-store interactive shopping display and kiosk application designed to enable shoppers to quickly and efficiently find the items they want to buy within medium-to-large sized shopping/retails stores. You can think of it as Google Maps for the store. The solution provides a Web site and iPhone application designed to help customers find desired items by directing them to the aisles where the items can be found.

AisleFinder is for grocery and retail locations that want to add value to their brand, as well as the customers shopping experience by giving customers a way to explore the store and do more targeted shopping. If we can save the customer time, they have more time to explore the store.