Boston, MA; Ewing, NJ; and Cologne, Germany (July 10, 2019) – Battery Ventures, a global, technology-focused investment firm, has acquired 1WorldSync Holdings, a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) network that enables brands to securely and continuously share critical product data with a community of retailers, operators and distributors across industries, including consumer goods, foodservice, electronics and healthcare.
1WorldSync Holdings was established as a joint venture by GS1 US® and GS1 Germany GmbH, industry standards organizations focused on supply-chain visibility and efficiency. Prior to the acquisition, GS1 Germany purchased 1WorldSync GmbH from 1WorldSync Holdings. Terms of both deals were not disclosed.
1WorldSync’s platform has become increasingly important for brands to go to market faster and manage the growing number of product attributes across e-commerce and in-store channels. More than 13,000 customers, according to 1WorldSync, leverage the company’s platform to publish standardized and unstructured product attributes and content— label information, package dimensions and ingredients, among others—and push that data to partners across the supply chain.
“Since its inception, 1WorldSync has been a pioneer in the competitive product content marketplace by providing customers with solutions that grow cross-channel sales, drive efficient content syndication and enable compliance and product transparency,” said Karin Borchert, CEO, 1WorldSync. “We look forward to collaborating with Battery Ventures to build on those many successes and believe that this is an exciting time for the growth trajectory of the company.”
“We have been tracking 1WorldSync for many years and have been impressed with its trusted, longstanding reputation in the market,” said Morad Elhafed, a Battery general partner. “We are excited by the future growth prospects of 1WorldSync’s platform and feel we can provide additional resources to help expand the network and develop new product capabilities, while pursuing complementary acquisitions.”
“We are confident that Battery Ventures is the right partner to help 1WorldSync more nimbly create solutions at the pace and speed that industry and consumers demand,” added GS1 US President and CEO Bob Carpenter. “Additionally, as a neutral, standards organization and unique identification company, GS1 US will be better positioned to solely focus on addressing the growing needs of our members and solution partner network to advance the adoption and use of GS1 Standards.”
“Customer and consumer expectations for rich content vary across Europe and the US," said Thomas Fell, CEO, GS1 Germany. "This business separation allows us to further develop our market-specific knowledge and expertise and develop solutions that are specifically tailored to our growing markets.”
All four companies – GS1 US, GS1 Germany, Battery Ventures and 1WorldSync – have affirmed their continued commitment to the GS1 Global Data Synchronization Network and will champion product-content standards across industries to provide one source of truth for the exchange of accurate and complete product data with trading partners worldwide.
Needham & Company acted as exclusive financial advisor to 1WorldSync on this transaction, and Locke Lord LLP acted as legal counsel to 1WorldSync. Cooley acted as legal counsel to Battery Ventures and DLA Piper LLP (US) acted as legal counsel to GS1 US and GS1 Germany GmbH.
For more information about these organizations, visit: Battery Ventures (www.battery.com), 1WorldSync (www.1worldsync.com), GS1 US (www.gs1us.org), and GS1 Germany (www.gs1-germany.de).
About Battery Ventures
Battery strives to invest in cutting-edge, category-defining businesses in markets including software and services, web infrastructure, consumer internet, mobile and industrial technologies. Founded in 1983, the firm backs companies at stages ranging from seed to private equity and invests globally from offices in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, London, Israel and New York. Follow the firm on Twitter (@BatteryVentures) and at www.battery.com, and find a full list of Battery investments here.
About 1WorldSync
1WorldSync™ is the leading provider of product content solutions, enabling more than 25,000 global companies in over 60 countries to share authentic, trusted content with customers and consumers, empowering intelligent choices for purchases, wellness, and lifestyle decisions. Through its technology platform and expert services, 1WorldSync provides solutions that meet the diverse needs of the industry. 1WorldSync is the only product content network provider and GDSN Data Pool to achieve ISO Certification 27001. For more information, please visit www.1worldsync.com.
About GS1 US
GS1 US®, a member of GS1® global, is a not-for-profit information standards organization that facilitates industry collaboration to help improve supply chain visibility and efficiency through the use of GS1 Standards, the most widely-used supply chain standards system in the world. Nearly 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading partner collaboration that optimizes their supply chains, drives cost performance and revenue growth while also enabling regulatory compliance. They achieve these benefits through solutions based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code-based RFID, data synchronization, and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code® (UNSPSC®). www.gs1us.org
About GS1 Germany GmbH
GS1 Germany supports companies from all sectors in the adoption and practical implementation of modern communication and process standards, in order to improve the efficiency of their business processes. Within Germany, the company is responsible for the maintenance and continued development of the GS1 article identification system GTIN for globally unique identification, which in turn serves as the basis for bar codes. Moreover, GS1 Germany supports the application of new technologies for fully automatic object identification (EPC/RFID) and for standardized electronic communication (EDI). The focus is also on customer-orientated solutions (ECR – Efficient Consumer Response) and the integration of trends like mobile commerce, multi channeling, sustainability and traceability. GS1 Germany belongs to the international network GS1 as second largest of more than 110 national GS1 organizations worldwide. The German Markenverband and the EHI Retail Institute hold equal shares in GS1 Germany. www.gs1-germany.de
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Rebecca Buckman
Battery Ventures
+1 415.426.5911
Email: becky@battery.com
Matt Galassini
1Worldsync
+1 312.806.7746
Email: mgalassini@1worldsync.com
Shannon Sullivan
GS1 US
Phone: +1 609.620.4534
Email: ssullivan@gs1us.org
Julia-Verena Lerch M.A.
GS1 Germany GmbH
Phone: +49 221 94714 546
Email: julia-verena.lerch@gs1.de