Panjiva offers ænatural languageÆ searches
Trade information service Panjiva has created a user-friendly interface that it said is similar to the Google search engine and enables users to search with natural language.
The Panjiva allows users to search information from a dozen different sources on about 750,000 suppliers and a similar number of buyers across the world in 190 countries.
The system searches information from:
' U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
' Certification organizations such as Social Accountability International and Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production.
' Credit information services like Sinosure and Dun & Bradstreet.
' Blacklist information from CUSTOMS Info on companies and individuals on denied party lists.
“It takes research out of the realm of researchers,” said Josh Green, chief executive officer of Panjiva.” Now, anybody on your team that wants to compile suppliers to check out or build a marketing list they can go hit up and try to sell to, anybody on your team can do that. And they don’t need to learn any sophisticated technology. If they used Google, they know how to do this.”
Saying his company has large companies as clients where upwards of 200 people are accessing Panjiva, he explained, “we had to make so easy to use that it did not require a lot of handholding.”
In the logistics business, he thinks the service will be a “phenomenal prospecting tool.”