20 Things You Didn’t Know About Xentral
Xentral provides business software for modern companies. Its easy-to-use and cost-effective ERP solution helps especially small and medium-sized e-commerce startups and businesses to
manage, and products and map operations from a central location. It’s a comprehensive platform that offers over a thousand functions for managing finance, logistics, products, and sales. It’s one of the most comprehensive software services available on the market today. Xentral is a European software company making news with its recent investor fundraising efforts and growth rates. If you’ve not yet heard about Xentral, here are twenty things you probably didn’t know about the entity to bring you up to speed.
1. Xentral provides both ERP and CRM software solutions for business
Xentral is a software developer that specializes in ERP and CRM software solutions. NetSuite explains the difference between ERP and CRM. ERP involves order management, production management, supply chain management, procurement, warehouse management, inventory management, fulfillment, and financial management and accounting. CRM focuses on sales force automation, customer service and contact centers, marketing automation, and customer self-service tools. Xentral has all the bases covered while most other companies maintain a narrower focus.
2. Xentral is fast-growing scale up
Xentral has been in business for five years. Founders Benedikt and Claudia Sauter launched the company in 2017. It’s going into its sixth year of operation. Xentral’s headquarters are in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany, with additional offices in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Berlin and Munich, Germany.
3. Xentral and its industries
Crunchbase reports that Xentral is listed across three industries for people searching internet browsers for SaaS. It’s an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) provider, specializing in product management solutions and software. These are broad categories that do not quite adequately describe the scope of products and services Xentral provides. In fact, the solution is used in a wide range of industries – from food and health to fashion. In addition, the software supports a wide range of business models, whether e-commerce, retailers, producers & manufacturers, wholesalers, or service or fulfillment providers.
4. Xentral’s website uses a complex assortment of technologies
Xentral has made every effort to ensure the smooth and meaningful operation of its website. The company actively uses thirty technologies that work together to provide for all user needs and conveniences. Some of the programs and services active on the Xentral website include Font Awesome, LetsEncrypt, the Apple Mobile Web Clips Icon, and a few dozen others.
5. Xentral maintains uniqueness over its competitors
Xentral offers a suite of products that go over and above what the average business software is capable of. The company has taken measures to protect the uniqueness of its products and services by applying for and securing six registered trademarks in the scientific and electric apparatus and instruments category. It protects the intellectual properties developed by Xentral from use, imitation, or infringement of its competition. Xentral’s products and services stand out from other SaaS providers.
6. Xentral receives high volumes of web traffic
Analytics reports for Xentral’s website show that 35,232 people have visited the website over the past thirty days. The number of visitors gets Xentral a ranking of number 592,057 of the millions of websites registered on the World Wide Web. From these numbers, we can infer that interest in its products and services is high.
7. Xentral is the most popular in Germany
The lion’s share of web traffic comes from people who live in Germany, the home country of Xentral. Eighty-three percent of visitors are from Germany, reflecting a monthly visits growth increase of 9.84 percent. Twelve percent of visitors are from the United States, with a monthly visits growth of 98.51 percent over the past thirty days. four percent of visits are from people in the United Kingdom with a growth of 3.9 percent and less than one percent of the web traffic is from Morocco. This vital data is useful at Xentral’s planning meetings to consider where interest in the products and services is highest, and where more marketing work may be required.
8. Xentral and its management team
Xentral completed its management team in February 2022. The executive leadership team consists of eight members. Benedikt Sauter is the Chief Executive Officer and is a co-founder of Xentral. Claudia Sauter is a co-founder. Ramon van Alteren is Vice President of Product & Engineering, Norman Rohr is Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Stefanie Richheimer is Vice President of Sales, Cornelia Lass is Vice President of People, Holger Ackermann is Vice President of Finance & Corporate Development, Lars Stäbe is Vice President Customer & Partner Success and Sven Pirner is Chief of Staff. With a team of seasoned industry experts, Xentral brings together profound know-how in sales, software, e-commerce, finance, HR, and rapid and international growth. They’re supported by several more managers and team leaders, all working toward the same goals and objectives.
9. Xentral has a three-member Board of Directors
Xentral’s Board of Directors has three members. Robert Lacher joined the board in January 2021. He is a founding partner at Visionaries Club. Mr.s Lacher founded three organizations and currently serves on one board in an advisory capacity. Luciana Lixandru joined the board in January 2021. She is a partner at Sequoia Capital. She currently serves on five boards of directors in advisory roles. Marton Sarkadi Nagy is the senior board member. He joined as a Board Observer in 2020. He is a Principal at Visionaries Club. He currently serves on two boards of directors in advisory roles. Each member of the board of directors is uniquely qualified to render advisement on strategic planning for growth, development, and financial matters. They represent the interests of investors in Xentral. In some cases, investors reserve the right to appoint a member of their staff to serve on the boards of companies they support financially, as part of the agreement for funding.
​​​​​10. Xentral is a venture capital-backed organization
Several business angels have invested in Xentral, and the company has successfully completed three rounds of financing with Frank Thelen’s Freigeist (2018), Sequoia and Visionaries Club (2021), as well as Meritech and Tiger Global (2021). The total amount raised is $94.6 million.
11. Xentral has secured high investor confidence
Xentral attracted the interest and support of nine investors. The combined efforts of its 9 investors raised $94.6 million to help Xentral with its operations, growth, and expansion. Four lead investors rallied the efforts. Tiger Global Management and Visionaries Club are the most recent investors to join. Other Xentral investors are Sequoia Capital, s16vc, Meritech Capital Partners, a lead investor, Freigeist Capital, HubSpot Ventures, and Julien Codorniou. Investors willing to put such a high dollar amount into a startup have high confidence in its potential to deliver a healthy return on the investments made.
12. Xentral has made one acquisition
Xentral has experienced significant organic growth, with its customer base growing 300% since 2020. Part of the growth and expansion strategy of Xentral is through the acquisition of complementary companies. On April 5, 2022, Xentral made its first acquisition. It took ownership of a company called Otaja. Otaja is based in Osterhol-Scharmbeck, Lower Saxony, Germany. It provides self-service onboarding videos for Xentral’s ERP software. The platform allows customers to set up Xentral’s ERP platform independently and to access support from implementation experts if needed. The amount paid for Otaja has not been disclosed.
13. Xentral is a privately held enterprise
Xentral is a privately owned company. The two founders are the owners. They maintain the highest percentage of control over the business. It’s expected that investors have some input and percentage stakes in the business, but the details of funding agreements have not been shared. Xentral is still listed as a privately held and controlled organization. If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen shares of Xentral stock on any of the public stock exchanges, it’s because the owners have not yet listed it for public trading. Our research into Xentral shows no evidence of plans to go public shortly. The business receives the necessary financial support from its private investors and does not need to fundraise through an initial public offering.
14. Xentral plans to expand internationally
Techcrunch confirms that Xentral is planning to expand its reach to an international level. The leaders explained that the latest round of investor fundraising gave Xentral the necessary resources to expand its operations in the United Kingdom and grow into a global ERP market. Speculation that the ERP market will increase to $32 billion is an exciting prospect for software development companies. Now is the time to prepare for the increased demand from businesses that need help managing their operations with greater efficiency. The proposed expansion extends to increasing staff numbers to carry the operation forward. They also plan to make product enhancements. Xentral is poised in the ideal position to make the strategic move.
15. Xentral’s platform connects businesses
Benedikt Sauter explains that Xentral pursues a platform approach that enables its customers to connect the Xentral software with solutions and marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Shopware, and also connects to complimentary business applications such as CRM systems in a single hub.
16. The founders of Xentral are married
Benedikt and Claudia Sauter are husband and wife. The pair built a preliminary prototype of the Xentral platform for an earlier entrepreneurial endeavor. The couple is talented and brilliant software engineers who carefully thought through the details for Xentral before the launch. It’s rare to find a husband and wife team with similar interests and skills. This couple works well together in a business. They make a good team as they work together to build their dreams through Xentral.
17. Xentral is hiring
Xentral has a workforce of 209 workers before making new hires. We learned from a visit to its LinkedIn page that Xentral is currently hiring. They’re making good on their promise to grow the workforce to prepare for expansion into new territories. They’ve listed twenty-one new job openings. A few of the positions are for the headquarters in Germany, but most are for remote workers living anywhere within the European Union. We know that Xentral plans to expand its operations in the United Kingdom, but it may be gearing up to enter new territories in other European countries. The current round of hiring will grow the size of Xentral by an additional ten percent.
18. Benedikt and Claudia Sauter are experienced entrepreneurs
Benedikt’s LinkedIn profile confirms that he and his wife Claudia have founded two companies together. Their first business launched in January 2009. It was called Embedded Projects. They spent nine years and five months with the company. Benedikt was the chief executive officer of the company. In January 2018 they founded WaWision which then was rebranded in Xentral ERP Software GmbH in May 2018. It qualifies the couple as serial entrepreneurs.
19. Sequoia Capital promotes Xentral
Sequoia Capital is proud to partner with Xentral as a financial supporter and investor. The financial firm posted a statement supporting Xentral as a lean ERP cloud software that offers convenience to consumers with a single bundle that meets all business needs in one hub. It serves a diverse group of companies within the e-commerce community with software that streamlines the management of production, accounting, inventory, and warehousing to order fulfillment. It provides a platform that allows businesses to automate and digitize processes.
20. Xentral is a company to keep your eye on
Xentral hasn’t gone public, but it’s still worth keeping your eye on the business and listening for news of IPO. Xentral is in the process of moving its German-based operations into a more global company. It’s starting with a move into the United Kingdom, but it’s likely to continue its growth and expansion. The general public has no avenue for investing in Xentral yet. We’ll likely hear more about its growth as the impressive suite of products and services are subscribed to by more online businesses. Xentral is a fascinating startup with a bright future. It’s on the move, and we’re hoping that it continues to thrive in a global market.
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