SAIL boosts e-commerce agility and raises online visibility by 28%

At a glance:

• Industrials
• B2C
• Enterprise
• Kingston, Ontario

28%

↑ product visibility

160,000

SKUs

~20,000

Active products

Summary

SAIL is one of Canada’s premier outdoor retailers, offering gear and apparel for every adventure through 26 stores and a growing online presence.

Managing over 160,000 SKUs across multiple channels, SAIL faced mounting challenges with manual updates, disconnected systems, and slow product launches.

By adopting Inriver as its centralized hub for product data, SAIL increasing online visibility by 28%, streamlined enrichment, improved collaboration, and ensured content consistency across all touchpoints—delivering a seamless omnichannel shopping experience for outdoor enthusiasts.

the challenge

To deliver on SAIL’s unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction, the company knew that it needed an elevated digital experience across its e-commerce channels to successfully replicate the in-store shopping experience that its customers love so much.

However, across the organization, SAIL faced several challenges that hindered its digital transformation and threatened to derail its e-commerce ambitions. These included:  

• Relying on the manual management of large data volumes for SAIL’s colossal multi-brand catalog 
• Lacking the agility to promptly launch seasonal offers 
• Navigating clunky and disjointed marketing and sales operations 
• Having an inability to enrich product data cost-effectively or efficiently 

the solution

To meet the data-driven demands of an elevated e-commerce experience, SAIL knew that they needed to integrate a Product Information Management solution into their tech stack. During the process of choosing a PIM vendor, SAIL decided to partner with inriver to address their digital challenges. They chose inriver due to the capabilities of the inriver PIM platform, including:

• An intuitive workflow that optimizes product data enrichment and approval processes 
• A secure and reliable centralized source of truth for all product data 
• Easy content syndication ensuring consistent and accurate product information across all sales touchpoints 
• Access to the best partner ecosystem for a seamless digital transformation and adoption 

“We successfully streamlined operations while keeping our ambitious e-commerce strategy and KPIs on track. The SAIL team embraced the challenge of redistributing responsibilities and improving processes. Now, we are more efficient than ever, achieving better results with a leaner team.”

Francis Laroche

Product Experience Specialist, SAIL

the results 

Following the successful implementation of the inriver platform, the SAIL team can now enjoy the full benefits of a PIM-driven e-commerce strategy. The results speak for themselves:

• A robust omnichannel strategy is now spearheaded by a leaner, more efficient SAIL marketing team
• SAIL continues to deliver personalized product information, enhancing customer engagement. 
• Internal workflows have improved, breaking down organizational data silos. 
• Seasonal products can now launch faster, keeping SAIL ahead of the competition. 
• Customers enjoy a superior online buying experience that replicates the popular SAIL in-store experience.
• SAIL’s online visibility skyrocketed from 70% to nearly 98%. 

inriver x SAIL: The key takeaway

SAIL’s partnership with inriver marks a new digital-led era for the outdoor retailer. Not only has SAIL been able to jump-start its digital transformation with PIM software as the catalyst, but they’ve also embarked on a journey towards e-commerce excellence to meet the shifting expectations of its customers.

With the inriver PIM platform integrated into its tech stack, SAIL can confidently navigate the complexities of digital commerce without sacrificing the unique nature of its in-person retail outlets. This has led to significant improvements to the reach and visibility of their products, enabling the brand to deliver exceptional value and experiences to customers across Canada.