We’ve upgraded the Search API to version 4 with a focus on high impact improvements across: product data extraction, query interpretation, and supplier coverage.

These changes address long-standing challenges procurement teams face: fragmented supplier information, multilingual content, ambiguous queries, and inconsistent ranking.

What’s new

✅ Richer product data extraction and aggregation

✅ English-only search and results across all languages

✅ Smarter product matching

✅ Better intent detection with user-defined topics

✅ Improved ranking by relevance, portfolio, and supplier size

✅ New search capability for SaaS, software, and data solution providers

📊 1. Richer product data extraction and aggregation

We now use an enhanced method for collecting and aggregating detailed product-related information, even when the data is fragmented, inconsistent, or available in multiple languages.

• We consistently extract and index individual attributes such as product materials (e.g., steel, plastic), form (e.g., granular, liquid), color, purity (e.g., 99% pure or high purity), applicability (e.g., military applications, healthcare), served industries (e.g., pharma, aerospace), and supplier capabilities (e.g., certifications). A comprehensive list of product attributes can be found here.
• We identify and extract product names, descriptions, and additional attributes even from pages that aren't dedicated to products. For instance, if a homepage mainly discusses sustainability but briefly mentions a new product launch, our system can still accurately extract that product's information from surrounding unrelated content.
• We aggregate, deduplicate, and merge product information from multiple pages whenever the same product appears repeatedly across a company's website, providing a clear, unified view.
• Each identified product is standardized according to the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC), a globally recognized classification system.
• All product information is extracted and presented in English, regardless of the original language on the supplier’s website.

🌎 2. English-only search and results across all languages

We normalize multilingual content during extraction, so that sourcing workflows are streamlined across geographies:

• Single-Language Search: Users can now perform searches directly in English, even if the supplier's original pages are in other languages, eliminating the need to translate search terms into the supplier’s language.
• English-based Results: Product names and descriptions are provided directly in English, even if the original supplier content is in another language. This simplifies analysis and removes the need for additional translation steps.

🚀 3. Smarter product matching

Matching accuracy is enhanced through the use of structured product attributes and statistical classification.

• By leveraging detailed information such as materials, form, color, purity levels, applicability, served industries, and supplier capabilities — all now consistently available across suppliers — the system can interpret and match complex queries with greater precision.
• We’ve introduced United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC)-based statistical analysis to interpret the input and identify the most relevant product categories. This added signal boosts the accuracy and consistency of results, especially in cases where product terms are ambiguous or broad.
• Together, these upgrades enable more context-aware sourcing across fragmented datasets.

🎯 4. Better intent detection with user-defined topics

The API now supports an optional main_topic field that allows users to explicitly define the central topic of their query.

The main_topic field lets you specify the central product or concept you’re trying to find when running a search query. It serves as an anchor for interpreting your input more accurately, especially in cases where the query includes a mix of product terms, use cases, or broader industry language.

You can think of main_topic as a way to answer the question:"What is the main thing I want suppliers for?"

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Learn more

Please refer to this section for more information on what main_topic is, how and when it should be used.

🚦5. Improved ranking by relevance, portfolio, and supplier size

The Veridion API uses a multi-layered ranking system to sort search results based on both query relevance and supplier quality. This ensures that the most contextually appropriate, and commercially viable results appear at the top.

What’s new:

• Relevance-based ranking: stronger weight to matches in product name/description fields.
• Category alignment: statistical UNSPSC + user-provided metadata for semantic fit.
• Supplier signals: portfolio alignment, digital presence, and company size used as ranking factors.

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Learn more

Please refer to this section for more information on how the new ranking system works.

🔍 6. New search capability for SaaS, software, and data solution providers

The Veridion Supplier Universe now includes B2B software providers, enabling you to search and source vendors across a wide range of categories — including marketing automation tools, procurement platforms, HR tools and more.

Software suppliers include:

1. SaaS vendors across industries (e.g., legal, finance, agriculture, education, HR).
2. Consulting/SaaS hybrid companies - meaning firms that offer both software platforms and consulting/professional services (implementation, customization, strategy, etc.).
3. Cloud platform & infrastructure providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, Snowflake) offering hosting, data warehousing, IaaS, or PaaS. [Read more about Software Providers]

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Learn more

Please refer to this section for more information on how to discover Software Providers using the Search API.