In the market for standard software – which is worth billions – trading in second-hand software has entrenched itself as an integral part of the marketplace. The fact that this is possible in a legally secure way is thanks to German industry pioneer usedSoft: for it was this company that first opened up the market almost 20 years ago.
“The second-hand software market has gained acceptance: every year, an ever-increasing number of companies are taking a look at the second-hand market before making their purchasing decisions”, emphasises usedSoft founder and managing director Peter Schneider. “However, this trend is far from reaching its end”.
The most important pillar of usedSoft’s growth course is the systematic digitalisation of its retail business. usedSoft offers its customers the option of purchasing software online. And it’s the only well-known national provider in the industry to do so, as a court recently confirmed. usedSoft maintains a professional and automated online shop for this purpose, which the company is continuously expanding and developing. The functions and range of products are constantly being improved and expanded. The corporate group makes considerable investments to this end year after year. Results from the comprehensive customer surveys that usedSoft conducts every year are also taken into account.
Today, usedSoft customers can purchase the full range of all current Microsoft office applications and server software in the industry leader’s online shop, as well as – depending on availability – software from other manufacturers, e.g. CorelDRAW. The ordering process in the online shop takes place on a fully automated basis: ordering, payment, licensing and delivery all take place in a single operation. You can only order what is in stock in your desired quantity, and tens of thousands of licences are always available. usedSoft has the transparency of its ordering process, the protection of personal data and other important criteria checked and certified every year by the recognised EHI Retail Institute.
This process of digitalisation also forms the basis for the further internationalisation of its retail business in Europe. usedSoft has focused on international growth from the very beginning and operates in a large number of EU countries. In addition to Switzerland, where the company has its headquarters- and Germany, its country of origin- Great Britain, Austria, France, Italy and the Benelux states are important markets for usedSoft. Accordingly, customers can also order in English, French or Italian in usedSoft’s online shop. Only this summer, the renowned IT journal manage it presented the usedSoft online shop www.usedSoft.com with the seal “Germany’s best online shops” in the B2B software category.
The usedSoft online strategy has worked. Today, digital sales are the decisive driver of growth in usedSoft’s business model. Since the shop went live in 2015, online sales have increased by almost 50 percent every year. In the 2019 financial year, growth even exceeded 66 per cent (2018: 45 per cent). In the meantime, more than half of its new customers every year are acquired via its internet trade. And this trend is rising.
usedSoft was founded in 2003 by Peter Schneider and established and developed the trade in used software. Savings in purchasing used licenses can be up to 50 percent of the new price. Furthermore, a used licence is of the same value for the purchaser since software, in contrast to most other products, does not wear out. However, companies and public authorities are not only able to buy reasonably-priced software on the used market, but can also sell their surplus licences and transform them into cash. At the instigation of usedSoft, in 2012 the European Court of Justice declared the trade in second-hand software to be lawful in principle.
usedSoft Group’s customers include numerous international industrial and branded companies, including Segafredo, Roederer, Munich Airport, a leading club in the German Bundesliga as well as various financial institutions and law firms. Members of the company’s board are IBM’s former European CEO Hans-Olaf Henkel, the former CEO of the leading international chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer, Manfred Schneider, and the renowned German lawyer Dr Matthias Söffing.
