Global Fastener News

Fastener Web Search Sites Proliferate

John Wolz

The 1998 and 1999 holiday seasons were full of talk about consumers doing their shopping on the Internet, but business-to-business online is a much larger market. And fastener web sites are proliferating accordingly.
Fastener companies express optimism about web business.
Bilco Fastener Corp. of Joliet, IL, registered with www.fastenermarket.com, www.fastenernet.com and www.fasteners.com.
Bilco president Bill Cogan was surprised with the results. �Being a shop kind of guy, I wasn�t real hip on the Internet,� Cogan admitted. �But the search engines work great,� Cogan now says. �We are getting a lot of activity, resulting in quotes and getting our name out there.�
A recent Grant Thornton LLP survey found more than half of all midsize U.S. manufacturers use the Internet for supply-chain functions and many more are planning to use the web for such purposes within the next two years.
In a survey of 250 manufacturers, Chicago-based Grant Thornton found 58% share information with customers and suppliers on the Internet and 39% conduct online selling and quotations. Approximately a third use the Internet for order processing and fulfillment and purchasing raw materials and components.
The speed of change to Internet use is shown in the growth of a web site providing supply and procurement. SupplierMarket.com opened last June and launched its web site in October. It has grown to 75 employees and had to move its Burlington, MA-headquarters this month.
�Free� Brings in Customers
The word �free� has drawn many to the Internet to shop, and �free� is an emphasized word in fastener search sites. �The services on this site are 100% free,� is the opening line on fastenersearch.com.
The income source is generally banner advertising and sometimes a charge for being listed as a source.
One site lists the banner cost at $850 per quarter or $3,000 per year. Another charges $1,995 per year for a 15-second animated banner ad, which rotates among 15 advertisers.
Prices drop for static ads off the home page.
The low cost to get into the Internet business also is a reason for the rapid growth. SupplierMarket.com president Asif Satchu noted that to use the online marketplace �companies only need an Internet connection; there is no investment in IT infrastructure, training or subscription fees.�
Much of the source information is obviously new. The �search auctions� button at MachineTools.com is followed by a �coming soon.�
Here is a sampling of fastener search web sites:
ConSource.com specializes in construction equipment and supplies, and under �tools and fasteners� includes threaded fasteners, threaded rod, screwdriver accessories, adhesives and sealants, blind rivets and drywall screws.
An advantage for ConSource advertisers is a smaller number of suppliers competing for surfers� attention. Clicking on �blind rivets� yields only three companies � FDC Corp., Gesipa Fasteners USA Inc. and Hub Construction Inc.
The site includes links to the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association and other trade associations.
E-fastener.com tries to make it easy for those new to web shopping. �As simply put as possible, e-fastener.com is a free source of information about fasteners and the fastener industry,� is explained at the opening.
The web site shows that the Internet fastener search business in just beginning: �We have just begun to scratch the surface of what e-fasteners.com will someday become.�
Advantages e-fastener highlights include �only fastener people visit our site and, unlike magazines, there is �no additional color cost� for advertising.
E-fastener lists Abcor Fasteners, D. Scheniert Inc., Florida Screw Manufacturing, H.W. Eckhardt Corp., Index Fasteners Co., Amazon.com and CD Now as partners.
Fasteners.com and fastenermarket.com take the Internet user to The Fastener Market, which lists companies for free while its online �news� allows surfers to �read and post articles so that you can locate parts, vendors, and other information.�
A catalogue system provides inventories, and a directory gives summaries of products and services. The fastenermarket sponsor is Midwest Industrial Systems Inc.
Fastenernet.com emphasizes the worldwide nature of the Internet by describing itself as �a global network of threaded fastener companies.� It offers links to companies in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Product cate-gories include inch, metric, DIN-JIS, milspec, AN, NAS & MS and OEM.
Fastenernet.com has a user ID and password system.
Fastenersearch.com �provides manufacturers, distributors and end-users of fastener products with an effective way to sell or buy specials, excess or surplus inventories.�
If the parts the surfer is seeking aren�t listed, �We advertise to bring you hits,� fastenersearch emphasizes.
Fastenersearch.com offers free Internet access, hotlinks, RFQs, directory listings, equipment listings and inventory listings.
Fastenersources.com is based on Mike McGuire�s American Fastener Source Guide, but now the web site touts that today books are part of the past. �No longer do you need a book, a disk, a CD, Thomas register or a library to locate fastener sources � just a mouse!�
As with most guides, fastenersources.com provides not just the Email and web addresses but links to the advertiser web pages.
SupplierMarket.com is an example of a broader-based search site. �People buy parts, people sell parts. This is where they meet� is the opening motto.
However, its fastener selection is limited. Checking the site�s search function yields screw suppliers, but no suppliers come up under fasteners, rivets, bolts or washers.
SupplierMarket.com does promise suppliers will be automatically matched with RFQs.
SupplierMarket.com makes a direct appeal to trade show exhibitors for their marketing dollars. In a letter to fastener exhibitors, CEO Jon Burgstone asks them to add up the cost of shipping their booth, material handling, flights, hotels and marketing materials. �Now imagine being able to go online and register your company, listing all your qualifications and all your specialties,� Burg-stone wrote. �Imagine that it takes you all of 10 minutes to register and that you�re now able to view RFQs from all over the country. Imagine that you are automatically notified when a new RFQ comes online that�s matched to your company�s specialty.�
In addition to numerous fastener suppliers, there are a seemingly endless number of related sources. For example, MachineTools.com provides information on new and used machine tools, auctions, appraisers, financing, riggers, rebuilders, salvage dealers and tooling.
The MachineTools site shows the global implications of the Internet with promotions for trade shows in Italy, Mexico, Germany and the USA. The ReSale2000 Frankfurt banner ad is in both English and German.
Not everyone is comfortable shopping online, and buyers aren�t always able to log in when they need to. There remain book and paperless alternatives to the Web.
Last year infastGuide switched from a book version to a CD-ROM.
Fastener Technology International publisher John Jones said he is planning a CD-ROM version of its annual Buyers� Guide. He expects to publish it this coming fall.
The printed or CD-ROM versions have another possible advantage over Internet guides. Many web guides rely on the fastener sources paying to be included and thus may not have as many listings as a CD-ROM that the fastener buyer pays for.
For example, infastGuide includes 3,754 manufacturers and importers from more than 35 countries. One of the web guides lists about 250 companies in its directory and another 1,100.
However, it is easier for Internet guides to update information.
There are a variety of other Internet marketing options. Hitachi Power Tools just announced consumers can buy its products through Amazon.com. It is several steps beyond what Internet fastener source guides are providing.
Hitachi is training Amazon�s customer service team to sell power tools.
�With the click of a mouse, contractors, woodworkers and do-it-yourselfers alike can view and acquire the latest in power tool technology from the comfort of their own home,� Hitachi marketing vice president Steve Karaga said.
Karaga also described the new Hitachi/Amazon alliance as providing consumer education, as eventually each power tool listed on the web will have �a brief editorial accompaniment to educate the buyer and facilitate a more informed purchase.�