The old saying goes \u201cYou never get a second chance to make a first impression.\u201d<\/p>\n
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That phrase has become just as applicable to the business evolution over the past 20 years as it had to friend-making.\u00a0 The Internet and, more recently, mobile computing, have rendered many a traditional business obsolete, never giving those companies a chance to restructure and rebrand themselves.\u00a0 Think about venerable businesses like Blockbuster, Borders, and Purchasing Magazine \u2013 these are all businesses whose death was due, at least in part, to a new, technology-based economy.<\/p>\n
So, any company that was best known for publishing massive, multi-volume printed supplier directories that took up the majority of any purchasing department library as late as the early part of the current millennium has to be dead and gone by now, right?<\/p>\n
Wrong!<\/p>\n
ThomasNet, the legacy publisher of the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, is one of the companies that has successfully made the quantum leap from an old-school business model to a cutting-edge, technology-based new one.\u00a0 Their six-suite, web-based application \u2013 ThomasNet.com \u2013 was recently re-launched and does an impressive job of quickly connecting buyers and engineers with suppliers, products and services.<\/p>\n
Seeing ThomasNet\u2019s Supplier Discovery suite alone makes it clear why the company has been able to effectively reinvent itself.\u00a0 A buyer can quickly select a product or service category, then add supplier qualification criteria such as location, diversity status, quality certifications, and the like to drill down to a seemingly-perfect short list of suppliers.\u00a0 Then, from the same interface, the buyer can obtain a range of additional information about the supplier \u2013 the type of stuff that is often requested in an RFP \u2013 and even documents like diversity certification certificates.<\/p>\n
The process is lightning fast, especially when compared to the \u201cold way\u201d of identifying potential suppliers in those big, green books.<\/p>\n
When using the Product Sourcing suite, what is particularly interesting is how ThomasNet.com presents various product-specific criteria allowing the user to quickly refine his\/her search.\u00a0 For example, when searching for \u201clatex gloves,\u201d the suite enables the user to narrow his\/her search by such criteria as cuff length, environmental capabilities, colors and more.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s just a simple example.\u00a0 Complex components have different, complex criteria from which to choose. These capabilities are what makes ThomasNet.com more than just an information serving site.\u00a0 The information appears to be backed by some sophisticated technical intelligence \u2013 you know, the human type of intelligence that is often missing in an increasingly \u201cbricks-and-mortarless\u201d business world.<\/p>\n
When asked about this apparent level of expertise not typically found in average supplier and product directories, Tom Greco, ThomasNet\u2019s Vice President of Publishing Operations, coolly says, \u201cYou have to remember, we\u2019ve been [matching buyers with suppliers and products] since the late 1800\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
As you may imagine, finding the right subset of suppliers and products through ThomasNet.com is much more effective and efficient than finding it through another commonly used \u2013 and abused \u2013 digital buyer tool:\u00a0 Google.\u00a0 What you may not have anticipated though, is that it is the same cost as Google \u2013 free.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hear this when we promote the platform to procurement organizations: \u2018Why wouldn\u2019t I just use Google?\u2019,\u201d says Greco.\u00a0 \u201cWell, the last time I checked, you can\u2019t go into Google and define a set of qualifications for a supplier. You\u2019d have one really long search string and I doubt it would work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The no-cost aspect of ThomasNet\u2019s service is why I will stop this review right here.\u00a0 Instead of writing about the service, I encourage you to go to ThomasNet.com and try the application for yourself.<\/p>\n
You may be about to meet your new \u201cbest friend\u201d for discovering suppliers and sourcing products.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The old saying goes \u201cYou never get a second chance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-procurement"],"yoast_head":"\n