RFQ sending from DistiStock is now enabled

In the latest revision of DistiStock, you’ll notice the new RFQ column. This takes DistiStock to the next level. In addition to being a  comprehensive, professional grade,  electronic components search engine, it is now a trading platform as well.

Sending RFQ’s from inside DistiStock is easy:

  1. Do your search as you normally would. Just type a part number  or a key word  or a description into the search box and click the search button .
  2. Place a check mark in the check box in the RFQ column next to the suppliers that you want to send an RFQ to. You can do this from the authorized distributors Summary tab as well as from the Independents tab.
  3. Click the RFQ button at the top of the RFQ column.
  4. In the dialog box that opens, verify that your contact information  and the RFQ details are correct. You can change it if you want to, as many times as you like. The latest  contact info that you enter would be saved and displayed again next time you click the RFQ button. Any time you change the info the changes would be saved and displayed till you change them again.
  5. Click Send.

Here’s an example. A DistiStock user named Fission Chips (pun intended) has a client who  needs 5 pieces of a Programmable Logic Device with part number EPF10K30AQC208-1.

A search in DistiStock yields the following. We moved columns around a bit so you can see the important details:

rfq2a

Four boxes in the RFQ column are checked. The purchaser, Mike, at Fission Chips, usually checks the suppliers with SDSG beside them, in this case Aipco Inc and Harry Krantz, because he knows he can get the parts reliably. He’s done business with them in the past and can vouch for their integrity. He also checked Vyrian Inc and Sierra IC because his past exprience with them has been positive as well.

Then he clicks the RFQ button at the top of the RFQ column.

rfq2b

The following dialog box appears. rfq2c

All he needs to do now is confirm that everything in the box is okay, fill in whatever missing information is relevant and click Send. Within a few seconds DistiStock will send a confirmation copy of the RFQ email to his email address.

rfq2d

That’s all there is to it. Enjoy.

 

 

 

UPS Study Shows More Customers Are Likely To Buy From A Good Website Than Over The Phone

If you haven’t discovered it yet, UPS has released an interesting report, titled 2014 Industrial Supply Purchasing Insights. The management summary can be found at their website using this link.

In essence, the report is about how purchasers purchase. What do they look for, how do they find it, what steps do they go through; and most of all, what trends can be discovered? There are three very interesting things that stand out.

  • More than 2 out of 3 purchasers will research the products they are interested in using a company’s web site.
  • Once they have made a decision, purchasers are a little more likely to buy from a company’s web site than over the telephone.
  • 1 in 3 purchasers, have gone outside of their “comfort zone” and purchased online if the web site made them feel comfortable.

The report identifies two phases of buying; research and purchasing.

During the research phase, buyers want to find out as much as possible. DistiStock already gives them much of this information. Examples are stock quantities, lead times, links to datasheets, minimum order quantities, pricing information and more. This is one of the main reasons so many industry buyers use DistiStock. If a web site can be thought of as a catalog, then DistiStock is a catalog of catalogs, indexed by part number. Getting to the specific details buyers are interested in is easy with DistiStock’s filtering and sorting abilities. 

The UPS report reveals that across the industries represented by the 1,501 participants, there was reason to have a strong B2B (Business to Business) web site, not just a typical consumer site with a basic shopping cart. The difference is in both the quantity and quality of information. B2B sites provide information for everyone involved in the product procurement. It ranges from the design engineers interested in technical details, all the way through to the warehouse receivers who want to know when the shipment will arrive.

DistiStock provides the information it can, but at some point your company comes into the picture. If you want to know how, take the following information into account.

  • 68% of purchasers do their research on a distributor’s B2B web site.
  • 40% prefer buying directly from the website compared to 32% who prefer buying over the phone.
  • 87% want to know the final cost, including shipping.
  • 85% want to know an estimated delivery date.

DistiStock is the point of entry for many buyers.

This is very important if you’re an independent distributors without an elaborate web site and a big IT department. Give as much information to DistiStock as you can, either by registering with the SDSG program and uploading your inventory, including pricing, or by at least making sure that your uploads to other sites include the type of information that buyers want to see.

The big authorized distributors, Allied, Arrow, Digi-Key and so on are very generous with the information they provide. Follow their example if you’re one of the smaller companies. They know how to do business.

Regardless of whether you do nor not, there is one thing that the UPS Report makes clear. More and more people in decision making positions are using the web. It’s a very good idea to make sure that your web presence is up to industry standards.

Welcome to the DistiStock Blog

Hello All,

The DistiStock blog is up and running.  Stay tuned because there’s lots we want to tell you about.

For now, we’re happy to announce that very soon an impressive update to DistiStock will be released. This update will give you the following features:

  • The ability to send RFQ’s directly from DistiStock
  • An added region column in the Independents page
  • Automatic grouping of the Independents page by region
  • Automatic sort of the Independents page by quantity

We guarantee you’ll like it. Don’t forget to download it.

The DistiStock Team