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ToolStock.com –Quality in surplus
 

In addition to its used machines portal, MachineStock.com, the FDM e.V. (Association of German Machine and Tool Wholesalers) now offers the ToolStock.com portal. The objective of the tool wholesalers organised in the FDM is that this should provide an Internet trading solution especially for surplus tool stocks.
Difficult economic circumstances, concentration processes, an increase in direct sales by manufacturers and an expansion in Internet business with a shift to B2B and B2C are testing developments for wholesale business.
MachineStock.com - the precursor
  The used machines section of the FDM had to face the threat of this new competition from e-commerce some years ago. Internet portals of the so-called "new economy" were popping up like mushrooms and saw a particularly lucrative business potential in the used machine trade. This lead to the birth of the dealers' own used machine portal, MachineStock.com: On line since 06 December 2000, this market portal, with over 14,000 used machine tools available at any one time and some 110,000 hits per month, has every right to consider itself without equal in the world.
New portal for surplus tool stocks
 

Spurred on by this success, the tool wholesalers organised in the FDM decided to provide an Internet trading solution especially for surplus tool stocks. The "ToolStock.com" project met with great interest on the part of almost all the reputable tool wholesalers, even outside the FDM membership. The main reason for this lively interest probably lies in the difficulty that many companies have in marketing their "unsaleable" articles and especially those that are no longer in the current catalogue. The following are the most significant reasons for such surpluses:

  • with each change of catalogue, some articles are dropped from the existing range and can no longer be aggressively marketed,
  • the quantities estimator has made wrong estimate and to large a quantity has been ordered,
  • A long-standing customer that had, in the past, always ordered a particular quantity of (a) certain article(s) has, for example, made technical changes in the production and no longer needs the same quantities,
  • because of a change of supplier, a group of articles are dropped from the range and are no longer included in the catalogue,
  • large store chains make a new selection of preferred suppliers and expect the return of stock from other (former) suppliers to be accepted.

After four working group meetings, the starting pistol for ToolStock.com was fired and this first virtual market in the world for surplus tools has now gone "live".
The ToolStock concept
 

The FDM is the Web portal operator and, from its position as a neutral association without vested interests referees the use of the site according to the rules set, in various ways, by the users themselves. A framework agreement has been concluded with LogoTech oHG, Werne, making them responsible, as System Operator for the Association, for the creation, support, maintenance and further development of the system.

A Web interface enables the registered tool dealers to enter their surpluses directly in a database. There is also the possibility of using an electronic interface to read in large data quantities.

In addition to the usual product information such as price, quantity, technical description etc, the dealer can include pictures and product descriptions in PDF format. The user thus decides for himself on the surplus items, quantities and prices to be offered and make changes at any time.

Through the Internet portal, www.toolstock.com, a customer searching the Internet can view the surplus offers free of charge. A customer can search through the offers in two ways. He can use a full-text search to find the required information directly or he can select a sequence of various categories to narrow the search to the articles of interest.

If he is interested in making a purchase, he can then choose to add the item(s) to a shopping list for later ordering or to make an order directly. The offer or order is sent directly to the seller by e-mail. All further transactions - from conclusion of contract to final processing and delivery - are then carried out between the seller and the buyer.

You wish to offer your surplus stocks through ToolStock.com?
  Contact us - we should be pleased to advise!
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