Norton Company Launches First-of-its-Kind E-Commerce Site; Norton Company and Distributors Partner in E-Commerce Initiative
6 July 2000
Norton Company Launches First-of-its-Kind E-Commerce Site; Norton Company and Distributors Partner in E-Commerce Initiative
WORCESTER, Mass. - Norton Company has announced the launch of an e-commerce center that integrates its industrial distribution community as full partners to serve customers who choose to purchase MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) products over the Internet. The e-commerce center is an enhancement to the evolving www.nortonabrasives.com Internet site that also provides customers access to technical and applications information on abrasive products and applications.Nearly 100 Norton distributors have already signed on to participate in the e-commerce distribution program.
This e-commerce business model, first of its kind in the abrasives industry, enables customers to purchase the most popular MRO abrasive products. Norton provides the store-front, while the distributors serve as the back office function, said Bob Gardiner, Director of Industrial Distribution and Marketing, Abrasives, North America, Norton Company.
"We believe that taking maximum advantage of information technology and involving our distributors will be critical to maintaining quality service to our industrial customers," Gardiner said. "Norton Company is the first supplier in our industry to launch an e-commerce site that fully integrates industrial distributors."
Gardiner explained that Norton Company's electronic commerce model addresses customers' desire for multiple ways to make purchases.
"Since we first developed our Web presence in 1995, the Norton site has continued to evolve, in support of customer needs for ways to streamline the procurement process."
"People who shop on the Internet want to buy on the Internet," Gardiner said. "We want to respond to our customers' changing purchasing preferences."
Buyers have had on-line access to technical information on more than 6,000 Norton MRO, Toolroom, and Metal Fabrication stock products for the past three years, conducting searches in an interactive catalog by application, product attribute, UPC code and catalog number. Buyers now can place orders on 500 of the most popular of these MRO items, using credit cards to make their purchases.
Customers will be prompted to make a selection of a participating distributor, who will ship the product within one business day. The distributors receive compensation from both the product cost and the order fulfillment process.
Background on Norton Company
Founded in 1885, Norton Company is a North American abrasives division of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, Paris. Major Norton industrial markets include automotive and aerospace manufacturing, primary steel, wood and furniture, and cutting tools. Norton abrasives are used in material removal, cutting, polishing, and dimensioning processes.
Norton Company has a long history of utilizing industrial distribution to bring its products to market, relying on the cost and operational efficiency of this approach to its markets.