Searchable Multi-Supplier Steel Inventory Overview
The
Multi-Supplier Inventory is a searchable inventory of steel
available for sale by multiple sellers. Buyers specify the attributes of the steel
they need and Steel Spider produces a summary listing of steel that matches these
attributes. By clicking on the company name for any item, the buyer can contact
the seller directly. The inventory functions much like a search engine for steel.
The inventory includes steel in bar, coil, irregular blanks, plate, sheet, pipe,
tube, structurals, wire and rod form.
Go to
Search for Steel under Inventory. Select the
type of steel you are interested in and fill out the form by describing what you
are looking for. Pressing the "Find Steel" button will produce a listing of available
steel that matches your requirements. Click on the company name for any item of
interest and you will see any additional information about the item as well as the
identity of the seller and his contact information.
Contact the seller directly for more information about an item or to place an order.
If you have registered, Steel Spider can send a Spider Bite (message) to the supplier
for you. The Spider Bite is sent by Steel Spider to the supplier by email with a
copy to the buyer. It will also contain the contact information of the supplier
of the item and a detailed description of the item. Sellers who receive a Spider
Bite can also view them on Steel Spider in
Spider Bites You
Received.
If you have registered, you can receive Inventory Alerts by email advising you when
steel is first added to the Multi-Supplier Inventory that matches your requirements.
Go to
Receive Inventory Alert under Inventory to describe
the steel you are interested in using a form similar to that used to Search for
Steel. Each hour a software agent named Boris checks new postings to the inventory
and notifies a buyer, by email, if steel of the desired type and attributes was
posted.
Sellers advertise the availability of steel by adding their steel to the searchable
Multi-Supplier Inventory.
We require that a seller periodically confirm that their steel being advertised
is still available. When steel is added it is marked for deletion in 30 days. By
going to
Change/Remove Your Steel under Inventory a
seller can push a single button and extend the deletion date to 30 days. We may
send a reminder to a seller to confirm their steel's availability. If no confirmation
is received, we will remove the seller's steel after the deletion date.
Manual Data Entry
Sellers can manually add steel to the Multi-Supplier Inventory by using the forms
in
Post Steel to Inventory under Inventory without charge.
Items are added immediately. Once your steel is in the Inventory you can refresh,
edit or delete it in
Change/Remove Your Steel under
Inventory. Steel that has not been refreshed within 30 days to confirm that the
steel is still available will be removed from the Inventory.
Automatic Data Entry
An easier method of adding steel to the Multi-Supplier Inventory is to use our
Automatic Data Entry process. This is especially useful
when a seller has a large quantity of steel to advertise. The seller provides us
with a file containing descriptions of their steel. The seller uploads or attaches
the file to an email. We process the file and add the steel to the Inventory. We
can handle nearly all file formats including as text, Excel XML, and CSV files.
Since every supplier handles their inventory data differently we do not specify
a particular layout for the file. Instead we tailor the Automatic Data Entry process
to the layout preferred by the seller. Normally our Automatic Data Entry process
lets sellers provide their data without data format conversion. There is no limit
to the number of steel items that can be added using the Automatic Data Entry process
and, if helpful, we can handle the submittal of multiple files.
Sellers using the Automatic Data Entry process can manage their steel by providing
an updated file. The steel from the previous file is deleted and the steel in the
new file is added to the Multi-Supplier Inventory. Sellers can also use
Change/Remove Your Steel to edit and delete their steel in the Inventory.
We charge $100 US per month to use the Automatic Data Entry process and this also
includes the ability of the seller to display his company's logo randomly on each
page.
It may be possible to download a file containing descriptions of your steel from
your website or scrape the steel information from your website. If the seller has
his available steel on a website, we can often capture the descriptions of the steel
and add it to the Inventory automatically. We can set up a Web Service that a seller
can use to add his steel to the Inventory. These are available for a slightly higher
monthly charge.