Orderzone.com
{{UDP|date=September 2017}}
OrderZone.com, online from 1999 to 2001 then re-launched in 2011, is an online business-to-business website for business products and services, allowing companies to purchase from multiple suppliers and processing transactions on the site. At one time, it was ranked as the #3 B2B website by Advertising Age's Business Marketing.{{cite web|title=Two Grainger(R) Web Sites Ranked in Top 200 B2B Sites: OrderZone.com(SM) Ranks No. 3 Grainger.com(R) Ranks in Top 50|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-graingerr-web-sites-ranked-in-top-200-b2b-sites-orderzonecomsm-ranks-no-3-graingercomr-ranks-in-top-50-73956317.html|publisher=PR Newswire|accessdate=11 June 2011}}{{cite web|title=About OrderZone|url=http://orderzone.com/OrderZone/about-orderzone-marketplace|publisher=OrderZone.com|accessdate=11 June 2011}}
History
OrderZone.com was originally launched in 1999 by the maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) company W. W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW), with participating supplier companies at this time being Grainger Industrial Supply, Cintas Corporation, Corporate Express, Inc., Lab Safety Supply, Marshall Industries, VWR International, Fastenal Company, and Motion Industries.{{cite news|last=Magill|first=Ken|title=Grainger, 5 Partners Set to Market Mega BTB Site|url=http://www.dmnews.com/grainger-5-partners-set-to-market-mega-btb-site/article/61683/|accessdate=11 June 2011|newspaper=Direct Marketing News|date=April 22, 1999}} Each supplier covered a different product area, and by 2000 the site had more than 420,000 products in its database and was ranked as the #3 B2B website by Advertising Age's Business Marketing.{{cite journal|last=Segal|first=Bob|title=Online Marketplaces: OLMs signal changes for MRO distributors|journal=Progressive Distributor|date=January–February 2000}} W. W. Grainger's initial budget for the site was US$10 million.{{cite news|last=Magill|first=Ken|title=Grainger, 5 Partners Set to Market Mega BTB Site|url=http://www.dmnews.com/grainger-5-partners-set-to-market-mega-btb-site/article/61683/|accessdate=11 June 2011|newspaper=Direct Marketing News|date=April 22, 1999}}
W. W. Grainger's e-commerce strategy at this time aimed to create a digital business group that expanded their catalog (reaching more than 4,000 pages in length{{cite news|last=Feder|first=Barnaby J.|title=For This Supplier, the Sum of Its Parts Adds Up to Success|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/22/business/for-this-supplier-the-sum-of-its-parts-adds-up-to-success.html?ref=graingerwwinc|accessdate=11 June 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 22, 1999}}) and allow buyers and sellers to buy and sell over the internet. Orderzone also allowed more prices to be listed, something that was not always possible in the print catalog.{{cite journal|last=Gardner|first=Elizabeth|title=A Supermiddleman|journal=The Pricing Advisor Newsletter|date=February 2000|pages=7–8|url=http://members.pricingsociety.com/articles/a-super-middleman.pdf|accessdate=11 June 2011}} At this time W. W. Grainger also released FindMRO.com, which specialized in sourcing hard to find products.{{cite journal|last=Segal|first=Bob|title=Online Marketplaces: OLMs signal changes for MRO distributors|journal=Progressive Distributor|date=January–February 2000}}{{cite web|title=Two Grainger(R) Web Sites Ranked in Top 200 B2B Sites: OrderZone.com(SM) Ranks No. 3 Grainger.com(R) Ranks in Top 50|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-graingerr-web-sites-ranked-in-top-200-b2b-sites-orderzonecomsm-ranks-no-3-graingercomr-ranks-in-top-50-73956317.html|publisher=PR Newswire|accessdate=11 June 2011}} There were also a number of other sites at this time trying to create online marketplaces for the MRO industry, including EqualFooting.com, iProcure, MarketSite, MRO.com, OnlineMRO.com, ProcureNet, PurchasingCenter.com and TPN Register.{{cite journal|last=Segal|first=Bob|title=Online Marketplaces: OLMs signal changes for MRO distributors|journal=Progressive Distributor|date=January–February 2000}}
OrderZone.com did not generate as many paying customers as W. W. Grainger originally estimated,{{cite web|title=W.W. Grainger, Inc. - Strides into the New Millennium|url=http://www.enotes.com/company-histories/w-w-grainger-inc/strides-into-new-millennium|work=International Directory of Company Histories|publisher=eNotes.com|accessdate=11 June 2011}} and in 2000 the company was merged with Works.com, an office and technology products e-commerce business based in Austin, Texas, as part of a deal where 40% of Works.com was sold to W. W. Grainger for US$21 million.{{cite news|last=Ferguson|first=Kevin|title=Works.com, Grainger Swap Customers, Products|url=https://www.forbes.com/2000/06/14/smallbus_feat.html|accessdate=11 June 2011|newspaper=Forbes|date=2000-06-14}} OrderZone.com was then closed in 2001.{{cite web|title=About OrderZone|url=http://orderzone.com/OrderZone/about-orderzone-marketplace|publisher=OrderZone.com|accessdate=11 June 2011}}
OrderZone.com is now owned by a group of private investors, and was re-launched in 2011,{{cite web|title=OrderZone.com Prepares to Launch, Seeks Alliances|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4889464.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216055659/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4889464.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 16, 2010|publisher=PRWeb|accessdate=11 June 2011}} now operating out of Chicago, Illinois.{{cite web|title=OrderZone Contact Us page|url=http://orderzone.com/OrderZone/contact-orderzone-mro-oem-marketplace|publisher=OrderZone|accessdate=11 June 2011}} Key suppliers at this time were Fuji Electric, Airmaster Fan, IKO Bearings, IdealShield and Graymills.{{cite web|title=Streamline the Procurement Process with ORDERZONE.COM|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/mromarketplace/industrialsupplies/prweb5071054.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221112038/http://www.prweb.com/releases/mromarketplace/industrialsupplies/prweb5071054.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 21, 2011|publisher=PRWeb|accessdate=11 June 2011}}
References
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