Geolocation

Early in our product discovery, we heard loud and clear from Contractors and Distributors alike that they prefer working with businesses in their immediate area. After all, that’s part of the role of the local vendor; they’re down the road and they have what you need.

The alternative to working locally can be a little scary.

At FabTech Canada in Toronto, we spoke with a fab shop purchaser who, just weeks into his job, gambled on buying thousands of dollars of product through a massive international marketplace only to see the dollars vanish, along with the vendor. Luckily the boss was understanding, and the guy kept his job.

Another story we heard at FabTech Canada, was of an American crew that traveled up to Canada to work on a project. When they arrived, they realized they didn’t have the right products for the job, however, they didn’t know who was in the area to buy from. They felt that locating a local source was such an inconvenience that it was easier to just order their parts from an existing supplier in the US and have them flown up to Canada!

How much time, effort, and money could have been saved getting their materials from a Distributor just a few miles down the road?

ClearSource solves these problems now with the latest rollout in our development, geolocation.

We’ll match you with the most convenient Distributors based on the items on your RFQ and the Distributor’s proximity to where you need to get your work done! The right product, from the right source, at the right place.

A simple example:

You’re looking for…MIG welding guns, let’s say.

1. Put the item(s) you want to be quoted in the cart.
2. Indicate the address where the product(s) is needed; either for delivery or pickup.
3. ClearSource will then show you the most relevant Distributors authorized to carry the product(s) you’ve placed in your cart.
4. You can request quotes from as many Distributors as you like.

Then your job is “done like dinner” until the quotes start rolling in!

It’s always fun to see contractors use ClearSource and say, “Hey, I didn’t know (Distributor’s name here) carries that too!”

The geolocation feature allows you to see the local Distributors most relevant to your work site location while giving you peace of mind that they are authorized to carry the items you’re looking for and won’t ghost you after checkout!

Until now, the process was backward and introduced significant bottlenecks. You, as a purchaser, were limited to the distributors you could connect with through word of mouth or a Google search. You had to hope that they were reliable, carried the product you wanted, and had it on hand. If they didn’t you had to start the process all over again with someone new.

The result of this new feature is faster and easier local access to products from trusted sources for Contractors, and greater exposure for local Distributors.

Give it a try and let us know what you think at feedback@clearsource.ca.