Yardley, PA — March 19, 2003 — Tool manufacturers Stanley Tools and Black & Decker-DeWalt have become members of an Internet trading network in an effort to improve customer service while decreasing the costs of conducting business.
The two companies have signed on with Trading Partner Connect, a network operated by solution provider Prophet 21. The provider said that Trading Partner Connect streamlines the commerce process between manufacturers, distributors and end-users, with the potential to increase sales and improve customer service while reducing operating costs.
Manufacturers can benefit by improving their ability to interact with distributors, reducing supply chain costs, more accurately predicting consumer usage of their products and increasing sales, the provider said.
For their part, distributors can use Trading Partner Connect to access millions of items, enabling them to compete on a larger scale and improve customer service, Prophet 21 said. Distributors further benefit by eliminating value-added network charges for electronic data interchange and dead stock reduction.
Trading Partner Connect also provides distributors with a Web-based storefront to give end-users online customer service as well as round-the-clock ordering capabilities.
"The addition of these two highly visible manufacturers represents a milestone for Prophet 21," said Chuck Boyle, Prophet 21 president and CEO. "Trading Partner Connect has become the industry standard as members of the supply chain continue to look for ways to streamline processes and reduce costs while improving customer service."
