SDCExec.com |

New York and Willow Grove, PA — May 15, 2008 — ThomasNet, an online industrial marketplace, has announced the availability of free purchasing tools for ThomasNet users through a partnership with Source One Management Services, LLC, a procurement service provider.

Corporate, government and military buyers use ThomasNet to search for and purchase everything from printed circuit boards to laboratory equipment to machinery from over 607,000 suppliers.

ThomasNet's new capabilities, known as ThomasNet's Purchasing Tools, give the more than 3 million monthly users of www.ThomasNet.com free access to request for information/proposal/quote (RFx) and reverse auction tools. ThomasNet said this out to make it possible for buyers that do not have purchasing software to increase the speed and efficiency of their purchasing processes.

ThomasNet said users can access the desktop tools at no charge and begin incorporating them into their daily purchasing processes, without additional training or the need to support complex software systems. The tools are available to buyers who register through the MyThomas section of the ThomasNet site, which is also free to all users.

"These tools reduce the time buyers need to devote to each separate request and can improve purchasing efficiency by 30 percent or more," commented Steven Belli, CEO of Source One.

Belli said that without these purchasing tools, sourcing can be a cumbersome process of sending out separate e-mails to each supplier, collecting replies through various Word or Excel documents, copying key variables into spreadsheets for analysis, and then double-checking data to ensure apples to apples comparisons. The Purchasing Tools streamline the process, allowing buyers to create and send requests for quotations, and review and analyze sellers' information in a pre-set format, all via a secure and confidential online tool.

Specific functionality includes single or multiple line-item listings; the ability to upload unlimited attachments including specs, drawings, documents and presentations; multi-currency support; and secure online storage of RFx events; along with the ability to copy and re-run events in the future.