Distributor to Sell Tools Online to Government

By Jennifer Freer, Staff Writer


MAY 30 ? Mac Tools, a Columbus, Ohio-based distributor of professional automotive tools, announced the launch of buy.mactools.com to expand its market and assist the federal government agencies, military procurement officials and authorized government contractors in purchasing tools online.


Before the launch of buy.mactools.com, Mac Tools were sold through distributors making calls to inventory-stocked trucks and automotive repair shops. The site will go live in June and offers features such as product-name search, National Stock Number search, quick order features and order tracking and history.


The features were designed specifically for federal government and military buyers that want faster research for pricing tools and quote documentation to support approval of procedures and ordering, company officials said.
"The site is a great example of leveraging e-commerce technology to give the customer what he wants in the way he wants it," said Larry Porcellato, president of Mac Tools.


Buy.mactools.com will accept orders from government purchase card holders working on General Services Administration-approved contract numbers. The benefits include contract pricing, online availability-status information, order tracking and report-preparation features, company officials said.


The site has an online quick order feature and allows users to print out copies of their orders. The site also automatically maintains purchasing histories for each customer. Those histories are accessible online for order tracking and reporting.