SPRING 2022

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THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
FCH SOURCING NETWORK
Sourcing Network for the Fastener Industry
TEL 1-877-332-7836 EMAIL eric@fastenersclearinghouse.com WEB www.fastenersclearinghouse.com
OPTIMIZE YOUR FCH LISTINGS by Eric Dudas
The most common question we hear at fastener
industry events is, “How’s business?”
“When fastener distributors do well, we do well!” That’s
my standard answer, because FCH Sourcing Network
(www.fastenersclearinghouse.com) has been helping
distributors show their parts to online buyers for over
15 years and our business directly reflects the wider
industry.
With supply chain problems and shortages of even
the most common fasteners a fact of life these days,
FCH has never seen more traffic. Buyers from across
the industry have taken to the web in search of parts as
their stocks grow thin. Sales are up, so we’re doing well.
The second frequent question we receive is, “What
are your top tips for listing inventory with FCH?”
Consulting with lifetime honorary Texan and
database guru, Brian Musker, I came up with this punch
list of ways to maximize your effectiveness:
Reload Often
Fresh inventory listings keep quantities accurate,
and a more recent upload time stamp date can win out
for clicks over older listings that appear stale. Also, our
search algorithms give a slight edge to newer listings, so
they tend to come up higher on the search results page,
which can mean more sales inquiries.
Each FCH member is responsible for keeping their
own listings up to date, and we’ve made this a very fast
and simple upload process that’s a lot like adding an
“You have exactly zero chance
of selling the inventory you
have on the shelf if nobody
knows you have it.”
attachment to an email. Users of INxSQL, Business
Edge and Distribution One software have the extra
advantage of being able to upload directly from their ERP
desktop.
Go Big
You should list as much inventory with FCH as you
can. More listings translates to more clicks. Too often,
people say they will start with a small handful of slow
movers, hoping to make some fast sales which can
sometimes take a while to happen. They sometimes
leave, disappointed with very few clicks. It’s much better
to go big and get lots of inquiries from the start, by listing
parts that make you margin and where you want to grow
your business.
Some slow movers will never move, but you have
exactly zero chance of ever selling them if nobody knows
they are on your shelf! So I suggest people use what
I call the “two bucket method”. Start with a list of
your dead stock, then add a list of money makers. It’s
the most successful strategy we’ve seen used on the
network, and it’s used by some of our oldest and most
successful members.
BUSINESS FOCUS ARTICLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 104