PTplace.com, an electronic shopping mall for industrial products, is open for business on the World Wide Web. A joint venture company, CoLinx, was formed to provide the e-business and logistics services for the four founding companies: The SKF Group, INA Holding Schaeffler KG, Rockwell Automation and The Timken Company.The SKF electronic storefront on PTplace.com is a new one-stop source of information on SKF products and services. In addition to ordering SKF products electronically, registered customers will be able to check availability, pricing and the shipping status of any order – in real time, seven days a week – whether that order was placed by EDI, phone, fax or through PTplace.com. Users of SKF products can browse the SKF online catalog and those who purchase through distribution can use the Distributor Search feature to locate the nearest authorized SKF distributor.
   PTplace.com is fast, friendly and easy to use. No special software is required; all that’s needed is a PC and access to the Internet. It’s a great new tool for customers, even if they’re already using EDI for ongoing inventory replenishment. Registered users can get instant, accurate pricing of SKF products. Orders will be acknowledged by SKF, and their status may be checked at any time. Parts may be searched by SKF part number or keyword. A competitive part number interchange will be added shortly. In most cases, users may search for an item by using a customer part number search. The online catalog includes part number, description, features and benefits, weight and price for each item.
   Customer assistance is provided through the How to Use This Site area. Users can reach customer service, engineering support or an e-commerce team member with just a mouse click. Another helpful feature is Fast Facts, which provides the latest technical information on industry developments such as the new GJN grease that supersedes HT51 grease. Technical tips can also be found at the SKF store, and make a visit much more than just a shopping trip.
   The SKF store is a prime source for in-depth information on SKF marketing programs, featured products, weekly NASCAR Motorsports Updates and news stories about SKF. A technical terms glossary is included in the easy-to-use toolbar. The site will also be linked for easy navigation to the growing assortment of SKF online services such as interactive engineering, SKF.com and others.
For more information, or to
register for PTplace, customers should contact their SKF sales
representative.