In the promotional products market there are so many differents products , som any differents suppliers, that’s impossible for a distributor of promotional products to know all of them. This is why a few years ago several searchable databases popped up in Europe.
I know of at least three of such databases in Europe :
www.europeansourcing.com
www.sourcingcity.com
www.articlespromotionnels.fr
Below is a short interview with David Long from Sourcingcity in the UK.
- Is your database only available for distributors ?
Yes – strictly trade distributors only.
- Who payes you ? The distributors or the Suppliers ?
Both. A small contribution from a large number of partners generates our business profits. We currently have over 1750 worldwide suppliers involved with Sourcing City and over 200 UK distributor companies as registered payers.
- How do you compare Sourcingcity to other similar databases ?
Without doubt we have the largest database of suppliers and individual product entries in Europe. We are the market leader in the UK and look forward to taking our services to Europe later this year. To date we have invested over 750,000 Euros in building the database and Sourcing City website – and we have not finished yet!
- Why would a distributor choose you rather than an other supplier ?
Ease of use, variety of products and suppliers, ability to generate creative ideas online, & – oh yes, and we are nice people to do business with!
- What is your growth like?
Manic! We are growing by 500 products a week and another 10 UK distributors join every month. We estimate that we currently provide service to companies that are responsible for over half of the UK promotional merchandise spend.
- Will Sourcingcity go for the European mainland soon ?
Yes, Planned multi Language site planned for October 2006 – We are really looking forward to meeting the European distributors and aim to be at the PSI in January 2007.
- Do you propose only UK or Europe based suppliers or also far east suppliers ?
We currently feature suppliers from Europe, UK and the Far East. Every major Pan European and major UK supplier is involved, & most feature their entire range of products. Access to Far East supplier information is only available to customers who pay an additional premium.
- Do you propose a free trial period ?
Yes, one month free trial, customers can register online. But, for European customers the real benefits will come when we launch our multi language version later this year.
Thanks David !