ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: E-Commerce Buyers’ Guide - FOCUS: Computer Technology

BidMgr.com

BidMgr.com’s goal is "to facilitate the communication of a very fragmented industry, whether it’s through buying and selling, through education, information or knowledge in general," according to Jack Hammons, vice president of services. BidMgr.com is focused on the green industry as a whole, including growers, landscape and irrigation contractors, retail garden centers, wholesale nurseries and re-wholesalers, brokers, landscape architects and designers, and outdoor equipment manufacturers and suppliers.

Hammons said this business-to-business (B2B) site is in the process of adding several enhancements to be put in place from roughly November 2000 through early 2001, including request for best pricing, Bid Lead Generation (BLG) and a supplier locator. Additionally, the site connects users to one another via chat rooms, message boards and instant messaging. Hammons said the company is also looking into adding Web-based software for a variety of business functions.

COST: There are currently no fees involved with using the services on BidMgr.com, however, Hammons said the BLG will most likely be subscriber-based with incremental fees based on use. Other features, including transactions, may involve fees in the future.

CONTACT: Visit www.bidmgr.com, e-mail admin@bidmgr.com or phone 800/332-5971.

Egarden.com

Egarden.com, Raleigh, N.C., is a business-to-business Internet service designed to bring together buyers and sellers of lawn and garden merchandise, and provide them with new, complementary supply and distribution channels.

The Egarden.com site includes a wholesale store that facilitates the ongoing sale of products and an auction for surplus and rare merchandise. Egarden.com also features news, information and resources for companies in the lawn and garden trade. For product manufacturers and distributors, Egarden.com offers another way to sell merchandise. For lawn and landscape professionals, Egarden.com is a one-stop marketplace to buy products, including new and unusual items, from a wide range of suppliers at competitive prices.

COST: Egarden.com is free for buyers, including landscape contractors and other green-industry professionals. Some buyers also choose to sell overstocks or rare goods on Egarden.com's auction, for which there is a charge of 5 percent of total winning bids.

CONTACT: Visit www.egarden.com, email help@egarden.com or call 877/434-2733.

Green2go/GreenZebras

Reaching an audience of nurseries, lawn and garden centers and landscape contractors, Green2go/GreenZebras allows buyers to procure products via a marketplace of green and hard goods and to tie together their buying, billing, job costing, logistics and shipping into a streamlined operation. "Green2go/GreenZebras has developed a comprehensive resource center that allows companies to run their businesses more efficiently and profitably," said Peter Gardner, president. The company currently offers green goods in the Southeast U.S. and is continually offering its services to new regions of the country, while hard goods are available nationally.

Green2go buyers can procure green goods, and hard goods are now available through the merger with GreenZebras. According to Gardner, Green2go/GreenZebras is essentially the supplier in transactions because the company purchases goods from a supplier and completes the fulfillment process directly with buyers. The company offers business management tools, including scheduling, estimating and labor management features, a learning center that includes training manuals, access to online advisors and a purchasing center for procurement of green and hard goods. A customer service center is also available. "In our model, we take complete responsibility for customer satisfaction," said Gardner.

COST: There are no fees for procurement. Because the company serves as the supplier, customers pay the listed price to Green2go/GreenZebras, and Green2go/GreenZebras then ships them to the buyer.

CONTACT: Visit www.green2go.com or www.greenzebras.com, email info@green2go.com or info@greenzebras.com, or call 888/424-7443.

GreenDex

GreenDex is the fast, easy way to buy and sell wholesale plant materials. Developed by a respected team of experienced horticulturists, GreenDex is the horticulture service designed exclusively for the green industry's needs. The service provides green industry professionals a simple and realistic solution to manage day-to-day business purchases on the Internet.

As a buyer of plant material, you can easily shop for plants by accessing availabilities from your current or new suppliers anytime, or just simply typing in the common or botanical name of the plant you wish to locate. Using a GreenDex feature called QuickQuote™, you can locate the best possible price by comparing a list of plants from multiple suppliers. Plus, place and track orders directly online.

GreenDex also has the latest word on the newest plants through a feature called Infodex™. Each entry within InfoDex displays a color photo and detailed description, plus immediate purchasing information directly from the source.

COST: Currently, GreenDex is offering a 30-day free trial. After the trial period, the annual membership fee is $89. Sellers are invoiced for a 5 percent commission fee calculated on the net value of each order.

CONTACT: Visit www.greendex.com, call 877/877-9916 or email info@greendex.com.

GreenIndustryOnline.net

GreenIndustryOnline.net, Woodbine, Md., made its debut in January as a B2B communication network for green industry businesses. The site focuses on lawn and landscape contractors, horticulture, interiorscapes, irrigation specialists and many other facets of the green industry. One of its features is the CallBook, which Steve Cissel, CEO, said is "a smart corporate email system that optimizes your team communications. Our features work from any location with Internet access."

Currently, the site includes the CallBook (with paging capability), a calendar, document storage, and a green industry B2B directory of products and services. "The B2B directory allows businesses to enhance established brands and reach new customers. Our goal is to keep established business rules and relationships in place and improve communication. What we are providing is the opportunity for every business to have their own identity, their own brand, and to market themselves to the green industry community." he explained.

COST: There is no charge to search the B2B directory. A one-line listing in the B2B directory is also free. Inquire for pricing of expanded listings that drive traffic directly to your Web site. The CallBook costs are as follows: 10 people can share the network for only $75 per month. Discounts are available. Contact GreenIndustryOnline.net for more information.

CONTACT: Visit www.greenindustryonline.net e-mail info@greenindustryonline.net or phone 888/999-5133.

GreenIndustryJobs.com

GreenIndustryJobs.com is a targeted recruiting tool that can be used to find industry professionals.

The site is run by Inventive Marketing, a team of professionals who strive to make connections between prospective employers and employees.

Job postings are online for eight weeks. All postings are for single locations as the database is searchable by zip code. Each job ad describes a unique job in a single metropolitan area. Each posting can be modified, edited or deleted at anytime. In addition to being posted in the jobs database, job ads are emailed to the registered jobseekers, so companies are actually reaching potential candidates by email. Companies who purchase a multi-job posting package, which is a minimum of 10 job postings, have their logos inserted on the home page and linked to the job search engine.

COST: The fee for viewing resumes is dependent on the type and size of the business. Job postings are $49 each for one through nine postings, $46 each for 10 through 29 postings, $43 each for 30 through 49 postings and for 50 postings or more, contact the company. If you would like a banner to be linked to your corporate Web site or would like to purchase long-term exposure also contact the company. Banners are on a first come, first serve basis. A six-month banner is $250 per month, and a one-year banner is $200 per month.

CONTACT: Visit www.greenindustryjobs.com, email info@landscapingcareers.com, call 888/818-JOBS or fax 410/964-0090.

imandi.com

Service professionals, such as lawn and landscape contractors, can reach customers via imandi.com’s business model, referred to as a "reverse marketplace" or online-referral service. Customers log on to the site to find local service professionals by filling out a request-for-quote form. This detailed form allows customers to fill out explicit information regarding the service desired, which in turn helps a contractor offer a detailed, accurate quote. Customer quote forms are filtered through the site’s database of service providers and results are returned based on geography and whether a company offers the services the consumer is looking for.

Business categories for consumers range from housekeeping to realty. Under the landscape services category are five service offerings, including yard maintenance, landscape design, fencing, tree services and weeding services. These offerings feature more than 7,000 lawn care professionals throughout the U.S.

COST: The site is currently offering free trials for members, however, a pricing structure is in development. Pricing will vary based on category and geography.

CONTACT: Visit www.imandi.com, e-mail merchantsupport@imandi.com or phone 888/992-4626.

LawnCareSuccess.com

LawnCareSucess.com is a site that was created for lawn and landscape business owners. Sean Adams, a green industry consultant from Pittsburgh, Pa., is the founder and co-creator of the site. "I have been in this industry for over a decade. When I owned my business there was never one place I could find helpful information and get advice without spending money," Adams said. "That is why we created this site."

The site offers free consultation, a discussion forum, a free monthly newsletter, tips of the week, free advice on marketing, management, employees, customers, start-ups, direct mail and telemarketing.

There is no fee to join the site and everything is provided free of charge. "I am so excited that I have finally found a place where I can learn effective ways to grow my business and profit. The best part is, I don't have to spend a penny," said registered member Timothy Diersing.

COST: The site is free.

CONTACT: Visit www.lawncaresuccess.com, email lawncaresuccess@aol.com or call 888/233-1126.

LandscapeUSA.com

LandscapeUSA.com is a destination Web site for the landscaping and gardening industry. The founders and staff of LandscapeUSA.com bring more than 75 years of combined experience in landscape and garden design, installation, irrigation, maintenance and garden center retailing.

Combining e-commerce, content and community, the Web site features include shopping for high-quality products, a garden library including tools like a plant encyclopedia and thousands of garden ideas, community and personalization.

These same features are now available to contractors who want their own Web site as well. This affordable program allows you to have a Web presence that is fully branded, customizable, interactive and e-commerce enabled. The shopping and garden library tools are excellent for communicating with and leveraging a company's existing customer base.

The Web site can be maintained at your convenience and not by a programmer or Web developer. Make changes and additions at any time you choose, 24 hours a day through the site’s Web site management module, without knowing HTML.

COST: Packages start at $100 per year for a listing on LandscapeUSA.com, and $479 per year for a complete Web site.

CONTACT: For a demo site, visit www.landscapeusa.com/demo. For more information contact Dan Fahndrich via e-mail at dfahndrich@landscapeusa.com or call 800/966-1033.

PlantAmerica

PlantAmerica, Arlington, Va., was founded in 1995 by Rick Webel, managing partner of Innocenti and Webel - Landscape Architects, Architects & Strategic Planners, Locust Valley, New York.

PlantAmerica's mission is to employ a wide range of business tools, from CDs to traditional consulting to Internet technologies to help green industry firms operate more efficiently, lower costs and increase sales. Since 1995, the company has become an essential resource for the professional horticulturists, landscape, nursery and design professionals by providing an exclusive source of CD-based plant references based on the works of Dr. Michael Dirr and Dr. Allan Armitage, two of the country's foremost experts on woody plants and perennials, respectively.

PlantAmerica now offers an expanded set of products including a state-of-the-art electronic purchasing tool for landscape contractors, powered by PurchasePro, a six-year-old public company that provides a powerful, Web-based b2b e-marketplace solution to a wide range of businesses representing many industries.

PurchasePro's partnership with America Online, as their b2b product marketplace provider, will provide an exceptional opportunity for green industry buyers and sellers to find a convenient, cost-effective, one-stop shop for all their information, knowledge and purchasing needs.

COST: Buyers pay nothing to use the marketplace; suppliers pay $50 per month and $3 per transaction or $0 per month and $9 per transaction.

CONTACT: Visit www.plantamerica.com, email info@plantamerica.com or call 703/312-2834.

PlantFind.com

PlantFind.com. PlantFind.com was founded in March of 1999 with the focus of providing the green industry with the most advanced technology solutions to assist green industry participants in running their businesses more effectively. The site’s solutions are based off of real life experiences from all aspects of the industry. PlantFind.com’s team is made up of seasoned Internet technology people that have taken 300-plus years of green industry knowledge and turned it into different solutions for different needs. It believes the industry does not and will not do business one way so it provides a buffet of solutions for the industry to choose from.

Currently, the site has catalog aggregation, marketplace listings for shopping or searching for items in need, auction, and, soon, a fully automated request for quote. Users can search for company, plant or product by name, state and many other criteria. There are information ports and chat rooms as well.

PlantFind.com is determined to bring more solutions to industry people that will help them streamline their business and cut down on wasted time and money, with a strong emphasis on "ease of use."

Currently, there are more than 1,200 companies that have been listing items on the site, which represents over 37,000 line items and over 3,000 companies using the site in total.

The main users of the site include, contractors and maintenance companies, landscape architects, wholesale growers, retail garden centers and mass merchants, municipalities and re-wholesalers, and golf course management companies.

COST: Registration is currently free, but considering how many companies are using the site now, PlantFind.com will be charging a monthly subscription fee in the near future. The purpose behind this is two fold: first, eliminate transaction percentage fees; and second, keep out anyone but wholesale industry users.

CONTACT: Visit www.plantfind.com or call 877/473-3363.

ServiceMagic

ServiceMagic.com is an online marketplace connecting homeowners and property owners to prescreened contractors. One of the 10 most requested services received by ServiceMagic is for lawn maintenance. ServiceMagic uses its proprietary technology to match and communicate a consumer's request for services to prescreened professionals addressing every need from simple repairs and eminence to large remodeling and construction projects.

When looking for a lawn and/or landscape contractor, consumers log onto www.servicemagic.com, click on "start a service request," and the process begins. Consumers fill out a detailed job request form with specific questions addressing the nature of the job. The advantage of the detailed job request is that the contractor can get a good idea of what the job entails and, therefore, can provide a consumer with a better quote before ever speaking to him or her.

The benefit is that service professionals get at the kind of leads they want and they are provided with information beforehand to become better educated and thus interested in the job.

Contractors categories include, landscape and design services, lawn maintenance and snow plowing. Contractors who join the ServiceMagic network receive additional benefits, including Web hosting, customized insurance programs, online permitting and prepaid legal services.

COST: N/A

CONTACT: Visit www.servicemagic.com or call 866/888-MAGIC.

Turfco Mfg.

Turfco Mfg. has taken the dealer and distributor out of the picture via its online offering of its own manufactured specialty equipment for lawn renovation. The company still sells products through a small number of dealers, however, most of its sales occur online or by phone. This change in distribution results in a 20 to 25 percent savings for the end user, according to George Kinkead, president. Equipment is sold and shipped direct to the customer and he or she sets it up and goes to work without ever leaving the office.

In addition to ordering online, the company offers phone customer support for troubleshooting and ordering equipment and parts. However, the typical customer service features have also moved online as the company offers an online troubleshooting guide consisting of answers to the most frequently asked questions it receives about equipment. Additionally, the company has recently transformed its equipment manuals from paper to the Internet to help users readily find the parts and product information they need to service their equipment. "It’s online service help, so there’s no down time," explained Kinkead.

COST: The only costs involved are associated with the price of equipment or parts when a purchase is made.

CONTACT: Visit www.turfco.com, e-mail directsales@turfco.com or phone 800/679-8201.

XS, Inc.

XSTurf.com is currently in its introductory phase of development with a limited offering of turf and ornamental products, such as chemicals, seeds, fertilizers and other lawn care and landscaping products.

XSTurf.com is an exchange that brings buyers and sellers together in a neutral venue. Once a transaction occurs, XSTurf provides all the backend services to move goods from sellers to buyers and funds from buyers to sellers.

Buyers on XSTurf.com have two options: they can either search the database of products listed on the site or submit a request for materials via a Name-Your-Price auction. Sellers have several levels of control to customize the selling process, including determining whether they are known or anonymous to the buyer and choosing specific information buyers can view based on geography down to a county level. Sellers can also choose the amount of involvement XSTurf.com has in the order fulfillment process, depending on factors such as geography or buyers.

Because XSTurf is directly involved in the shipping and payment processes, buyers know the fully delivered cost at the time of order and also have a 48-hour inspection period after delivery before their payment is released to the seller.

COST: The exchange is open to all potential buyers and sellers and the service is free to buyers. Sellers are charged a 3 percent transaction fee on the final terms of the sale.

CONTACT: Visit www.xsturf.com, e-mail: halbert@xsinc.com or phone 877/497-2436.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This information is provided for general awareness purposes only. A supplier’s inclusion or exclusion from this listing should not be perceived of as an endorsement or criticism of its products. Product listing submissions were edited due to influx of information.