FCH Opens Fastener Database to Third Party Software
08/10/2009 10:34 AM CDT
Naperville, IL (August 10, 2009) – FastenersClearingHouse.com (FCH), has announced the availability of a new set of web services that provides third party software vendors the ability to interface with the FCH fastener database. The new web services offering has been dubbed “FCHServices” and is available to software vendors focused on fastener inventory management and distribution.
Users will be able to search the FCH fastener database from within their own inventory management environment to locate hard to find items that other distributors may have in stock, using FCHServices. They also will be able to upload their own inventory directly to FCH, creating online listings that can be accessed by other distributors via the FCH search engine.
The first software company to implement FCHServices is INxSQL Distribution Software, of Waterford, Michigan. The latest release of the company’s flagship inventory management system allows INxSQL users to search FCH from its inventory detail screens so that warehouse managers can quickly locate additional stock sources whenever the need arises.
The new INxSQL release also features an upload control that enables users to post their inventory to the FCH website without having to first create a spreadsheet or other intermediate file.
The search functionality is supported by FCH’s proprietary “Scrubber” technology, which was originally developed to simplify inventory uploads, and has been reverse engineered to support the powerful search tool provided within FCHServices.
The Scrubber leverages a knowledge base of industry nomenclature, shorthand and abbreviations, developed from tens of thousands of uploads, and Din, ISO, IFI and ASME standard specifications. It also deploys complex character sequence logic to deliver extremely relevant search result sets from non-standard data. Equally important, and unlike systems before it, FCHServices requires no cross index files or mapping tables to perform its searches. This removes a large headache for system administrators and database managers that make other sourcing systems unpractical.
“The Scrubber is a unique program that quickly locates products without having to set up cross references,” said Bob Reynolds, INxSQL president. “This is the only thing of its type in our industry.”
FCHServices also supports other advanced features that have not yet been fully leveraged. For example, users could generate request for product inquiries via the FCH SourceFinder network from within their inventory management system. Using FCHServices, inquiries would reach dozens of potential suppliers in near real-time, simplifying and expediting the process of locating difficult to find stock.
“The FCH network matched with this new open architecture is a powerful combination. We see it being deployed to accomplish some very exciting things,” FCH CTO, Brian Musker, said. “We expect our new web services to be embraced very quickly, and we feel they will deliver an important competitive edge when they are.”
The FCH network currently serves almost 200 listing members and over 430,000 fastener line items in its online database, which can be searched at no charge at www.fastenersclearinghouse.com/search.
About FastenersClearingHouse.com:
FCH is an independent search engine serving the industrial and commercial fastener industry by providing a marketplace online for hard to find, odd lot, and special fastener inventory. A member of the Mid-West Fastener Association, FCH was founded in October, 2006, and is based in Naperville, Illinois.
