Ready Reference Instructional Presentation

1. THOMASNET.COM –
A FREE PLATFORM FOR PRODUCT SOURCING
AND SUPPLIER DISCOVERY
A Ready Reference Instructional Guide

2. THOMASNET LEADS TO BUSINESS

ThomasNet connects industrial buyers and suppliers through online solutions that make it
easier to find and do business. Since its start in 1898, the technologies driving their
solutions may have changed, but they remain an essential cog in the wheels of American
manufacturing.
 Buyers and engineers worldwide rely on ThomasNet.com, a free platform for product
sourcing and supplier discovery.
 Key decision-makers turn to ThomasNet News, the industry’s leading source of new
product news, information and analysis.

3. HOW TO ACCESS
 ThomasNet can be accessed from any computer having access to the
Internet.
 Simply open your preferred search engine and type
http://www.thomasnet.com/ into your browser or click on the provided link.

4. HISTORY OF THOMASNET
 The printed multivolume annual Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
was published since 1906 and were known as the “big green books”.
 The printed volumes were deemed so vital to industry that the U.S.
Government exempted it from strict paper rationing laws during World War II.

5. WHAT CAN THOMASNET DO FOR YOU?
 Discover OEMs (Original Equipment
Manufacturers), distributors and custom
services
 Source locally or throughout the US and
Canada
 Find Diverse and Quality certified
Suppliers
 Send RFQ (Request For Quotes) and RFI
(Request For Information)
 Source parts, raw materials and
equipment from 30,000 suppliers
 Specify by product attribute
 Review product details, spec sheets and
schematics
 Search by product category or part
number
 Find 2D and 3D models

6. WHAT CAN THOMASNET DO FOR YOU?
It is the standard authority for finding information such as:
 contact numbers
 addresses
 subsidiaries
 sales offices, and
 affiliations for 607,000 companies

7. ARRANGEMENT OF INFORMATION
 There are 67,000 product and service categories listed alphabetically under
city and state.
 Contact information, as well as product details, is accompanied by millions of
detailed CAD (Computer Aided Design) drawings of component pieces and
company catalogs.
 The information is updated on the daily basis.

8. HOW TO SEARCH
There are two easy ways to use ThomasNet:
 Searching using keywords
 Browsing the product category
Both searches can be limited by geographic location

9. KEYWORD SEARCH EXAMPLE
For example, we need to know suppliers of gears in Illinois. We put Gears in the search box and
click Search.

10. KEYWORD SEARCH EXAMPLE
It takes us on the next page where we can limit our search by state and refine it by Category.
Click the Search button and we have 151 results that we can limit by city, by Diversity/Quality of
suppliers, by different Certifications and by other parameters.

11. KEYWORD SEARCH EXAMPLE
We further limit the search by Six Sigma Certification for quality and the next page displays one
result.

12. KEYWORD SEARCH EXAMPLE
We click on the name of the company and it takes us on the page with different information
about it.

13. Keyword search example
On the same page below on the
right you can also find the list of
categories of products which this
supplier provides.

14. BROWSING EXAMPLE
Let’s say you want to browse products. On the home page we click the Source Products button
and then Product Search homepage like this:

15. BROWSING EXAMPLE
It takes you on a page where you can browse all products and find the exact product by the
required specifications.

16. BROWSING EXAMPLE
For example if you have chosen Cleaning Products & Equipment then you will see the following
categories of products in this group.

17. BROWSING EXAMPLE
You can continue your search clicking on the necessary category from the list
and you will receive the list of suppliers with the information about them similar
to the example with AmstedMaxion.

18. BROWSING EXAMPLE
This resource is very rich. It also allows you to browse by CAD Drawings. The process is
similar as for Products. As a result you will receive different types of drawings as shown:

19. CITATION
 ThomasNet.com: supplier discovery & product sourcing. (2013). Accessed
November 9th, 2013. www.thomasnet.com/

20. ASK A LIBRARIAN
If you have any questions about this resource or something left unclear please
contact our ASK A LIBRARIAN service and it will be our pleasure to help you.
Elena Stuart
2013-11-10