Online marketplace for Kiwi manufacturers

Finding the right product or service from a local manufacturer will be much easier for New Zealanders from now on, thanks to MarketplaceNZ.com, which provides Kiwi manufacturers with a virtual storefront to showcase their business.

The website was launched this month by the Greater Wellington Industry Development Centre (IDC) as one of three websites designed by the IDC, in partnership with EMA Central, as a free service to help New Zealand manufacturers.

Manufacturers are urged to sign on to the MarketplaceNZ.com site, which lets them create an online profile of their business by entering their own text and pictures to show who they are and what they do.

They can add photos of their premises, machinery, key staff, products, or whatever they like. The content is dynamic, and can readily be changed and updated at any time.

For prospective buyers, MarketplaceNZ.com also makes it easy for people to find suppliers and products, through its powerful Google-like search functionality.

The other two related websites are ManufacturingNZ.com and NetworkingNZ.com.

ManufacturingNZ.com features information and news specifically of interest to manufacturers. This site is interactive, and manufacturers can request information of special interest.

NetworkingNZ.com is like an electronic bulletin board. It is a forum for manufacturers to use as they wish. People can enter information or ask questions in their own natural language when they want to find something, rather than being constrained to the format of an automated search feature.

And rather than get whatever result an automated search would provide, the answers on NetworkingNZ.com come directly from other human beings.

The IDC’s Wolf Marbach said the three linked websites are “like a club” for Kiwi manufacturers. People can put up the content they want, ask the questions they want and get the information they want.

Wolf keeps a friendly eye on the sites to maintain quality standards. Manufacturers need to register to join MarketplaceNZ.com and NetworkingNZ.com.