The Thomas Blog

New and Noteworthy Categories on Thomasnet.com for October 2020

Here at Thomas, we offer all kinds of amazing resources to help industrial professionals source for what they need, from the latest news to industrial guides to a direct connection with more than half a million B2B companies. Here, we're showcasing some of our latest additions to another asset: new categories to search in and source from.

This month, in addition to our favorite overall categories added over the previous month, we're also featuring nine categories of products and services related to wildfire fighting. This way we hope to better enable those who are dealing with the fires to source for what they need. We'll be diving into details on these fire-related categories first.

6 Common Mistakes That Job Shops Make

For more than 120 years, Thomas has created trusting relationships with thousands of successful job shop owners from coast to coast. Job shops across America form the backbone of the country’s economy. Unfortunately, even though they may have the right skills, equipment, and people, it’s not rare to see a job shop fail. 

In this blog post, we'll review the common mistakes job shops make and some anecdotal insights directly from job shop owners and managers.

9 Beginner Steps To Planning A Successful Responsive Website Design

In just a few years, “responsive” has gone from a buzzword to the industry standard in website design — and with good reason. Responsive design offers significant advantages over traditional design, allowing for SEO improvements, streamlined development, and, of course, better user experience across different devices.

Buying Activity for Packaging Materials in 2020

Buyers are actively searching for new supplier partners for their packaging materials needs in 2020

Buying activity from engineers & procurement professionals sourcing on Thomasnet.com has seen strong growth in 2020 for the packaging materials space. At a glance, the following major sourcing KPIs have seen a YoY increase vs. 2019:

• The number of sourcing sessions for packaging materials has grown by 25% 
• The number of RFIs submitted directly to suppliers through Thomasnet.com grew 140% 
• The number of supplier evaluations taking place on the Thomasnet.com company profiles of packaging material suppliers grew by 55% 

How To Use Digital Marketing To Get Customers In The Defense Industry

To help the manufacturing industry be appropriately equipped for change, we launched Thomas Industrial Data earlier this year.

Our sourcing activity data coupled with our Thomas Industrial Survey results, reveals interesting insights with North American suppliers shifting their businesses to meet the new normal.

• 55% of survey participants being likely to very likely to invest in Production Performance Automation in the next 12 months
• 69% of companies across the manufacturing and industrial sectors are likely to bring manufacturing production and sourcing back to North America
• 12% increase in website usage by manufacturers and industrial companies to connect with more buyers and customers

Manufacturing Day 2020: STEM Resources for High School and College Students

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many schools to shift away from in-person instruction toward a remote learning environment, the challenge of maintaining student engagement takes on increased significance. This is especially true in courses that involve STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

When taught in a traditional in-person setting, STEM courses combine education in the theoretical treatment of the subject (gleaned from written material as found in textbooks) with the practical treatment of the subject (developed via hands-on work from labs, experimentation, and the use of instruments and materials). When shifting to a remote learning environment, the techniques for educating students on the underlying principles of a subject are much easier to transfer successfully than are the more practical hands-on aspects.

To help fill this gap, we have identified some resources that may be used to provide students at the high school or college level with practical hands-on projects that they can perform which will help them supplement their education in STEM subjects.

The resources below contain a mix of different potential project ideas, many of which can be performed from home with a minimal need to purchase special suppliers or materials. Other projects from the resources below, especially those at the college level, will likely require students to make some investment in materials, components, and equipment that would not usually be found in the typical household. These are higher level projects that normally would be accomplished in a college lab class, possibly in a collaborative group setting, under the guidance of an instructor or advisor.

Meet Manufacturer's Best Friends

At Thomas, we have a special place in our hearts for our furry friends and love to celebrate them on our new Instagram account, @manufacturersbestfriend. Below you'll meet some of the industry pets you'll see on our feed: 

How To Get People To Read Your Sales Emails (And What Not To Do)

It's no secret that email marketing is one of the best ways to drive leads to your sales team. However, most manufacturers and industrial companies don't realize that it's also one of the best ways to close those leads and convert them into customers.

So while a lot of time and energy is going into optimizing marketing emails, sales emails are often relegated to an afterthought. In fact, the task of writing, designing, and deploying sales emails often falls on individual sales reps, who have little guidance, direction, or support. That's a recipe for disaster, and it shouldn't be the case.

If you want to optimize your sales emails for maximum results, be sure to follow these suggestions. 

New and Noteworthy Categories on Thomasnet.com for September 2020

Most of the 1 million+ registered users on Thomasnet.com may not realize all of the new categories we add every month, from basic products like immersion coil heat exchangers to more exotic offerings like AI marine vessel monitoring systems and washable paper backpacks. Over the past month alone, we've seamlessly added over 50 new categories to our platform, and today we're giving you a peek at our 15 favorites.