Marketplaces aim to bring many buyers and sellers together. If they do, they provide value to both parties, as buyers can find lots of sellers in one place and sellers can offer their goods to many potential buyers.

But that’s not enough to provide long-term value, says Michael Eichinger, chief operating officer at Bay Fastening Systems, a distributor of products that make things stick together, such as screws, bolts and adhesives.

“People want to make their jobs easy,” Eichinger says. “The value proposition of a marketplace has to be more than just bringing buyers and sellers together. It has to help them work more efficiently.”

That’s what Bay Fastening Systems is attempting to do with its BaySupply.com marketplace that it launched in December 2021. The marketplace already offers many features designed to improve ordering efficiency, and more are on the way. And there’s complexity every step of the way, Eichinger says.