Its name may suggest retail, but Consumers Interstate Corp. is a long-time wholesaler and distributor, and a pioneer in business-to-business e-commerce. In 1999, it started developing its first B2B e-commerce sites, SuperSupplies.com and ToiletPaper.com, to sell products to businesses and schools as well as homeowners. 

Since then it has launched additional B2B sites, including MovingBoxWorld.com, Hotel ProductsWorld.com, CleaningProductsWorld.com, OfficeProductsWorld.com and SafetyProductsWorld.com.

It recently consolidated the latter three sites in that list on a new marketplace site called SupplyTime.com, providing one-stop shopping for what’s known as maintenance, repair and operations supplies that businesses use to stock their facilities. The new site was set up with assistance from United Stationers Inc., one of its major suppliers of office and industrial products, for displaying and selling products online.

“The launch of SupplyTime.com allows our customers to order the variety of products they need online, along with access to passionate experts available to help on a personal level,” says Kenn Fischburg, president of Consumers Interstate, whose father, Jack, founded the company in 1947.

SupplyTime sells products across eight categories: toilet paper and other personal hygiene and washroom products; cleaning supplies; office supplies; furniture; computer hardware and other technology products; cafeteria supplies; tapes and other adhesives; industrial supplies ranging from power tools and air compressors to plumbing supplies and welding equipment; and safety equipment including such items as first-aid kits, hard hats and protective footwear.

For a free subscription to B2BecNews, a weekly newsletter that covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B e-commerce industry, click here. B2BecNews is published by Vertical Web Media LLC, which also publishes the monthly trade magazine Internet Retailer.