BuildDirect specializes in selling large quantities of building materials and finished products per online order for home improvement projects. Now it’s opening up its e-commerce site, BuildDirect.com, to other sellers as a way to expand its selection.

The company, which has been selling directly to home improvement contractors and homeowners since 1999, earlier this month launched Home Marketplace as an e-marketplace where buyers can purchase from a number of manufacturers and distributors of products ranging from roofing and flooring materials to furniture and granite countertops.

BuildDirect has also installed new Searchandiser site search and navigation technology from GroupBy Inc. to make it easier for customers to find products in the Home Marketplace as well as throughout BuildDirect.com, BuildDirect said today. “BuildDirect’s Home Marketplace has a very wide assortment of home improvement products so a strong search functionality is essential to our customer experience,” BuildDirect chief technology officer Tal Ball says. The new search-and-navigation technology helps BuildDirect “innovate and optimize” its search function and provide more relevant information in search results, he adds.

BuildDirect calls itself a wholesaler that offers the same pricing to business and consumer customers that meet its minimum order requirements. For more about BuildDirect’s marketplace, click here.