An Internet‐based electronic product catalogue of construction materials

As the potential of the Internet is gradually realized and its importance progressively recognized, waves of companies are now trying to utilize this new means of commerce by conducting business online and offering their products for cyber‐exchanges. Suppliers in the construction industry, coming to understand the advantages of e‐commerce, have also begun putting their product catalogues online. However, before suppliers can truly benefit from e‐commerce, a comprehensive and user‐friendly electronic product catalogue must be developed so that buyers can easily navigate through e‐markets to find what they need. This paper attempts to review problems of existing electronic product catalogues on construction material websites and presents an electronic product catalogue designed to facilitate easy searching, comparing and evaluating of construction materials.