As the reach of the Web expands, the choices available to prospective buyers can go from ample to overwhelming. GTSI's subsites include one dedicated to the 12th Contracting Squadron at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The vendor says the sites help attract buyers to the GTSI online marketplace.
Web portals represent one way to narrow a search without narrowing the selection.
The Chantilly, Va., reseller, which originally operated under the full name Government Technology Services Inc. and has a long history in government contracting, has added six customer subsites to its expansive government-oriented Web site. Each of the subsites features blanket purchasing agreements and other contracts, often open governmentwide, awarded by the sponsoring agencies. The sites include several search options. In an approach that is fairly typical in the expanding world of electronic commerce, she said, GTSI hopes to soon handle about 25 percent of its transaction volume via the Web and eventually transact all but its largest orders that way. There is still, however, plenty of opportunity for growth in electronic transactions.