Lake Forest, Ill.-based W.W. Grainger will shut down the operations of its Material Logic subsidiary, the digital unit formed to seek other equity participants

Attendees of the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute's second Information Technology Forum May 14-15 heard presentations ranging from Web site design to e-business. However, the presentation that produced the most discussion was given by Jim Jefferies, vice president/logistics of USBuild.

Fitability Systems introduced a new online personality assessment service to assist in the hiring process.

MH2Technologies introduced MH2Connect, a new online feature that allows manufacturers, distributors, builders and contractors to connect with one another and their customers through state-of-the-art Web casts and online streaming videos.

upplyFORCE.com selected the Eclipse Distribution Management System as its electronic-commerce software platform after an extensive evaluation of software providers.

Profile Systems introduced its Supplier Assessment Service for large buying organizations, distributors and e-marketplaces.

Companies from five industries converged on Atlanta to attend EC Directions 2001, an inter-industry forum on connecting trading communities through electronic commerce.

In an era of e-business, infrastructure is increasingly important to businesses and, with technology leaps, increasingly exciting, according to AMR Research.

In order for the construction industry to connect fragmented players and close the data loop, there is a need for industrywide standards for Internet technologies, according to Chip D'Angelo, vice president/business development for the McGraw-Hill Construction Information Group and spokesman for construction.com, an industry marketplace.

Biz2Biz.com expanded its network of industry-specific portals to four distinct marketplaces within the construction industry.