A problem I've had in real life: I made an order from a supplier, and I know the day that it's going to arrive, but I won't be at the actual delivery location when it shows up. This could be because I'm on a jobsite, or there's a dedicated delivery location where I'm working, or maybe the UPS guy just always leaves things at my neighbor's house.

Well, McMaster-Carr seems to have noticed this, and they're now integrating their carriers' shipping & delivery info into their own delivery notification system. It's a great feature, and I got the chance to try it out the other day.

In this case, Zach was picking the package up in Southampton, and I was going to be in the city when it was delivered. He had asked for the tracking number from me but I (being lazy) never got it to him.

But I *had* put my cell phone number in the checkout dialog, and I got this great text message - which includes info on the parts I ordered - when it showed up. A quick screenshot & text to Zach, and he was able to grab it without any problem.

This is a really, really great feature. By giving their customers access to delivery data on their own terms, McMaster makes the entire procurement process a lot easier.