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Scientists Purchase Research Supplies And Equipment Online Because of Reduced Costs, Greater Convenience, According To ScienceWise.com Survey
Gaithersburg, Maryland -- March 15, 2000 -- Lower costs and more convenience are key reasons why scientists in the biomedical and biotechnology fields use the Internet to purchase scientific equipment and supplies needed for their research, according to a survey conducted by ScienceWise.com. Among the scientists surveyed, 80% cited lower costs, 63% cited quicker transactions, and 58% cited fewer hassles as reasons for using the Internet to purchase scientific supplies and equipment. In all, 71% of the scientists indicated they will use the Internet to purchase scientific products, and 55% indicated that they already do so.
ScienceWise.com, the B2B workplace on the web for the business of science and engineering, recently conducted a survey about Internet usage among life scientists, those involved in leading edge biomedical and biotechnology research generally through grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The results of the survey were released today.
"More and more science and engineering professionals are using the Internet to get information, products and services," said John Rodman, President and CEO, ScienceWise.com (http://www.sciencewise.com). "According to our survey, they are looking to the Internet to find and purchase scientific products quickly and efficiently, and they expect to use e-commerce even more in the future."
The survey sampled 6500 life scientists registered for ScienceWise Alert Services, email updates of funding opportunities matched to each individual scientist's area of research and development. Of those surveyed, 308 responded with 70% indicating they were involved in purchasing and 50% saying they make purchases on a monthly or weekly basis. Ongoing surveys of the purchasing habits and web usage of scientists and engineers are underway by ScienceWise.com.
Purchasing Habits Over the Internet
More than half the respondents to the ScienceWise.com survey use the Internet to either purchase or locate scientific supplies and equipment. E-commerce also ranked second only to the telephone as the preferred method for making purchases. Traditional mail was the least preferred purchasing arrangement. According to the survey results:
* 55% already use the Internet to purchase scientific supplies and/or equipment.
* 84% use the Internet to purchase personal goods.
* 51% anticipate purchasing more scientific supplies and products on the Internet in the future.
* 67% use multiple vendors as opposed to a single source vendor.
* 53% use the Internet to locate scientific products for their research, 78% use supplier catalogs and 34% use journal advertisements. (This question allowed for multiple answers.)
* 50% would use the Internet to purchase used equipment and supplies.
About ScienceWise.com.
ScienceWise.com is the Workplace on the Web for science and engineering professionals. Over 100,000 professionals use ScienceWise.com services weekly, receiving information tailored to their areas of interest. ScienceWise.com delivers comprehensive information on published research, funding sources, teaming opportunities, products, and services. It combines its own services with those from the most trusted industry leaders to provide the information and tools that science professionals need in their daily jobs.
ScienceWise.com has been connecting scientists, researchers, and educators to public and private funding opportunities for more than 10 years as Federal Information Exchange (FIE) and then the Research and Management Systems, Inc. (RAMS) of Gaithersburg, Maryland.
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