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B-to-B customers are turning to the Web in growing numbers to find distributors for the materials they need, according to a survey of engineers, technical buyers and scientific professionals conducted by vertical search engine GlobalSpec.

Seventy-three percent of respondents said they go online first to find new distributors, using general and vertical search engines and online directories of industrial manufacturers. That compares to 14% who said they refer to colleagues, 5% who cite sales calls from manufacturer’s reps, 3% who turn to trade magazines, and 2% who find distributors through direct mail or e-mail.

Once they found a distributor online, respondents said up-to-date Web content, technical specifications, product images and searchable online catalogs were more important to their consideration than on-site e-commerce capability. Additionally, when choosing a distributor, price was a less important factor to those polled in the survey than availability and delivery, customer service and in-stock inventory.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents to the GlobalSpec Distributor Buying Trends Survey said that one-quarter or fewer of the distributors they do business with allow online checking of order status.

According to the survey, the leading reason that almost half of respondents contacted new distributors was that their current provider did not offer the product needed. Respondents also indicated that geographic location is not the most important factor in choosing a distributor.