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
