A new survey finds 71% of manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms buying some indirect materials online in first quarter 2001, while 45% of respondents say they buy direct materials online. A mere 9% of respondents say they make all of their purchases online and more than 50% say they remain in the earliest stages of Internet buying.

The survey polled more than 400 supply management executives (manufacturers and non-manufacturers) and was conducted by the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM) of Tempe, Ariz., and Forrester Research Inc., Cambridge, Mass. Respondents say online efforts have been slowed by the economic downturn occurring in the first three months of 2001. Other obstacles include integration difficulties and lack of data standards.

Identifying suppliers is the most popular use for the Internet in buying, according to the study, which finds nearly 81% of organizations using the Internet to identify suppliers. Forty-eight percent of organizations are using the Internet as part of an RFP process.

Twenty-six percent of survey respondents report cost savings from their Internet activities with large buying organizations more often reporting savings than smaller buying groups.

The companies farthest along in Internet buying are non-manufacturers and large-dollar buyers, but fewer than one in four of these firms report being more than 20% along the way toward fruition of their plans for online buying.