PRODUCT PROCUREMENT
Research shows 88 percent of specifiers use Google to research products
to answer the phone , setting up a reception area . Oh , wait a minute …
When I was working in practice in the mid noughties , we cut our product library down from 20 metres of catalogues to just five . Research by CIMCIG has confirmed that demand for printed material is dropping , but we know that already , don ’ t we ?
For a start , we need things more quickly . We can ’ t wait 5 days for a reply card to bring back a generic brochure . That ’ s why we ’ ve been using the Internet to source product information for years . The last time RIBA Insight carried out research into this area ( 2012 ) they found that 88 percent of specifiers use Google to research product information , and 83 percent go direct to product manufacturers ’ websites .
Problems with sourcing information online If you ’ re one of those 83 percent who visit manufacturers websites , you ’ ll know how much of a challenge product companies find publishing
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