New Product Development (SM 323)


Industry and Competition
Industry Classifications - SIC, NAICS...
Industry Statistics
Industry Surveys
Market Share & Rankings
Ratios
Trade Associations
Trade News
Manufacturing Your Product
Materials & Technology
Manufacturers' Directories
Patents
Regulations
Labor Statistics
Real Estate Costs

Determining Markets & Segments
Demographics & Psychographics: Target Markets
Population Statistics


Advertising Your Product
Media Planning & Ad Prices
Trade Shows
Online Newsletters
Catalogs


Supply Chain and Distribution
Retail & Wholesale Industry
Distribution Channels and ACV
Retail Statistics & Sales
Manufacturers Reps
Freight & Shipping
Information Technology


 



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Industry Classifications - SIC, NAICS...

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is used by U.S. statistical agencies to facilitate the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of data relating to economic establishments by sector and industry. The websites below can help you identify your industry by NAICS code, and the older SIC code.

Industry Statistics Sampler
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/
The Industry Statistics Sampler, on the right hand column of the U.S. Economic Census, allows you to search related industries and NAICS code by keyword.

U.S. Census NAICS-SIC Correspondence Tables
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naicstab.htm
Find your NAICS code, and you will find the corresponding SIC code.

Quick Conversion Table SIC 1987-NAICS 1997
http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics/naicstb2.txt
Convert SIC to NAICS code.

 

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Trade News

Business Source Complete [About]
Indexes, abstracts and provides full text of many trade publications. Do a search on an industry and examine your hits. There will be a special category of results under trade journals. This major resource includes the database Regional Business News.

ABI/INFORM Global [About]
Indexes, abstracts and gives the full text of many trade journals like Women's Wear Daily and Footware News.

LexisNexis Academic [About]
A database that indexes newspapers, trade journals, wire services and transcripts.

 

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Industry Surveys

Industry Survey Locator
Try this Research Guide organized by Pardee Library Staff to find Industry Surveys available through library sources online and in print. Or look at the individual surveys below:

  • Mintel [ About ]
    You will use reports from Mintel as a basis for your work. Market research on consumer products, travel, lifestyles and leisure. Industries covered are airlines, automotive, beauty and personnel products,  clothing and fashion, food and food service, health, medical and wellness, internet and retailing.
    Reports contain the following information:
    Supply Structure (brand and market share)
    Market Size & Trends
    Market Segmentation
    Consumer (demographic information)
    Retail Distribution
    Advertising & Promotion
    Tip: You'll need to create an account to use Mintel for academic use only, and accept a user agreement. Must use BU e-mail address to sign in. You can download batches of reports, sections and individual graphs.

  • Standard & Poor's Industry Survey
    Print source available at Pardee Library Reference Desk. In depth investment reports includes industry overview and trends along with section on How the Industry Operates.
  1. Datamonitor Industry Profiles
    Available in Business Source Complete
    Datamonitor is a business information company specializing in industry analysis. These industry profiles contain information on market overview, value, segmentation, competitive landscape, leading companies in the industry, and forecasts.
  • Encyclopedia of American Industries
    Comprehensive information on manufacturing and service industries. Includes industry overviews and sources for further reading. Search by keyword or SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code. Use Full Text search on drop down menu for advanced searching.
  1. Hoover's Industry Reports
    LexisNexis Academic [ About ]
    Industry Snapshots include detailed overviews including key players and company rankings, descriptions and links for terminology, associations and organizations, and selected resources. Some reports are a few lines but include important links for more information. Reports can be found in "Company Profiles" on the Business Search Form of Lexis-Nexis.   Need help finding this?

 

You can also follow these links to consult the Library's Research Guides:

Company/Industry
International Business

Industry Reference Books Table 1 in the Reference Area

 

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Industry Statistics

Bizstats.com
http://www.bizstats.com
Financial ratios, business statistics and benchmarks.

Economic Census
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/
See industry statistics sampler, industry series, geographic area series, and zip code statistics.  Some of this information available in print form
Manufacturing & Distribution USA
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HD 9723 M365 (Table 1)
Three volume set contains statistics and leading companies for manufacturing industries, wholesale and retail. Includes information on materials consumed, product share details, inputs and outputs and employee occupations.

Mintel [ About ]
For academic use only. Industry statistics featured in Market Size & Trends, Market Segmentation, and Supply Structure sections of reports.
Tip: You'll need to create an account to use Mintel for academic use only, and accept a user agreement. Must use BU e-mail address to sign in. You can download batches of reports, sections and individual graphs.
Mintel Graphing Tutorial

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007 (with search engine)
The simplest and most authoritative source for Population and Economic statistics.
1. This URL leads to a browsing page for the Statistical Abstract:
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract.html
2 .The latest copy is also at the Reference Desk.

TableBase [About]
Includes statistical data on companies, products, industries, markets, demographics and countries. Tabular data is drawn from statistical annuals, trade association reports, government agencies, international organizations, newsletters and journals. Please note: Log out before exiting.

For more Industry Statistics see Industry Surveys, Ratios, and Trade Associations in this guide.

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Market Share & Rankings

Mintel [ About ]
Market share information can be found in the Supply Structure section of reports, which features major competitors and brands.
Tip: You'll need to create an account to use Mintel for academic use only, and accept a user agreement. Must use BU e-mail address to sign in. You can download batches of reports, sections and individual graphs - which you can edit or start new.

TableBase [ About ]
Statistical data on companies, products, industries, markets, demographics and countries. Tabular data is drawn from statistical annuals, trade association reports, government agencies, international organizations, newsletters and journals. Please note: Log out before exiting.

Market Share Reporter
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HF 5415.2 M37 (Table 1)
An annual compilation of reported market share data on companies, products, and services. Organized by SIC code.

Manufacturing & Distribution USA
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HD 9723 M365
Three volume set contains rankings of leading public & private companies for manufacturing industries, wholesale and retail. Organized by NAICS code. For updated information see, also:
Ward's Business Directory (v.8)
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HG 4057 A575

Business Rankings Annual
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HG 4050 B88  (Table 1)
Ranked lists of companies, products, services, and activities. An "outline of contents" is provided.

You can also follow these links to consult the Library's Research Guides:

Industry Survey Locator
This is a database to industry surveys found in Pardee's online databases (including the S&P Industry Surveys etc at the Reference desk.)

Iincludes Datamonitor Reports with competitive landscape and overviews of leading companies.

Industry Reference Books Table 1 in the Reference Area


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Ratios

IRS Corporate Financial Ratios
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HF 5681 R25 I72

Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HF 5681 R25 T68  (Older issues on Table 1)
Financial ratios for over 170 lines of business. Organized by NAICS code. Source of data is U.S. Federal tax returns.

Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HD 2771 I53  (Older issues on Table 1)
Published annually by Dun & Bradstreet. Financial ratios for over 600 lines of business. Organized by SIC code. Data is provided by D&B's financial information sources.

RMA Annual Statement Studies Pardee Reference
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HC 110 I6 F57 (Older issues on Table 1)
Published annually by Robert Morris Associates. Financial and operating ratios for approximately 300 lines of business. Data is provided by RMA's lending and credit institutions.

Financial Studies of the Small Business
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HD 2346 U5 F55a

You can also follow these links to consult the Library's Research Guides:

Business Tutorial: Ratios
This is a guide for more about the contents of these books.

 

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Trade Associations

Selected Industry Websites
Compiled with help from a 323 student, these primarily trade associations and some government websites have useful data.

Associations Unlimited  [ About ]
Contains information and descriptions of industry trade associations world wide; also includes U.S. and international organizations.

Directory of Associations (American Society of Association Executives)
http://www.asaenet.org/cda/asae/associations_search/1,3200,MEN3,00.html
Index to trade, industry, and professional association Web sites.

Small Business Sourcebook
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HD 2346 U5 S65 (Table 2)
Contains Resources for small service type industries. Includes associations, start-up information, licensing information, sources of supply, and trade periodicals.

 

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Demographics and Psychographics: Target Markets

Mintel [ About ]
Detailed product and demographic information:
1. Go to Lifestyle reports for listing of detailed market segment and demographic profiles. Some are:
2. For short cut to product reports use "quick search" box on upper right hand corner. See  "The Consumer" section of individual product reports for demographic information from Simmons. Includes age, race and ethnicity, and regional preferences by market segment.

Tip: You'll need to create an account to use Mintel for academic use only, and accept a user agreement. Must use BU e-mail address to sign in. You can download batches of reports, sections and individual graphs.
Mintel Graphing Tutorial

MRI-MediaMark Plus [About] Works best with Internet Explorer.
The Product Data Reports presents cross tabulations of product/service data by demographic characteristics and media audiences.
1. Registration Tutorial
2. Types of Reports and Descriptions
3. How to Read MRI-Plus Reports Tutorial.

TableBase [About]
Demographic and other marketing related statistics from a variety of magazines and reports. Put relevant keywords in top portion of page, and select "Demographics" from "Concept Term" drop down menu. Check U.S.A. in lower right hand corner and search.
Please note: Log out before exiting.

Lifestyle Market Analyst
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
X HF 5415.33 U6 L54 Annual.
Section 1 - data for geographic markets, both on general demographics (age, income, etc.) and on lifestyles (proportion of households with people interested in gardening, etc.).
Section 2 - demographic data on those identified with a particular lifestyle group.
Section 3 - demographic and lifestyle data on individual consumer market segments (e.g., 35-44 year-olds with $50,000-$74,999 income.)

Marketing Book Collection
Pardee Reference - Marketing Section
These books offer detailed breakdowns on various consumer segments within the United States. They are all grouped in the Reference Room on the 3rd floor of Pardee, Table 1 Side B.
Here are some sample target market books by category:
Demographics/ Psychographics
Demographics/Market Segments (Generation)
Demographics/Market Segments (Income, Region, Groups)
Demographics/Market Segments (Gender)

Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the original source for some of the statistics in these texts. See: Consumer Expenditures in 2004 (latest)

Getting to Know the 62 Clusters: cluster snapshots
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
X HF 5415.127 G48
The Claritas Corporation's guide to the PRIZM system, a marketing tool that describes lifestyle preferences and summarized demographics of US neighborhoods.
See also:
My Best Segments 
Click on "Zip Code Look-Up" to find predominant clusters for a certain zip codes.
The Clustered World   More detailed information about clusters and the PRIZM system.

Luxury Purchase Behavior
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
X HF 5415.33 U6 D36 2001
Demographics and insight into consumers' attitudes and purchasing of various discretionary and luxury products.

For more information see More Statistics in this guide.

You can also follow these links to consult the Library's Research Guides:

Marketing and Advertising

Marketing Reference Books Table 2 in the Reference Area


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Population Statistics

ESRI Business Information Solutions
Provides demographic profiles by ZIP Codes and other stats.

StateMaster.com
User-friendly, under Facts& Figures select dropdown menu. Selections like: Education, Housing, Lifestyle, People are very useful for target markets.

US Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
Statistics on demographic, economic, social and other aspects of the economy and society.  Many reports appear in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format.  Includes:

http://www.census.gov/population/www  
Social and demographic characteristics.  A wide range of data on subjects such as population, education, households and families characteristics, computer ownership and use, etc.
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/titles.html#cenbrief  
Various Census reports, issued irregularly.  Reports summarize data from demographic surveys of the US population.
Population Projections: U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/popproj.html

American Fact Finder
Demographic and economic statistics by county, city, town.

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007 (with search engine)
The simplest and most authoritative source for Population and Economic statistics.
1. This URL leads to a browsing page for the Statistical Abstract:
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract.html
2 .The latest copy is also at the Reference Desk.


FedStats
http://www.fedstats.gov/regional.html
Contains regional statistics, industry and general demographic data, and links.

LexisNexis Statistical Universe [About]
Provides indexing and abstracting of US government, non-US government, and international statistics, summaries of statistical publications, and links to other Web sites with useful information about statistics. The "PowerTables" section of this database contains complete statistical tables, which may be searched separately.

 

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Media Planning & Ad Prices

DMA Publications
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
Two publications from the direct Marketing Association:
1. Statistical Fact Book includes projections, sales figures, expenditure data, media usage, interactive trends, and purchasing habits for a variety of media.
2. Response Rate Report includes response rates, media, costs, and ROI for a variety of industries.

MRI-MediaMark Plus [About]Works best with Internet Explorer.
A service which provides the advertising industry with detailed demographic and marketing segment data on media audiences. The Product Data Series, a series of 20 volumes, presents cross tabulations of product/service data by demographic characteristics and media audiences. Mediamark does not make its most recent information available to libraries.
1. Registration Tutorial
2. Types of Reports and Descriptions
3. How to Read MRI-Plus Reports Tutorial.

Marketer's Guide To Media
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
X HF 5826.5 M45
Annual. This work gives estimates for costs of placing ads in media's such as television, magazines, and radio programs. Demographic breakdowns for television include information by geography, age, sex, and length of commercial.  Prices for TV advertising.

SRDS Media Solutions [ About ]
Includes information on circulation, advertising rates, newspapers, magazines, computer and community publications, radio and television, and other media.
For sources not in database see:
SRDS Media Solutions
Pardee Reference - Marketing Section
Business Publication Advertising Source
Circulation
Community Publication Advertising Source
Hispanic Media & Market Source
Technology Media Source

Advertising Age's Fact Pack
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
Annual. This small pamphlet consists of three sections; Advertising and Marketing, Media, and Agency Report. Charts available include the "Top US advertisers", "US Ad Spending Totals by Media", "Top Newspapers and Websites by Ad Revenue", and "Top Media Specialist Companies", among others.
The 2005 Fact Pack is available at the reference desk in Pardee Library and online (2006) through Adage.com by entering "factpack" in the QwikFIND box.

Company / Brand $
Pardee Reference - Marketing Section
X HF 5801 L45M
Annual. Lists, by company and brand name, dollars spent on advertising in total and broken down into ten media categories.

ClickZStats
http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=stats
Online advertising spending by Industry on a monthly basis . Go to: "Stats Tool Box" on left navigation bar.

Mintel [ About ]
Advertising & Promotion section of reports highlight advertising strategies of major competitors.
Tip: You'll need to create an account to use Mintel for academic use only, and accept a user agreement. Must use BU e-mail address to sign in. You can download batches of reports, sections and individual graphs.
Mintel Graphing Tutorial

You can also check the Research Guide:
Marketing & Advertising

for more complete sources for:
advertising costs
expenditures
direct marketing
media demographics
television ratings etc.

Marketing Reference Books Table 2 in the Reference Area

 

 

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Online Media Newsletters

Media Life
http://medialifemagazine.com
Covers "Overnights" (Nielsen ratings from previous night's programming), and other media news.

MediaPost
http://mediapost.com
Newsletters, links, and stats for media marketing and advertising professionals. Note: If you give this publisher your email address, you will automatically subscribe to its Advertising/Media related newsletters Media Daily News, Online Media Daily, and Research Briefs from the Center for Media Research. Lots of information, but be prepared to receive lots of email.

You can also check the Research Guide:
Marketing & Advertising

for: Online Newsletters

 

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Catalogs

Marketing Market Place
Pardee Reference - Marketing Section
X HF 5415.1 D57 (Table 1)
Networking source of the Direct Market Industry includes listing and contact information of catalogs by product type.

Google Catalogs
http://catalogs.google.com
Online directory of catalogs. Can be searched by keyword or browse by product type.

Catalogs.com
http://www.catalogs.com
Another directory of catalogs organized by product type.

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Trade Shows

TSNN.com - The Trade Show News Network
http://www2.tsnn.com/
Global coverage of over 15,000 trade shows and conferences, as well as seminars. Broken down by industry, and searchable by month, city, state, and country.

Small Business Sourcebook
Pardee Reference- Career (Entrepreneurship)
X HD 2346 U5 S65 2003
Information sources and assistance for 333 small business types, 95 general small business topics, and small business programs and assistance in the US and Canada.
Includes industry associations and trade shows.

Federation of International Trade Associations
http://www.fita.org
A federation of 450 independent international associations, FITA offers a great variety of trade resources.

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Retail & Wholesale Industry

Encyclopedia of American Industries
Includes information on a variety of retail venues. Search by keyword or SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code.

Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HG 4501 S74
Standard and Poor's provides a good overview of the retailing industry in two surveys - "Retailing: General" and "Retailing: Specialty". Both include information on current environment, industry profile, and comparative company analysis.

Plunkett's Retail Industry Almanac
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HF 5429.3 P57
Data and areas of interest range from the many aspects of the retail industry, to occupations and careers, emerging technology, and in-depth look at 400 of the largest, most successful corporations in all segments of the American Retail industry.

American Wholesalers and Distributors Directory
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HF 5421 A615  (Table 1)
A directory containing information on approximately 28,000 wholesalers and distributors in the U.S.

You can also navigate to the Research Guide:

eCommerce

Catalogs in this guide.

 

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Distribution Channels & ACV

Mintel [ About ]
Search for "Retail Distribution" to get the section of reports for supply chain information with sales by retail type and major stores.
Tip: You'll need to create an account to use Mintel for academic use only, and accept a user agreement. Must use BU e-mail address to sign in. You can download batches of reports, sections and individual graphs.
Mintel Graphing Tutorial

Company 10K in Mergent Online Works best with Internet Explorer.
The first section of a public company 10K has information related to company strategy, including "distribution" and other related issues such as "seasonality". You may search the 10K with the above key words using the "Ctrl F" function on your computer keyboard. Find the 10K, from a public company of your relevant industry, by looking for SEC Filings in the Company Annual & Financial Reports guide.

Industry Survey Locator
Organized by library staff to help find Industry Overviews and Trends. See S&P Industry Surveys (How the Industry Operates) for information on Distribution Channels.

TableBase [About]
Use the words "distribute" or "distribution channel" in your keyword search.
Please note: Log out before exiting.

Market Share Reporter
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HF 5415.2 M37 (Table 1)
Information on Distribution Channels can be found in the sections on Wholesale and Retail, organized by SIC code:
SIC 50 - Wholesale Trade - Durable Goods
SIC 51 - Wholesale Trade - Nondurable Goods
SIC 52 - Building Materials and Garden Supplies
SIC 53 - General Merchandise Stores
SIC 54 - Food Stores
SIC 55 - Automotive Dealers and Service Stations
SIC 56 - Apparel and Accessory Stores
SIC 57 - Furniture and Homefurnishings Stores
SIC 58 - Eating and Drinking Places
SIC 59 - Miscellaneous Retail

Manufacturing & Distribution USA
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
X HD 9723 M365
Volume 3 includes information on a variety of retail and wholesale operations. Ranks establishments by sales. Organized by NAICS code.

Reference USA [ About ]
Use custom search to create lists of retail or wholesale companies by product name, SIC or NAICS code, and geographical area.

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Retail Statistics & Sales

Bizstats.com
http://www.bizstats.com
Financial ratios, business statistics and benchmarks.

Retail & Wholesale Trade
The latest statistics from the U.S. Census bureau.
See also, Economic Census
"Industry Series" includes statistics on a variety of retail and wholesale types organized by NAICS code, including number of establishments and sales. "Industry Series Reports" include most detailed information. Can, also, be accessed from the U.S. Census homepage http://www.census.gov.

Manufacturing & Distribution USA
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
X HD 9723 M365
Volume 3 includes information on a variety of retail and wholesale operations. Includes statistics from U.S. Economic Census, with numbers of establishments and sales figures with projections for current years.

Market Share Reporter
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HF 5415.2 M37 (Table 1)
Retail Sales information by industry can be found in the sections on Wholesale and Retail, organized by SIC code:
SIC 50 - Wholesale Trade - Durable Goods
SIC 51 - Wholesale Trade - Nondurable Goods
SIC 52 - Building Materials and Garden Supplies
SIC 53 - General Merchandise Stores
SIC 54 - Food Stores
SIC 55 - Automotive Dealers and Service Stations
SIC 56 - Apparel and Accessory Stores
SIC 57 - Furniture and Homefurnishings Stores
SIC 58 - Eating and Drinking Places
SIC 59 - Miscellaneous Retail

Retail Owners Institute
http://retailowner.com
See top toolbar for information on 56 retail segments. Includes "gross profit" among other statistics and ratios for different types of stores.

TableBase [About]
To find the retail sales of a particular product in a store, experiment in "Words & Phrases" box, by putting product category with name of store (i.e.: apparel and Sears, Bestbuy and computer*) or product category with "Concept Term" (i.e.: meat and sales). Check U.S.A. at lower right hand corner of form, and search.
Please note: Log out before exiting.

Survey of Buying Power
Pardee Reference - Marketing - Table 1
Includes sales figures by retail type and city.

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Freight & Shipping

Plunkett's Transportation, Supply Chain & Logistics Industry Almanac
trends, statistics, contacts, top 500 transportation companies with sales and rankings
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HE 9 U5 P58 2006

Transportation & Warehousing: Rankings
http://www.specialissues.com/lol/dispLOL.cfm?Subject_ID=TRANSPO004

A-Z World Airports Online
http://www.azworldairports.com/

A-Z Worldwide Airfreight Directory
http://www.azfreight.com
Also includes: A-Z Worldwide Airfreight Directory and Cargo Agents/Freight Forwarders Associations. Click on "Country Index" and select Airfreight Forwarders Association.

Freightquote.com
http://www.freightquote.com
Instant quotes from a variety of well-known carriers.

Trans-Directory.com
http://www.trans-directory.com
Worldwide directory of transportation and related providers.

Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide
Pardee Reference X G 1200 F00 (Atlas Stand)
Transportation and Communications section includes information on highways, airlines, railroads, and postal information.

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Information Technology

InformationWeek
http://www.informationweek.com
Articles include IT information on individual companies.  Check Boston University's Electronic Journals to see if this title is available full text.

CIO
http://www.cio.com
CIO is an online magazine for the IT professional. Check Boston University's Electronic Journals to see if this title is available full text.

Computerworld
http://www.computerworld.com
Computerworld is the "voice of IT management." Check Boston University's Electronic Journals to see if this title is available full text.

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Labor Statistics

Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training
http://www.detma.org/forms
Massachusetts labor market information, statistics and data collection programs.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/
Information on earnings, inflation and spending, and the economy in general, along with other topics.  See: National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates of the BLS.

Handbook of US Labor Statistics:  Employment, Earnings, Prices, Productivity, and Other Labor Data
Pardee Reference - Management Section
X HD 8051 A63
Provides historical as well as current data on employment, earnings, hours, productivity, occupational safety, consumer prices, living conditions, and projections by occupation.  Also includes employment and productivity data for selected foreign countries.

International Labor Statistics:
EIU - Economist Intelligence Unit [About]
"Country Commerce Reports" include information on human resources including wages and working hours.

International Labor Organization Statistics
http://laborsta.ilo.org
LABORSTA Internet allows you to search a variety of tables by country. Tables include wages by economic activity.

 

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Manufacturers' Directories

ThomasNet.com
http://www.thomasnet.com
Formerly Thomas Register. Company profiles provide contact information for over 168,000 US and Canadian manufacturing companies. Browse by product and service and request prices.

Grainger's Catalog
http://www.grainger.com/
Industrial and commercial equipment and supplies.
Print version (available on Industry Table at Pardee Library Reference) includes prices.

Reference USA [ About ]
Use custom search to create lists of manufacturers by product name, SIC or NAICS code, and geographical area.

Harris New England Manufacturers Directory
Pardee Reference - Company Section
X HF 5041 H373
Provides profiles and analyses of manufacturing businesses.  Arranged by SIC code, alphabetically, and geographically.

Manufacturing & Distribution USA
Pardee Reference - Industry Section
X HD 9723 M36
A comprehensive analysis of economic activity in 458 manufacturing industries.  Includes rankings of companies listed by (SIC) code.

Alibaba.com
http://www.alibaba.com/
Browse by category to find parts and products mostly made in China.

 

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Manufacturers Reps

Association of Independent Manufacturers'/Representatives
http:www.aimr.net/
A trade association for manufacturer's representatives. In addition to the usual newsletters and press releases, they have two directories. One is just a long list of "Members Online." The other is a cross-reference of manufacturers and their representatives. If a student is "in the market" for a representative, they may be able to find a relevant manufacturer in this list and see what reps that manufacturer is using.

Manufacturers' Agents National Association
http://www.manaonline.org/
Another trade association for manufacturer's reps, but this deals with more kinds of products (not just industrial). Includes a page about the advantages of using manufacturers' agents which, despite its obvious bias, may be helpful to 323 students who are considering outsourcing their sales force.
see latest: Mana Survey of Sales Commissions.

Selling Through Independent Reps
Pardee Reference
X HF 5438.25 N68 2000
Detailed book on using manufacturers reps, includes useful resource guide with Manufacturers' Representative Associations.

Reference USA [ About ]
For a list of Manufacturer's Reps use the yellow pages heading in the custom search and
type "manufacturer's representatives". To narrow down a very long list use the geographic or other search.

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Materials & How Products Are Made

How Everyday Things Are Made
http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/
Videos of manufacturing processes. Select between products and processes.

Virtual Plant Tours
http://www.umsl.edu/~jmartini/book/virtualplanttours.html

Superfactory Virtual Plant Tours
http://www.superfactory.com/content/tours.htm

A to Z Online Virtual Tours
http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/education/theme/virtualtours.html

Plant Tours on the Internet
Virtual online tours of plants to show processes, arranged alphabetically by business names.

Complete List of Manufacturing Videos on How Things are Made (NAM - National Association of Manufacturers)

How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
Basic internal workings of common mechanical devices.

How Products Are Made
Pardee Reference - Industry Section
X TS 146 H67
Provides concise information on how common products are manufactured. Also includes illustrations for each entry and bibliographic citations leading to more information.

Manufacturing & Distribution USA
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HD 9723 M365
Three volume set contains statistics and leading companies for manufacturing industries, wholesale and retail. Includes information on materials consumed, product share details, inputs and outputs and employee occupations.
This information taken from the U.S. Economic Census. See below:
Economic Census
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/
For materials consumed, see "Industry Series", drill down by NAICS code, and open PDF.

National Technical Information Service
http://www.ntis.gov/
From the US Department of Commerce, this service is the "central resource for government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business related information available today."

You can also check the Research Guide at the:

Boston University Science and Engineering Library

Manufacturing Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

 

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Patents

Inventor's Handbook
http://web.mit.edu/invent/h-main.html
Clear FAQ's about the patent process by the Lemelson-MIT Program.

Delphion.com
http://www.delphion.com/
Search to find abstracts of US patents, which can then be purchased. Searching for international patents requires free registration.

Esp@cenet (European Patent Office)
http://ep.espacenet.com/
Includes patent applications in their original language from The European Patent Office, the World Intellectual Property Organization and patent applications with an English abstract and title from Worldwide (50 countries and regions) and Japan. Includes bibliographic details and where available the abstract, full text and images of a document. See the Patent Offices of the Member States.

US Patent & Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov/
The official web site of the United States patent and Trademark Office. Search patents and trademarks, order copies, apply for patents, register trademarks, pay fees, monitor progress and more.

You can also check the Research Guide at the:

Boston University Science and Engineering Library

Patent and Trademark Searching

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Real Estate

Colliers International
http://www.colliers.com/Corporate/MarketReports
Market intelligence by country and city, includes office market, industry market and R & D market. Reports contain square feet available, vacancy rates, and other useful information.

Retail Market Trends: A Survey of the Nation's Retail Market Trends
http://www.grubb-ellis.com/PDF/natmrkttrnd/markettrendretail.pdf
Gives some average costs per square foot for some metropolitan areas.

 

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Regulations

Code of Massachusetts Regulations
http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/cmr.html
Gives sections of the CMR which are available on the web from the Mass Trial Court Law Libraries. Consult this online CMR index (Code of Massachusetts Regulation Index) to learn the title and section of a regulation. See their document delivery service to obtain a copy via email of a regulation not yet available on the web.

Cornell University Legal Information Institute
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
Searchable US Code.

Code of Federal Regulations
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/
Current updates of rules and regulations provided by the Government Printing Office

Federal Regulatory Directory
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section
X KF 5406 A15 F4
Contains comprehensive profiles of the twelve largest regulatory agencies.  Each profile includes a description of the agency's responsibilities, organization, personnel, congressional action, and information  sources.  Also includes brief coverage of other independent regulatory agencies and offices in the Executive Office of the President.

Internet Law Library
http://www.lawguru.com/ilawlib/
Searchable US Code.

Washington Information Directory
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk Section X F192.3 W33 
Provides updated listings for agencies, congressional committees, and nonprofit groups.  Each entry includes name, address, telephone, key contact person, and brief description.

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Email Lists

NEWPROD Mailing List and Other Industry Lists
http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/lists.shtml
Scroll down to subscribe to the NEWProd mailing list and/or other industry related mailing lists.

You can also follow these links to consult the Library's Research Guides:

Company/Industry
Business Links on the Internet
Marketing and Advertising

Marketing Reference Books Table 2 in the Reference Area

 

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