No more scouring catalogs for the lowest price on pipette tips for the lab or phoning vendors to get the best deal for slidemaking. As soon as early fall, NIH employees may be able to place orders via computer by accessing a secured World Wide Web site, entering the items they wish to purchase and selecting the company from which to buy.
Researchers can create a shopping cart of requested items and send it online to be filled.
Vendors will confirm the order and delivery of the items via email. NCI's MaryAnn Guerra demonstrates the new NIH IntraMall, an electronic shopping mall for online purchase of supplies. Guerra, with the help of the Office of Financial Management and the Office of Human Resource Management, inaugurated the IntraMall on July 22 by purchasing a training class, thereby becoming the first employee to use the new system. NCI will pilot test the IntraMall for about 3 weeks with in-house participants before 10 other institutes begin their online procurement. Speed and convenience are two features of the IntraMall that should be immediately evident, said Guerra.