Check's in the Mail ... Even if the Order is Online

E ven if an item is ordered online, the payment is still in the mail, according to a recent survey of 500 mid-sized companies.

The study, "E-Procurement Trends at Mid-Sized Companies," explores the similarities and differences between mid-sized companies using e- procurement, ("online purchasers,") and those that do not, ("conventional purchasers.") The study found that 40% of mid-sized companies in the U.S. are already purchasing online, and 37% of conventional purchasers plan to make the jump to online purchasing in the next 12 months.

The study found that although the order is placed online, 84% of bills for online purchases are still processed with paper invoices that are mailed with the purchased items. And a large portion of those purchases are paid for with a good ol' paper check. For online purchases, these companies were just as likely to use a credit or purchasing card (43%) as a check (44%). When overall corporate purchasing is considered, online purchasers use checks 79% of the time and conventional companies write checks 83% of the time.

The study was conducted by Bruskin Research on behalf of American Express Corporate Services, and surveyed 500 purchasing decision-makers in mid- sized companies with revenue ranging from $5 million to $500 million. The survey included 250 respondents from companies that currently purchase goods and services online and 250 from companies that do not currently buy online.

For more information about the online purchasing study, visit their Web site at http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/latestnews/ept_study.asp