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First-up I needed some information, so naturally I jumped on the web and Googled-up some relevant websites. Those sites didn't provide a 100% answer but they did lead me to discussion forums where people more knowledgeable than myself were able to answer my questions.

Armed with this information, I was able to work out what I needed to buy in order to come up with a solution -- so it was back to the Web again to check out the various suppliers and options.

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Within a few short minutes I'd created a short-list of suppliers, products and prices but I wasn't finished yet.

Each option was quickly checked by searching for reviews on the web and comments within usenet newsgroups.

Now the list was much shorter so I homed in on shipping costs, warranty policies and the remaining factors affecting a purchase decision. A browse of the relevant sections of the sellers' websites soon highlighted the best place to buy.

Next I pulled out my trusty Visa card (you didn't know I had one of those did you?), clicked through to the seller's shopping section, loaded up my virtual trolley and whizzed through the checkout.

So, in just a few short hours I'd researched the problem, identified the solution, tracked down suppliers, chosen the best deal and ordered what I needed, for delivery within 3-5 working days.

Now go back to the world as it was before the Net and compare how long this process would have taken -- especially considering that the problem was quite esoteric and the required items are not available in New Zealand (I sourced them from the USA in the end).

In the pre-Net world I'd have had to go to my local library and ask them to get in a raft of reference books and/or make contact with someone at a university in order to try and get the information I needed. Even then I'd probably find myself requiring a science degree to understand what I was reading or listening to.

Despite all this effort, I'd still only have access to the knowledge of a very few people and none of them may even have experience or expertise in the specialist area I'm working in.

Supposing I did identify a solution to my problem and work out what I needed to buy in order to implement that solution -- how would I find a supplier of such goods?

This is not the kind of stuff that appears in your average printed trade directory so I could have spent weeks, if not months, trying to track down a supplier -- and I mean *a* supplier. After all that work I doubt that I'd have bothered looking for a second so there's a good chance I'd have ended up paying more than I might really need to.

And let's not forget the issue of payment..

Back in "the olden-days (TM)" we had to organise TT (telegraphic transfers) which would "wire" money from your bank account to the supplier's account overseas. It would often take a week or more before the funds arrived and the cost (about $25) sometimes dwarfed the actual value of the purchase.

Until you stop and look closely, it's sometimes very easy to forget just how much benefit there is to a ubiquitous global communications system when coupled with the ease and speed of credit-card payment.

Yes, it's true -- the Net really can have a positive effect on productivity, it just saved me weeks of work (and a few dollars to boot). The scenario described is probably repeated untold times each and every day across the face of the planet, with the total savings in worker-hours and dollars spent totalling up to quite an enormous figure.

By the way, when was the last time you actually wrote a non-business letter? Email s great too, isn't it? :-)

If you use the Net in a business environment, how does it save you time and money in ways that might not be obvious to others?

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