OSCM 4080: Directories

Applied procurement

Need Help?

Ask us!

Report access issues here →

About industry codes

All about industry classification systems
Read this for background only.

About directories

Why use directories?

Why not just Google?

Because Google covers everything, and often that is too much.
Directories usually also have limits or filters that provide more control over your searching!

Directories

Library databases:

Use Gale Business Insights to explore the NAICS code and more easily find the best codes for your needs. But its directory is small, focused on larger companies only.

Use Mergent Intellect for searching for US and Canadian companies. It is based on the Dun & Bradstreet database, and has extensive listings.

Use the Company Dossier module in Nexis Uni when you need to find non-US, international companies. Be aware that its listings are less reliable, less frequently updated.

All databases below use the NAICS and/or SIC codes for industry searching.

Mergent Intellect from Mergent This link opens in a new window
Directory database for private and public U.S and international businesses. Provides facts and figures, executive contact information, and industry profiles. Allows creation and downloading of lists.
Nexis Uni from Lexis Nexis This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
VPN Required for Off Campus Access.
If above link does not work when on campus on wireless, use this link
Full-text sources on current events, business, law, and medicine.
Formerly Lexis Nexis Academic Universe.
It includes regional, national, and international newspapers; magazines; wire services; business publications (trade journals, corporate annual reports, tax sources); legal resources (law reviews, court cases, briefs, federal and state codes); government documents; medical information (medical journals); and reference sources (directories, biographical information). Coverage varies by title; very good coverage from the early 1990s to present, with some coverage as early as the mid-1970s.
Gale Business Insights from Gale This link opens in a new window
Formerly: Business Insights: Essentials
Searches business journals and magazines, industry reports and encyclopedia articles focusing on company and business information. Indexing 1980-present. Full-text mostly 1990-present.
Formerly: Business Company Resource Center.

Vertical search engines:

Aka directories or search engines for a specific industry or topic or type of company.

Buyer's Guide:a directory of companies and business solutions
From Supply Chain Management Review Magazine.
ThomasNet.com
Formerly the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, a giant set of yellow pages for industry. Registration required, but searching is free.
MacRAE's Bluebook
"Information on over 1,200,000 North American industrial companies with more than 2 million product listings indexed under more than 50,000 product headings."
Zycon
"The search engine for manufacturers."