Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to AIM (AstraZeneca Innovation Marketplace). These are just a few of the most frequently asked questions. Contact support@scientist.com if you have any additional questions or need help using the marketplace.
- Introduction
- What is AIM?
- How do I sign up?
- What types of services and products are available?
- What is the role of the Research Concierge?
- Initiating Your Projects
- How do I place an order if I already have a quote?
- How do I place a blanket purchase order?
- How do I make a request for a custom service?
- How do I place an order for a custom service?
- How do I review the status of my current requests and orders
- How do I request proposals to be submitted in milestones?
- How do I place another order for the same proposal?
- How do I place an order with more than one supplier on my request?
- Collaborating with Your Suppliers
INTRODUCTION
AIM, short for AIM (AstraZeneca Innovation Marketplace), is an easy-to-use online marketplace that simplifies the purchase of preclinical services, human samples and custom reagents.
Creating an account is quick and easy. Please refer to the User Guide on how to create an account.
Almost any research service or product can be purchased through AIM. There are currently over 3500 research areas represented in the marketplace, including biology, chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, metabolism, human tissue samples, clinical services, manufacturing and consumer services.
All requests submitted through Scientist go through the Research Concierge, a team of experienced Ph.D. scientists who review your request for completeness and help select qualified suppliers (if applicable). You can communicate directly with suppliers who have questions or you can ask the Research Concierge to respond on your behalf.
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INITIATING YOUR REQUESTS
Enter keywords in the homepage search box, select the best-matching research area, attach the quote and a brief note (please indicate the supplier and include any contact details for the account representative who generated the proposal for you), and submit your form to initiate your request. AIM has a dedicated account manager that will help place your order.
Initiate a request and in the description of the request, include details about the amount of the blanket purchase order that you require, the services that it'll cover, and the supplier who will be conducting the services. The supplier will then be prompted to submit a proposal matching the amount you require. You'll then be able to use the Statement of Work (SOW) that is submitted to generate your purchase order. Anytime a service is provided by this supplier can be invoiced against this purchase order.
You can reach out to one or multiple global research suppliers in just a few minutes. Enter keywords in the homepage search box, select the best-matching research area, fill out the online request form and submit your form to initiate your request.. In the online request form, you can ask a technical question, request a price quote or inquire about the availability of a service or reagent.
Once you have defined the exact terms of the service in the online Statement of Work (SOW), you can place an order by clicking the "Accept SOW" button, choosing the winning SOW and submitting a valid Purchase Order (PO) number. Please refer to the User Guide for more details. AIM has a dedicated account manager that will help ensure your order is placed.
Click on Dashboard at the top of any page to review the status of any request or order. Your requests and orders are displayed in reverse chronological order. Click on the request details tab to get more information about a specific request or order. Use the Timeline tab to communicate with suppliers.
Suppliers can submit their proposals in milestones. To request the supplier to submit their proposal in milestones, simply post a message in the Timeline to ask the supplier to break it down by milestone (it may help to outline the milestones for the supplier to provide a proposal for each milestone).
After you've placed an order with a supplier, if you'd like to re-order the same service or product, you may simply accept the SOW again to generate a purchase order. Please refer to the user guide for details and screenshots on how to re-order a service or product.
After initiating your request and receiving multiple proposals from different suppliers, if you'd like to place an order for more than one supplier, please first place your order with one of the suppliers on your existing request and then, initiate a new request for each additional supplier you'd like to purchase from. In this new request, please reference the original request and request the supplier to submit the same proposal you had received. The supplier will then be prompted to re-submit their proposal for this new request, which will allow you to initiate a purchase order for their proposal. We will soon be launching a feature that will enable you to easily initiate multiple purchase orders to different suppliers within the same request.
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COLLABORATING WITH YOUR SUPPLIERS
Yes, you can use AIM to purchase from established, preferred suppliers or from new suppliers. If you have a master services agreement (MSA) in place with a preferred supplier, any purchases are governed by the terms and conditions of the existing MSA.
If you can't find a supplier you want, please use the New Supplier Request Form and include the supplier name and their contact information. We will contact them and get them signed as soon as possible. If you have any questions about the onboarding process for suppliers, please reach out to our team at suppliers@scientist.com.
No, the Supplier agreement contains terms and conditions covering confidentiality, material transfer, IP protection and purchasing. No additional terms are required to purchase on AIM.
No, before suppliers can view your request they must accept (or must have already accepted) the marketplace Supplier Agreement, which includes confidentiality protections. The Supplier Agreement also has basic terms covering material transfer, IP protection and purchasing.
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