Affymetrix Customer FAQs

On January 23, 2017, customers began ordering Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience life sciences products via select Thermo Fisher product channels: online (at thermofisher.com), through sales reps, via Thermo Fisher (formerly Life Technologies) eProcurement (B2B) connections (eCatalogs and PunchOuts) and via Life Technologies legal entities. Included product categories are:

In addition, on January 23, 2017, customers began ordering USB biochemical products via select Thermo Fisher product channels, including online (at alfa.com), through sales reps and via Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals legal entities. Included product categories are:

A small number of life sciences products have new catalog numbers. In these instances, impacted customers have been notified of any changes to catalog numbers.

If you are a current Thermo Fisher customer with a Life Technologies legal entity set up as a vendor in your system, no action is required. You may simply place your orders for Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience life sciences products with your existing customer account and Life Technologies vendor: via thermofisher.com, our sales reps, our Customer Care team, or your eCatalog or PunchOut.

• Ensure the appropriate Life Technologies legal entity is set up as a vendor in your system. Visit our vendor setup page to find legal entity names, tax ID numbers and other information.
• Familiarize yourself with thermofisher.com and review the benefits of ordering online.
• You can register now for a thermofisher.com web account to order Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Gibco, Ion Torrent, Affymetrix, USB and eBiosciences life sciences products.
• Contact our Customer Care team at any time for assistance with vendor setup. 

Vendor information is available on our vendor setup page by product line.

All open orders placed on or before January 20 will be fulfilled by Affymetrix legal entities.

Continued assurance of supply is our priority. Orders placed on or before January 20, but scheduled to ship after that date, will be shipped to you by Affymetrix. The invoice will reflect Affymetrix as the selling entity. Purchase orders submitted on or after January 23 must be placed with the appropriate Life Technologies legal entity. If you do submit an order to Affymetrix after January 23, our Customer Care team will contact you to request that the PO be resubmitted to reflect the Life Technologies legal entity, which may cause a delay in order fulfillment.

If you currently purchase these products through Fisher Scientific or one of our other authorized distribution partners, this change does not affect how you transact business with these entities.

Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience products and services that are available today through the Fisher Scientific channel continue to be available through Fisher Scientific.

Beginning January 23, 2017, Affymetrix customers may obtain service and support for these products by contacting our Technical Service and Support organization.

See the table below for information about each current website.

This change in ordering processes does not affect our published pricing, previously established price quotes or booked orders for the affected Affymetrix, USB or eBioscience products. 

The pricing that has been applied to your account as of January 1, 2017, remains applicable after January 23, 2017, unless otherwise advised by your account manager.

Thermo Fisher and Affymetrix calculate freight charges differently. Charges vary by legal entity. Life Technologies legal entity freight charges apply to all orders placed on or after January 23, 2017.

We do not expect any change in shipping times for most customers. Our top priority is to fulfill our customers’ expectations for our products and services and to minimize any disruptions. However, you may notice a change in delivery carrier. As part of this transition to Thermo Fisher channels, Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience products now ship via FedEx, DHL or TNT instead of UPS.

If you currently have Life Technologies set up as a vendor, the tax status of your existing account applies to all purchases on that account. If you do not currently have Life Technologies set up as a vendor, please communicate any special tax situations to the Customer Care representative when you set up your account, or when you place your first order on or after January 23, 2017.

Any existing Affymetrix tax exemptions do not apply to Life Technologies’ vendor accounts. If you do not currently have Life Technologies set up as a vendor, you must first set up a vendor account (if one has not been created for you). After creating your account, customers in North America can have a tax exemption made out to our Life Technologies legal entity by contacting our Tax team at GISalesTax@thermofisher.com. Customers in EMEA should contact Customer Care for assistance.

Effective January 23, 2017, the thermofisher.com Terms and Conditions of Sale apply to all purchases. These terms and conditions can be viewed at thermofisher.com/termsandconditions.

If you are not currently a Thermo Fisher customer, your customer and contact data transfers according to the terms of the Thermo Fisher privacy policy. 

Effective January 23, 2017,your 2017 Affymetrix purchases transact through the Thermo Fisher (formerly Life Technologies) catalog. This catalog contains Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience life sciences products similar to those in your Affymetrix catalog, plus over 110,000 Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Gibco and Ion Torrent complementary life sciences products from our product portfolio. Please contact our B2B Team if you have any questions.

If you currently have a PunchOut connection to Thermo Fisher (formerly Life Technologies), your Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience life sciences products became available through your PunchOut connection to Thermo Fisher on January 23, 2017.

We are re-aligning Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience products within our complementary product portfolios under the Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems and Invitrogen brands. Visit thermofisher.com/brands to learn more about the Thermo Fisher Scientific family of brands.

We are phasing out, over time, the Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience logos on all packaging and shipping materials and where it appears on any instruments and products. You may notice the Thermo Fisher Scientific logo on shipping materials. You will also begin to see Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience life sciences products under the Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems and Invitrogen logos—some with references to Thermo Fisher Scientific—on product packaging for those brands and on some instruments. While we refresh our packaging, inside you’ll find the same high-quality products that are developed, manufactured and supported by the same life sciences team.

Starting in early 2017, we will begin to retire the Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience brands from our marketing materials and begin to phase in new packaging around the world. We expect this process to continue throughout 2017 and beyond. Wherever possible, we will deplete our supply of existing packaging to minimize waste; therefore, over the next year you may see a combination of old and new packaging. While we refresh our packaging, there are no changes to our product quality.

The acquisition of Affymetrix by Thermo Fisher Scientific in early 2016 created opportunities for us to simplify our brand architecture and create greater clarity for our customers. We believe our value to you lies in the well-respected brands you know and trust, as well as the choice afforded by one of the most innovative life sciences portfolios in the industry. That is not changing. 

Please refer to the company as Thermo Fisher Scientific. When listing products in materials and methods sections, please use the product name, including the appropriate brand: Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Gibco or Ion Torrent. 

On January 20, the “add to cart” feature on affymetrix.com and ebioscience.com was disabled, and the product information and purchasing capability available previously on affymetrix.com and ebioscience.com was incorporated into thermofisher.com on January 23. Customers who choose to order and purchase online now need to place orders for Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience life sciences products on thermofisher.com. Both affymetrix.com and ebioscience.com will remain active until we retire the sites in April 2017. At that time, any bookmarks or direct links you have to pages on either site will be automatically redirected. 

This improvement brings Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience life sciences products and solutions together with a number of our other leading brands—Thermo Scientific™, Applied Biosystems™, Invitrogen™, Gibco™ and Ion Torrent™—on one website, creating a simplified online experience and one place to access everything you need. You’ll still find the same high-quality life sciences products and solutions on thermofisher.com—your choice for scientific solutions. There are no changes to our products as a result of this online integration.

On January 20, 2017, the “add to cart” feature was disabled and customers are no longer able to order products on affymetrix.com. Customers who order and purchase online now need to place orders for Affymetrix and USB life sciences products on thermofisher.com.

Starting in April 2017, the affymetrix.com domain will redirect users to thermofisher.com. When navigating to affymetrix.com then, you will notice that the domain will be changed and the website will be rebranded. You will have a similar online experience with a new look and feel, including the replacement of the Affymetrix logo with the Thermo Fisher Scientific logo. Any bookmarks or direct links you have to pages on the site will continue to work, as we will redirect all website traffic.

On January 21, 2017, the “add to cart” feature was disabled and customers are no longer able to order products on ebioscience.com. Customers who order and purchase online now need to place orders for eBioscience life sciences products on thermofisher.com.

Starting in April 2017, the ebioscience.com domain will redirect users to thermofisher.com. When navigating to ebioscience.com then, you will notice that the domain will be changed and the website will be rebranded. You will have a similar online experience with a new look and feel, including the replacement of the eBioscience logo with the Thermo Fisher Scientific logo. Any bookmarks or direct links you have to pages on the site will continue to work, as we will redirect all traffic.

If you have access today, your affymetrix.com username and password continue to provide access to netaffx.com until further notice. We will notify you of any login process changes.

If you have access today, your affymetrix.com username and password continue to provide access to cytoscandx.com until further notice. We will notify you of any login process changes.

No. Although you can continue to login to the affymetrix.com and ebioscience.com sites using your existing usernames and passwords until April, your affymetrix.com and ebioscience.com logins do not work on thermofisher.com. If you do not already have an existing account on thermofisher.com, choose Sign In and then click Register (or go directly to thermofisher.com/register) to create an account on thermofisher.com and purchase products from our portfolio of life sciences products. 

No. While the majority of the life sciences products available previously on affymetrix.com and ebioscience.com continue to be available on thermofisher.com, some products—including obsolete products and outdated SKUs—have been discontinued. However, in the event you enter a discontinued SKU on thermofisher.com and an alternate SKU or replacement product is available, a pop-up window will appear, where applicable, to guide you through the product ordering process. In addition, while the majority of biochemical products available previously on affymetrix.com continue to be available on alfa.com, some products have been discontinued.

On the homepage, click Services & Support. Then click Change Location under Contact Us.

It’s easy for you to buy or learn where to buy products and ask questions on thermofisher.com. There is a feature on each product page or product family page that takes you to purchasing information for your country, making it easy to learn where to buy our products, and a quote feature. The “type-ahead” function also saves you time selecting the product and type of support you need. Simply click Contact Us to find current purchasing options available in your country by product line, or click Request A Quote and a representative will respond to your online inquiry.

Content will be available in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.

Most of our catalog numbers are not changing as a result of this online integration. You may notice formatting changes to some catalog numbers where slashes and spaces were removed. You may also be asked to confirm the product catalog number before adding it to your cart. In the event of a duplicate or changed catalog number, web messaging will enable you to select the correct product.

No. Our manufacturing processes are not changing as a result of this rebranding.

No. Our quality processes are not changing.

Yes. Over time, the brand name and logo on Affymetrix, USB and eBioscience product labels will change to reflect the new product brand (i.e., Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems or Invitrogen) or a new product name. Life Technologies may also appear as the legal entity/manufacturer. 

Yes. Over time, the brand name and logo on some of our product packaging will change. Wherever possible, we will deplete our supply of existing brand packaging to minimize waste; therefore, over the next year you may see a combination of old and new packaging. 

Yes. The brand name and logo on our certificates will change to Thermo Fisher Scientific. Life Technologies may also appear as the legal entity/manufacturer, as appropriate.

In addition, as of January 23, 2017, certain Certificates of Analysis are no longer included in shipping boxes and are now available to download on thermofisher.com. There are several new ways to obtain Certificates of Analysis / Certificates of Conformance:

• On the homepage, or any page within thermofisher.com, click Services & Support. Then click Certificates of Analysis and Conformance under Product Documentation. You can then search for certificates by lot number or catalog number. 
• On a product page, you can download directly (where possible) or search for certificates by lot number in the Documents section.
• If you cannot locate a certificate online, you will be guided to our Contact Us page, where you can choose Technical Support and enter a specific SKU or product keyword, and then “Request a Certificate of Analysis or Origin” through the form that displays.

Yes. Over time, the brand name and logo on some of our MSDSs will change to Thermo Fisher Scientific. Life Technologies may also appear as the legal entity/manufacturer, as appropriate.

Yes. Product literature created or updated after January 2017 will no longer contain an Affymetrix or eBioscience logo. Instead it will have an updated logo for the appropriate brand as well as a Thermo Fisher Scientific logo. Because we are minimizing waste during our rebranding and because we’re not changing some historical documents on our website, you may continue to see some documents with the Affymetrix or eBioscience logos in circulation.

Yes. The brand name and logo on our shipping boxes will change. In most instances, we will use a new Thermo Fisher Scientific branded box; in some instances, boxes may not have any branding. Wherever possible, we will deplete our supply of existing shipping boxes to minimize waste; therefore, over the next year you may see a combination of old and new shipping boxes.

Yes. Please visit thermofisher.com/contactus for customer care contact information by country. 

Yes. Please visit thermofisher.com/contactus for technical support contact information by country. 

No. Please continue using your same contacts. We will alert you to any changes.

No. Please continue using your same contacts.

Starting January 23, 2017, customers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific began ordering Affymetrix USB biochemical products via Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals legal entities, including online at alfa.com/AffyUSB and via its channel partners Fisher Scientific and VWR. This change affects the following Affymetrix product categories:

A small number of biochemical products with low sales history were selected for discontinuation. Suitable alternatives are available within the current Alfa Aesar^TM product line portfolio and can be found by searching alfa.com via product description. For assistance in identifying equivalent products, contact Technical Service at (800) 343-7276 in North America or at +1-978-521-6405, or by email at tech@alfa.com. 

We do not expect any change in shipping times for most customers. Our top priority is to fulfill our customers’ expectations for our products and services, and to minimize any disruptions.

Simply place your order for Affymetrix USB biochemical products as you would for Alfa Aesar products: online at Alfa.com/AffyUSB, though our Customer Care team or by eCatalog. 

• Ensure the appropriate Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals legal entity, tax ID and other information is set up as a vendor in your system. Contact Customer Service with any questions.  Alfa.com/en/regions/ can direct you to the right contact for your area.
• Familiarize yourself with alfa.com and review the benefits of ordering online by clicking on the top left under Resources where you will find our Order Center.
• Register for an alfa.com web account by completing the online form.
• You can also set up an Alfa Aesar account when you place your first order via alfa.com or through our Customer Care team. Visit www.alfa.com for contact information in your region.

All open orders placed on or before January 20 will be fulfilled by Affymetrix legal entities.

Continued assurance of supply is our priority. Orders placed before January 23, but scheduled to ship after that date, will be shipped to you under the current Affymetrix legal entity. The invoice will reflect that same legal entity. Purchase orders submitted on or after January 23 must be placed with the appropriate Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals legal entity. If you do submit an order to the former legal entity, our Customer Care team will contact you to request that the PO be resubmitted to reflect the new, proper legal entity, which may cause a delay in order fulfillment.

If you currently purchase these products through Fisher Scientific or one of our other authorized distribution partners, this change does not affect how you transact business with these entities.

Affymetrix products and services that are available today through the Fisher Scientific channel continue to be available through Fisher Scientific.

Affymetrix products and services that are available today through the VWR channel continue to be available through VWR. 

Beginning January 23, 2017, customers in North America, Europe and the Middle East may obtain service and support for these products via the Alfa Aesar product line support channels:

• Customer Service: To find the right number within your region visit alfa.com/en/regions/.
• Technical Support is now provided by technical application scientists supporting the Alfa Aesar product line and can be reached by phone at (800) 343-7276 in North America or at +1-978-521-6405, or by email at tech@alfa.com.
• Field Support is now provided by chemical specialists within your region. Contact Customer Service for more information.

Our commercial documents, such as invoices, quotes and shipping confirmations, will have a new look that prominently displays the legal entity name on the top of the page. You may also see logos from the Thermo Fisher Scientific family of brands featured on these documents. 

This change does not affect our published pricing, our previously established price quotes or our booked orders for the affected products. Please continue to work from the current published price list and/or your existing contract/issued quote price unless notified otherwise. 

We do not expect any change in freight charges at this time. Our top priority is to fulfill customers’ expectations for our products and services and to minimize any disruption from this transition.

See the table below for information about each current website.