Flagship’s Innovative Solution for Lab Procurement Challenges

The client operates numerous laboratories across multiple facilities, all focused on pioneering advancements in medical treatments and therapies. This demands a constant supply of lab materials and services for scientists to advance their research.

Lacking a proper workflow for purchasing and managing end-user order requests, the responsibility fell onto the scientists. They were burdened with tracking orders, reconciling packing slips, following up on outstanding shipments, and approving invoices, ultimately pulling them away from their core responsibility: scientific research. The client recognized the need for a dedicated procurement role but struggled to find a budget-friendly solution.

As the client’s existing lab services provider, Flagship proposed a unique solution. Traditionally, the procurement budget covers the costs of a procurement specialist. Flagship, however, recommended reallocating funds from the lab operations budget to ensure this dedicated resource could focus exclusively on the requisitioning needs of the scientists.

Once hiring funds were acquired, Flagship contracted a procurement specialist to manage and supervise the purchasing process, including:

• Order placement and tracking
• Vendor management
• Communication with scientists
• Back-order management
• Purchasing approvals

By ensuring the labs are well stocked, this position alleviated scientists from the stress of managing orders.