Cost Cutting Tips for Medical Research Labs

When it comes to lowering costs for your medical research lab, you may be wondering what you can really do. After all, you can’t sacrifice quality for savings. At Lifecycle Biotechnologies, we’ve been partnering with and supplying medical research labs for years. We know a thing or two about the industry and we’ve got some cost cutting tips for you that won’t hurt quality.

Audit Your Costs

The first thing you should do before you can cut costs is start keeping track of them. Every expenditure you make, from salaries to equipment, needs to be accounted for and kept track of. If you haven’t been doing this already, monitoring your costs will help you see the most obvious areas where you can cut back. You’ll have better insight into your lab’s spending and you’ll be able to make better decisions about future expenditures.

Lose the Less Productive Work

Are there procedures and activities you perform that have a high cost, but are unproductive financially? Look at outsourcing those lab services or reagent, chemical, and media manufacturing to a company that specializes in just that to avoid the cost of in-house work.  As a side benefit, this will also allow you to allocate your employee time and resources to areas that will contribute more to achieving your company goals.

Maintain Equipment

The best way to get the most efficient use from your equipment is by maintaining it properly. Think strategically about new purchases. Is it better to use equipment that gets thrown out after one use, or would a reusable system that’s more expensive up front have greater value in the long run? Take a hard look at the latest upgrades in equipment and decide for yourself if the upgrade is necessary or if your older model can continue working effectively.

Replace Efficiently

When equipment does break down, look at your options for upgrading to more energy efficient models. Again, you’ll have to decide as to whether any extra upfront costs will be paid for in the long run. In many cases it does make sense to purchase a more efficient model, especially if you know you’ll be hanging on to the equipment for a while.

Order in Bulk

The company you choose to order your supplies from can make a huge difference in your overall expenditures. Not only does ordering in bulk cut down on delivery costs, but you can also get better deals on bulk orders. However, that’s not the only benefit of working with a great supplier. For instance, Chata’s innovative packaging allows for longer shelf life and less risk for contamination than traditional packaging, which can also provide the benefit of using a single consistent lot over longer periods of time rather than multiple lots and the potential variance that comes with doing so.

Educate Your Staff

You probably have an excellent staff on hand in your lab, but you can always keep them up-to-date and review training on lab efficiency. Organizing freezer space, turning off lights and unused machines, and other small actions can add up to significant cost savings over the course of the year. Create and review a set of actions for efficiency and you may be surprised at how much they shave off your bills.

At Lifecycle Biotechnologies, we have years of experience working with labs and providing them with the supplies and equipment they need to operate efficiently. Give us a call today to find out how the right partner can save your lab money without affecting quality, immediately.