Are you still buying lab supplies the hard way? Are you spending too much of your day toggling between supplier websites, comparing lead times, chasing down delivery updates, and hoping your lab supplies arrive on time and as expected?
If so, you’re not alone. For many scientists and lab ops teams in biotech and pharma, this frustrating process is still the norm, but it shouldn't be.
Here’s the reality: you may be suffering from an acute case of painful lab supply ordering. The good news? There’s a better way.
The lab supplies biotech teams are ordering daily
Whether you’re restocking consumables or ordering scientific equipment, certain product categories are always in demand:
- Plastic consumables: Pipette tips, tubes, plates, reservoirs
- Reagents and buffers: Cell culture media, PCR reagents, antibodies
- Glassware and equipment: Flasks, Petri dishes, centrifuge tubes
- PPE and cleaning supplies: Gloves, ethanol, wipes, lab coats
- Scientific equipment: Centrifuges, thermal cyclers, biosafety cabinets, freezers
And while the products themselves may be standard, the ordering process for many labs is anything but.
The problem with buying direct from suppliers or distributors
Many labs still rely heavily on long-time suppliers or distributors, even if they’re not the most convenient, affordable, or transparent. If you’re placing orders weekly or daily, this outdated method adds up to major inefficiencies.
Your current ordering routine might look like this:
- Visit Supplier A’s website
- Search for the item
- Find out it’s backordered or not the specs you need
- Repeat the process across Supplier B… then Supplier C…
Even if your lab uses an eProcurement system, you’re often dealing with separate PunchOut catalogs that each function like standalone websites. That means:
- Time wasted switching between vendors
- Missed opportunities to compare prices or lead times
- Manual vendor onboarding and lengthy approval delays
- Fragmented procurement and finance data
- Frustrated scientists who just want to get back to their experiments
In an interview with ZAGENO CEO Florian Wegener, SupplyChainBrain shared that as of just a few years ago 20% of all orders for lab supplies were still placed by phone, with another 20% by fax.
This isn’t just inconvenient. It’s costing labs time, money, and momentum.
A better way: ZAGENO’s centralized lab procurement platform
ZAGENO brings over 5,300 global lab suppliers together in one place, making it fast and easy to find what you need and order it without the usual headaches
With the ZAGENO biotech procurement solution, you can:
- Search across 40+ million SKUs on a single platform
- Compare pricing, availability, lead times, and SLAs side by side
- Add items from multiple suppliers to one cart
- Push orders through your existing procurement system or ERP
- Eliminate tab-hopping, follow-up calls, and visibility black holes
Whether restocking your favorite brands or trying out new ones, ZAGENO helps scientists and lab ops shop smarter, without changing the way you prefer to work.
The results speak for themselves: One biotech incubator that automated and centralized purchasing with ZAGENO saved $1.3 million in labor costs, reclaimed 9,000 work hours, and lowered supply costs by 29% while scaling rapidly.
Discover how in the full biotech incubator case study.
Built for biotech procurement and finance teams, too
ZAGENO isn’t just user-friendly for scientists, it’s purpose-built for life science procurement, finance, and operations teams:
- Access to pre-vetted catalogs from thousands of suppliers
- Consolidated invoicing for easier financial reconciliation
- Built-in supplier onboarding, supplier management, and budget guardrails
- Real-time spend analytics for smarter decision-making
Learn more in our ZAGENO FAQ: Lab Procurement, Supplies, and Platform Features
Looking for a better way to order lab supplies?
The smarter way to order lab supplies couldn’t be easier. Start by searching on ZAGENO for a supply type you regularly buy, like PCR reagents, pipette tips, or ethanol. Within seconds, you'll be able to:
- See which suppliers have it in stock today
- Compare prices, shipping costs, and fulfillment times
- Complete your order in one checkout
- Loop in your procurement system automatically
- Lean on our live customer support (talk to a real human in < 2 minutes!)
No more tabs. No more sourcing guesswork. No more chasing down tracking emails.
If buying lab supplies feels harder than it should, it’s probably because it is. ZAGENO simplifies biotech supply procurement for scientists, lab managers, and finance teams alike.
Request a demo to see how modern lab procurement is supposed to work.
