A well-vetted, well-negotiated, concise preferred supplier list that stakeholders actually use is the holy grail for all strategic sourcing category initiatives. Vendor consolidation is the reduction of outside suppliers from whom your company purchases goods and services. This concept is not new and is one of the main tools in the sourcing toolbox to reduce spend for most industries. However, due to unique considerations, R&D and life sciences organizations are just beginning to embrace the vendor consolidation trend.
Traditional benefits of vendor consolidation
- Increased cost savings
- Enhanced purchasing power
- Stronger supplier relationships
- Better spend visibility
- Improved productivity
- Easier audit trail
Despite these universally acknowledged benefits, R&D procurement and the lab find themselves in a constant tug of a war between supplier consolidation and scientific choice due to the lab’s special needs.
Unique R&D vendor consolidation considerations
- Niche product specificity. Scientists often require very specific products to follow design protocol and achieve novel experimental outcomes.
- Lab budget oversight. Whether it’s during a time of economic crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic, or for startup biotech labs with smaller budgets, managing to the budget is crucial.
- Supply chain continuity. Recent trends of skyrocketing backorder rates and longer delivery lead times can impact supply chain continuity. Due to product specificity, difficulties in finding product alternatives can lead to experiment delays and mounting vendor spend exceptions.
These unique considerations can make the lab hesitant to buy-in to the concept of vendor consolidation, resulting in long-tail spend, maverick spend, time wasted on manual tasks, and supply chain risk.
Vendor consolidation that benefits both the lab and procurement
There is a solution that balances the goals of the lab and sourcing in a way that reduces time to market as well as expenses. Through procurement automation and digitalization, sourcing can help lab managers significantly reduce the amount of time spent obtaining supplies. Further, by utilizing an eCommerce marketplace such as ZAGENO, the scientific user’s ordering process can be as Amazon-like as possible. Serving as the single vendor of record, ZAGENO offers cart-building from over 30+ million SKUs across 5K+ suppliers streamlined into one monthly invoice. By helping scientists instantly access in-stock, vetted products from qualified suppliers, procurement can help reduce the product life cycle in uncertain times. ZAGENO makes it possible for R&D procurement to achieve vendor consolidation in a way that the lab will embrace.
