ZAGENO FAQ

Everything You Need to Know About Lab Procurement

Everything you need to know about ZAGENO.

Have questions about how ZAGENO can transform your lab supply procurement? You're in the right place. Find answers to common inquiries from biotech and pharma companies, and discover how we help scientists, lab managers, finance professionals, and procurement teams reclaim valuable time and achieve significant cost savings by centralizing lab supply purchasing from thousands of brands.

Understanding ZAGENO and our unique value

What is ZAGENO and what does it do?

ZAGENO is the leading lab supply procurement platform, specifically built to serve R&D, procurement, finance, and lab operations. It allows biotech and pharma teams to find, compare, and order lab supplies across thousands of vendors in one place, streamlining life sciences procurement and reducing costs.

Who is ZAGENO for?

ZAGENO is designed for any life sciences organization involved in scientific research and development that needs to efficiently purchase lab supplies. Our platform empowers scientists, lab operations teams, procurement teams, and finance departments within biotech, pharmaceutical companies, academic/research institutions, and contract research organizations (CROs) to streamline their lab supply procurement and optimize their supply chain.

What problems does ZAGENO solve for my lab or company?

ZAGENO addresses the most common pain points in lab procurement, helping you overcome challenges such as:

  • Wasted scientist time: Eliminating hours spent searching multiple vendor sites, managing PunchOuts, and handling paperwork.
  • Experiment delays: Ensuring timely delivery of supplies to minimize disruptions to critical research.
  • Limited supplier access: Providing access to a network of 5,300+ global brands and 40M+ products via one platform.
  • Inefficient order tracking: Centralizing all orders, shipments, and invoices in one place.
  • Administrative overload: Automating tedious manual processes like invoice reconciliation and supplier onboarding.
  • Lack of spend visibility: Gaining real-time insights into total lab spend to reduce rogue spending and optimize budgets.
What makes ZAGENO different from a typical procurement system?

Unlike traditional procurement tools, ZAGENO is purpose-built and optimized for the unique needs of R&D labs and scientists. Key differentiators include:

  • Metasearch across 40M+ SKUs from 5,000+ suppliers for comprehensive comparison.
  • Single-Entry-Point technology integrating directly into existing procurement (P2P) and ERP systems (e.g., SAP Ariba, Coupa, built to scale with your lab.
  • Consolidated cart and checkout for unified purchasing across marketplace and non-marketplace vendors. 
  • AI-driven insights with real-time dashboards and insights identifying savings opportunities, demand patterns, and sourcing efficiencies across sites and suppliers.
  • Real-time stock visibility and ship-date estimates.
  • Guided buying/smart routing to preferred suppliers (if applicable).
  • Enhanced PO process featuring editable approvals, self-service threshold setup, internal PO comments, delegated approvals, and GL code assignment.
  • Hands-on, end-to-end customer support for orders, backorders, and supplier communication.

Ready to see how our purpose-built platform can transform your R&D procurement? Request a personalized demo.

How is ZAGENO different from traditional lab supply distributors or other digital marketplaces?

ZAGENO stands out as an all-in-one, purpose-built marketplace for life science R&D procurement. We are not a distributor and do not warehouse products. We offer a curated marketplace with over 5,300 vetted brands and 40M+ SKUs, combined with AI-driven search tailored to scientific needs. Our centralized platform eliminates fragmented PunchOuts, provides white-glove customer service, and offers end-to-end automation and seamless integration with leading ERP/P2P systems, a blend rarely found elsewhere.

We combine a vast scientific marketplace with powerful procurement controls, a blend rarely found in other solutions. Learn more about ZAGENO's comprehensive product features.

How does ZAGENO fit into my R&D workflow?

ZAGENO integrates seamlessly into existing research workflows by providing scientists with the tools to find, compare, and order lab supplies without disrupting their daily operations. For procurement teams, it connects directly with your existing P2P, S2P, and/or ERP systems, ensuring lab teams and finance stay aligned. This means:

  • Scientists easily find what they need.
  • Orders are automatically routed for approval.
  • Procurement maintains control and visibility.
  • Data flows smoothly between lab and finance systems.

Our goal is to enhance, not complicate, your existing R&D processes.

What benefits can biotech and pharma labs expect from using ZAGENO?

ZAGENO helps life science organizations achieve significant improvements in efficiency, cost savings, and accelerated research. Key outcomes include:

  • Time savings: Scientists save 8-10 hours/week; lab managers save 3 days/week; finance teams save up to 70% on 3-way matching, and procurement saves up to 30%/week.
  • Cost reductions: Customers achieve up to 30% quarterly savings and significant reductions in non-catalog spend.
  • Faster research: Streamlined procurement and rapid supplier onboarding (saving 2-4 weeks per supplier) minimize experiment delays.
  • Improved data: Automated data entry and reconciliation eliminate errors and enhance spend visibility.
  • Better procurement control: Teams can guide demand to preferred vendors through smart routing and enforce strategic sourcing strategy with customizable approval workflows.

Don’t just take our word for it. Explore our customer success stories to see how real labs achieve results with ZAGENO.

Why order from ZAGENO instead of directly from large suppliers?

Ordering from ZAGENO instead of directly from individual, large suppliers gives labs more control, better visibility, and a superior experience:

  1. More options and price transparency: Instantly compare pricing, lead times, and availability from over 5,000 suppliers and 40 million SKUs.
  2. Better user experience: ZAGENO acts as your one-stop shop. Instead of juggling multiple PunchOuts, logins, and interfaces, your team shops like they would on Amazon, intuitively and all in one place.

Consolidated invoicing and less manual work: With a single cart and unified invoicing across vendors (big or small), ZAGENO slashes the admin burden and gives finance teams back valuable hours.

Platform capabilities and integrations

How quickly can our lab or company get started with ZAGENO?

Getting started with ZAGENO is fast and seamless. Our streamlined onboarding process gets you up and running quickly:

  • Rapid setup: We handle the technical setup and supplier onboarding, so your team can focus on research, not implementation.
  • Pre-vetted network: Access our extensive network of pre-vetted suppliers and their catalogs immediately, through a single entry point.
  • Dedicated support: Our onboarding specialists guide you through every step, from initial configuration to user training.

Many clients see immediate benefits within weeks. To discuss your specific timeline, request a personalized consultation.

Is there a fee to use ZAGENO?

Yes. We have several annual subscription plans depending on the needs of your business. Contact a ZAGENO representative to discuss pricing options.

Does ZAGENO integrate with our P2P, S2P, ERP, and accounting systems?

Yes. ZAGENO integrates seamlessly with leading procure-to-pay (P2P), source-to-pay (S2P), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and accounting systems to ensure a smooth flow of data and eliminate manual entry. Our integrations support seamless requisitioning, approval workflows, and invoicing with platforms including:

  • SAP Ariba
  • Coupa
  • Oracle Netsuite
  • Jaggaer
  • Procurify
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • And many more via flexible API connections.

These integrations ensure that ZAGENO complements your existing financial infrastructure without disrupting your processes. Explore ZAGENO's integration capabilities.

Does ZAGENO integrate with ELNs and LIMS?

Yes, ZAGENO integrates with your lab's Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), as well as dedicated inventory software. This direct connectivity allows you to:

  • Sync inventory: Keep your stock levels updated in real-time across systems.
  • Auto-reorder: Automate replenishment of consumables when quantities hit predefined thresholds.
  • Access predictive stock analytics: Gain insights into future demand and optimize inventory without leaving the ZAGENO platform.

These integrations complement our existing robust connections with ERP and P2P systems, ensuring a fully synchronized and automated lab procurement ecosystem.

Is ZAGENO suitable for both small startups and large enterprises?

Yes. ZAGENO is designed to be highly scalable and adaptable to the needs of organizations of all sizes, from rapidly growing biotech startups to multinational pharmaceutical corporations:

  • For startups: We provide immediate access to a vast supplier network, automated workflows, and spend visibility that can be quickly implemented without significant IT investment. This helps startups establish efficient processes from day one.
  • For enterprises: Our platform supports complex organizational structures, multi-site operations, advanced approval workflows, guided buying, and deep integrations with existing ERP systems. We provide the control and transparency required for large-scale R&D procurement.
Does ZAGENO support PunchOut catalogs?

Yes. ZAGENO can be configured as a PunchOut catalog that integrates directly into your company’s existing procurement system. This allows your users to access ZAGENO's comprehensive marketplace, leverage real-time product information, and benefit from streamlined checkout processes all from within your established P2P or ERP workflow.

What is a procure-to-pay (P2P) process, and how does ZAGENO fit in?

The procure-to-pay (P2P) process covers the full purchasing lifecycle, from initial requisition to final payment. ZAGENO comprehensively streamlines this for lab supplies by facilitating sourcing, consolidated ordering and approvals, simplified receiving and tracking, and automated invoicing with single consolidated billing. For organizations using P2P systems, ZAGENO can also be configured as one PunchOut connection, providing single-point access to our entire multi-vendor marketplace.

How does ZAGENO help scientists find the right lab supplies faster?

ZAGENO revolutionizes product discovery for scientists by using powerful search tools for informed decisions, such as:

  • Massive catalog: Access over 40 million SKUs from 5,300+ global brands, all searchable from a single interface.
  • AI-driven search: Our proprietary AI understands scientific terminology, interprets user intent, and ranks results based on relevance, historical preferences, and business rules, helping you find exactly what you need from millions of products.
  • AI-enabled chemical product search: Improve chemical procurement accuracy with our stand-alone offering that parses drawings and SMILES structure to match products.
  • Advanced filters: Refine your search by supplier, brand, price, lead time, product specifications, supplier performance (including SLA information), and more.
  • Product comparison tools: Easily compare multiple products side-by-side to make informed decisions.

This comprehensive approach ensures that your research team can find the right product, at the right time, with confidence.

Can ZAGENO support multiple lab sites or teams?

Absolutely. ZAGENO is designed to support distributed R& D organizations, providing both centralized control and decentralized flexibility. You can:

  • Assign unique budgets to different labs, teams, or projects.
  • Set up customized permissions and approval workflows for various users and sites.
  • Gain consolidated spend visibility across all locations.

This allows your procurement team to maintain central oversight while empowering individual labs and researchers with local autonomy and efficiency.

Procurement strategy and supply chain optimization

How does ZAGENO help with supplier strategy and consolidation?

ZAGENO empowers procurement teams to optimize supplier strategy and consolidate vendors by reducing longtail spend and simplifying vendor onboarding and management. We provide performance insights, ensure purchases align with strategic sourcing goals through guided buying, and offer a unified multi-supplier ordering experience with consolidated, automated tracking and a single bill-to for all orders.

By bringing order to your supplier ecosystem, ZAGENO helps you build stronger, more efficient supply chain relationships. Learn more about supplier management with ZAGENO.

How does ZAGENO help control spend and optimize budgets?

ZAGENO provides robust tools for complete control and transparency over lab spend, optimizing budgets and achieving significant savings. This includes real-time spend analytics, guided buying to hit rebate thresholds, centralized purchasing for better pricing, customizable approval workflows, and automated 3-way matching. We simplify and automate budget enforcement, as well as ensure you’re always getting the best deals with negotiated discounts and competitive pricing visibility. Explore our customer success stories to learn more about the measurable impact.

Can ZAGENO reduce longtail lab spend?

Yes. ZAGENO helps reduce longtail spend by centralizing lab supply orders into a single marketplace, routing purchases to preferred suppliers, and providing real-time analytics on vendor usage and pricing.

Can ZAGENO help monitor supplier performance and SLAs?

Yes. ZAGENO provides detailed reporting and analytics on supplier performance to help your procurement teams optimize vendor relationships and ensure compliance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Key metrics include:

  • Delivery time: Track average delivery times and identify consistent delays.
  • Order accuracy: Monitor rates of incorrect or incomplete orders.
  • SLA adherence: Verify that suppliers are meeting agreed-upon service levels.
  • Spend by supplier: Understand your total spend with each vendor for informed negotiations.

These insights empower you to make data-driven decisions about supplier relationships, ensuring reliability and value.

What processes does ZAGENO have in place to ensure 3rd party supplier compliance and quality?

ZAGENO has an inhouse supplier partnership team dedicated to ensuring supplier compliance and quality. They meet regularly with our supplier partners to ensure required service levels such as order processing, tracking, and shipping. Their oversight enables ZAGENO to maintain industry-leading service levels for our customers.

How does ZAGENO help labs proactively manage supply chain risk?

ZAGENO operates a true marketplace model, offering a unique advantage by providing the same product from multiple suppliers. This approach ensures greater flexibility, resilience, and reliability in the supply chain. In times of emergencies, such as supply chain breakdowns or critical stockouts, ZAGENO’s marketplace ensures continuity by providing immediate access to alternative sources. This not only safeguards scientific progress but also optimizes procurement efficiency, giving labs and businesses the confidence to operate without interruption.

Products, suppliers, and pricing

What kinds of lab supplies and equipment are available on ZAGENO?

ZAGENO offers a comprehensive range of lab consumables, scientific instruments, specialty chemicals, lab equipment, and hard-to-find supplies. Our marketplace supports research across diverse fields like biology, chemistry, genomics, and proteomics, with over 5,300 vetted vendors and 40 million products. If you can't find a specific item, our team can typically add new products and even new suppliers within 24 hours.

How is pricing managed across different suppliers?

ZAGENO simplifies pricing management by consolidating various pricing models into a single, transparent interface:

  • Contract pricing: You can upload and access your negotiated contract pricing directly within the platform.
  • Real-time supplier offers: View real-time pricing from thousands of suppliers in our marketplace.
  • Custom quotes: Request and manage custom quotes for bulk purchases or specialized items directly through the platform.
  • Price comparison tools: Easily compare prices across multiple vendors for the same product to ensure you're getting the best value.

This unified approach ensures transparency and helps you optimize spend across your entire lab supply chain.

User experience and access

How does the ordering and procurement process work on ZAGENO?

ZAGENO streamlines the entire lab supply ordering process into a simple, efficient workflow:

  • Search and compare: Use our AI-driven marketplace to find and compare over 40 million lab supplies from over 5,300 vendors.
  • Consolidate cart: Add products from multiple vendors into one consolidated, metacart.
  • Flexible approvals: Submit your order for internal approvals, with customizable workflows tailored to your company's hierarchy.
  • Seamless integration: Orders are seamlessly integrated with your existing ERP, P2P, S2P, finance and/or accounting systems.
  • Real-time tracking: Get full visibility into every fulfillment step through a single dashboard, from order creation and processing to shipping, receiving, and completion.
  • Simplified invoicing: Receive consolidated invoices, simplifying payment and reconciliation.

This end-to-end process is designed to save time, reduce errors, and provide complete visibility. See how simple it is by requesting a demo.

Can individual researchers use ZAGENO, or is it only for procurement teams?

ZAGENO is designed to empower your entire R&D organization, making it a powerful tool for various roles:

  • For scientists: Researchers can easily find, compare, and select the exact products they need, saving valuable research time and accelerating discovery. 
  • For lab operations teams: Streamline lab management with one-stop shopping, reduced ordering times, and simplified supplier management, freeing up time to focus on running the lab. 
  • For procurement teams: Maintain full control over ordering, approvals, budgets, and supplier relationships through permission-based roles and customizable workflows.
  • For finance departments: Gain complete spending control, automated invoice reconciliation, and real-time reporting for enhanced financial management and compliance.
What kind of customer support and services does ZAGENO offer?

ZAGENO provides comprehensive and proactive customer support to ensure your success. Our top-rated team offers responsive live assistance for platform usage and technical issues, alongside dedicated account management for optimizing workflows and resolving sourcing challenges like backorders and order delays. We also handle supplier onboarding and management, as well as offer guidance on workflow configuration and analytics.

Our global support team serves both European and U.S. markets, providing 24/7 reachable support via message or email, and 16 hours a day live chat support — from 9:00 AM CET to 5:00 PM PST. Our team is readily available to ensure timely and effective assistance across time zones.

Security, compliance, and sustainability

Is ZAGENO secure and compliant?

Yes. ZAGENO is built with enterprise-grade security and compliance at its core to protect your data and support secure procurement for biotech and pharma organizations. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of data security and privacy. For more detailed information, please review our Privacy Policy.

How does ZAGENO support lab compliance and audit readiness?

ZAGENO helps organizations maintain regulatory compliance and simplifies audit trails for lab purchases with:

  • Automated documentation: The platform automatically generates and stores comprehensive records of all purchase orders, receipts, and invoices.
  • Audit trails: Every action within the platform is logged, providing a clear and immutable audit trail for all transactions.

Customizable approval workflows: Implement multi-level approval processes that ensure purchases adhere to your internal policies and external regulatory requirements.

How does ZAGENO support sustainability and responsible sourcing?

ZAGENO is committed to supporting sustainability and responsible sourcing within the life sciences industry by enabling smarter procurement decisions:

  • Facilitating eco-friendly choices: We make it easier to identify and select products from suppliers committed to eco-friendly practices.
  • Reducing waste: Our platform provides insights that help labs reduce supply waste through better purchasing decisions and optimized inventory management.
  • Lowering carbon footprint: Centralizing orders and consolidating shipments across brands reduces shipping frequency and packaging waste.
  • Data for sustainable spend: Our analytics can help track and identify opportunities for more sustainable purchasing behaviors across your organization.

We believe in empowering labs to make more environmentally responsible choices and contribute to a more sustainable future. Learn more about the role of lab supply procurement in driving sustainability on our blog.

For suppliers and partners

How can suppliers join the ZAGENO marketplace?

ZAGENO welcomes new suppliers seeking to expand their market reach and grow revenue by accessing a network of high-value biotech, pharma, and academic research buyers. Benefits include streamlined operations, performance insights, reduced administrative burden, and no upfront fees. Suppliers can apply via our dedicated supplier partner inquiry page to join our curated marketplace.

What types of partnerships does ZAGENO offer?

ZAGENO partners with technology providers, consulting firms, distributors, incubators, scientific communities, biotech finance and accounting firms, and LabOps partners. These collaborations help partners expand their market reach, enhance client offerings, and streamline operations within the life science R&D ecosystem. Explore all partnership opportunities and benefits on our dedicated Partnerships page.

Learning more

What content/resources are available for learning more?

ZAGENO offers a wealth of educational content and resources to help you learn more about lab procurement best practices, supply chain strategy, and market insights:

  • Educational blogs: Our blog covers a wide range of topics relevant to life science R&D and procurement.
  • eBooks and guides: Download in-depth eBooks and guides on specific challenges and solutions in lab supply management.
  • Case studies: Read real-world customer success stories to understand the measurable impact of ZAGENO.
  • Webinars and demos: Join our webinars or request a personalized demo to see the platform in action.

Explore our resources section to deepen your understanding and find solutions tailored to your needs.

ZAGENO experience on laptop and mobile

Ready to streamline your lab procurement?

Join leading biotech and pharma teams using ZAGENO to simplify lab supply ordering, control spend, and accelerate research.