Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Laboratory Services
Should you outsource your laboratory testing or research and development (R&D) services?
Outsourcing is the process of using another company’s processes to complete a portion or all of your services. Outsourcing laboratory services is the process of using another laboratory to complete a portion of or all your laboratory testing or scientific research and development (R&D) studies.
If your company is considering outsourcing it’s laboratory testing or research and development services, you may have a lot of questions. Is it cost effective? What about turnaround time? How do you pick and choose a laboratory? How do I qualify a laboratory? How do I ship my samples to a laboratory? And many more…
Below we will discuss some of the pros and cons of outsourcing laboratory services to help you determine whether outsourcing is a good option for your organization.
In-house laboratory testing is often viewed as the better alternative due to the flexibility and control as well as the ability to address any questions or issues that may arise during the testing process. It is often viewed as having a faster turnaround time than external testing as well. However, one of the biggest disadvantages of in-house testing is that it can be costly to hire or train individuals to perform specialized tasks.
Recently it has become best practice throughout many industries to turn to outsourcing for the majority of their laboratory testing due to the rising cost, time, and complexity of in-house laboratory testing. Outsourcing has proven to reduce cost and provide faster time to market. This allows you more time and energy to spend on marketing and other business operations. Outsourcing also allows you to choose more experienced, knowledgeable or trained experts to perform your laboratory testing or research studies.
Pros of laboratory outsourcing:
- More cost effective
- Experts in the field are performing the testing
- More time to focus on other business aspects
Cons of laboratory outsourcing
- Loss of flexibility and control
- More chance of miscommunication
- Turnaround time may increase
- Time consuming sending/receiving samples
Each company looking to outsource their laboratory testing or scientific research projects needs to evaluate the pros and cons or outsourcing versus in-house laboratory testing. Contract Laboratory has helped thousands of companies outsource their laboratory testing and scientific research and development studies.
If your company is looking to outsource any of their laboratory testing or scientific research and development studies, let us help you! Submit a free laboratory request on our website or call us toll free at 1-855-377-6821.
