Decreased operational costs, increased capacity, and improved cash flow often follows the implementation of a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). Many laboratories have realised savings due to the installation or upgrading of a LIMS, an investment that pays off in the form of both hard and soft benefits. The hard benefits improve cash flow while the soft benefits, such as employee morale and customer satisfaction help reinforce them.
LIMS' Hard Benefits
The hard benefits of a LIMS are both tangible and quantifiable. Implementing a software system for laboratory data management will result in savings in labour, operations and supplies. Testing and production capacity often increases as a LIMS improves processes and can help make the production cycle more efficient. Increased capacity improves the bottom line, with more product going to market.
Morris Lubricants, a leading manufacturer of performance lubricants in the UK, deployed a LIMS and electronic data management to increase efficiency improve processes and achieve data security. The company reduced transcription errors by 50 per cent and decreased time for data retrieval by 75 per cent. Additionally, the LIMS improved communication between production personnel and the laboratory. However, the biggest gains at Morris are being generated through improved production intelligence via trending of test data. By using this information they have been able to significantly reduce rework and rejection of production batches.
Laboratory Cash Flow
By reducing errors, decreasing data retrieval time, generating useful business intelligence data and improving communication Morris Lubricants' new LIMS is paying off. The investment's hard benefits and soft benefits work together to help improve the company's cash flow, a critical aspect to a flourishing business. The LIMS helps on both sides of the equation, decreasing costs and helping increase revenue.
To evaluate whether installation of laboratory software is right for your company, prepare a cash flow statement and include costs such as labour, inventory, and operational costs. The appraisal might also include projected revenue from increased production.
Take into account the time value of money and discuss the hard and soft benefits of a LIMS with your Finance Director. Quantify saved money and gained money. Measure personnel costs as well as the time and resources that people are spending in the current, LIMS-less or paper system. The process should articulate and quantify the areas that a LIMS can help save money and increase revenue, thereby improving cash flow.
Cashflow is so important to business operations. Learn how our innovative approach to LIMS can help your QC Laboratory financially
Broughton Software helps QC laboratories improve their cash flow and financial position by providing a sophisticated LIMS for a wide variety of industries. The software optimises laboratory data in a regulatory compliant manner, frees resources for a positive cash flow, and makes the company more agile to compete in a dynamic global market.
Broughton Software is a development company specialising in the regulated pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. It is our endeavour to provide innovative software solutions, enabling our clients to increase business efficiency. Learn more about us and our laboratory information management system (LIMS), LabHQ LIMS at: www.broughtonsoftware.com