A Case for Co-Sourcing Laboratory Services

By Angelo Filosa, PerkinElmer, Inc. Canada

After a generation of outsourcing services to lower-cost providers, smart companies now realize that they need to reassess this strategy. Outsourcing did lower costs in a time of need. But it came at a high price. The total cost of outsourcing — in terms of lost expertise, impact on staff and services, and the failure to keep pace with advances in both equipment and procedures — is incalculable, especially when considering its adverse impact on companies’ future competitiveness. Ironically, those same fundamental economic principles that drove entire industries to outsource in the first place are now behind a new push to bring those capabilities back home. That may be yet another mistake in the making if it means re-establishing the traditional service model for in-house laboratories.

Many industry observers believe the need for responsive, collaborative, and tech-savvy partnerships is paramount in the new emerging business environment. Success or failure in this environment will be defined by operational agility to research, adapt, produce, and deliver products rapidly under fluctuating market conditions. That means pharmaceutical labs will need to reclaim their essential role in the areas of product quality and reliability, regulatory compliance, and product innovation. How?