Why Labs Are Turning to Marketplaces to Fix Procurement Problems in 2026

Across the life sciences industry, the process of ordering lab supplies and equipment remains stubbornly manual.

A recent internal survey conducted by ZAGENO highlights this inefficiency, which found that 67 percent of lab professionals would not recommend their current lab supply ordering process. Wasted hours, duplicated work, and inconsistent pricing have driven nearly nine in ten researchers to report experiment delays caused by backorders.

These findings point to an overlooked but costly problem: laboratories have modernised their science faster than their supply chains.

In response, a new generation of digital lab platforms is quietly transforming how laboratories buy, budget, and collaborate.

Why legacy systems fall short for the modern lab

Even in highly digitalised organisations, the ordering experience hasn’t kept pace with scientific ambition. Standard procurement tools often struggle to accommodate R&D’s massive list of small, specialised purchases—known as long tail spend—resulting in what one researcher described as “Kafka-like” workflows that waste valuable research time.

Across much of the sector, labs continue to rely on procurement software built for office supplies and manufacturing parts, not the unique demands of R&D. These systems can process orders but fail with the complexity of research, such as managing millions of specialised SKUs (antibodies, reagents, niche instruments) with strict storage, expiry, and compliance needs.

The underlying issue is that generic tools don’t fit scientific complexity. The same survey found that it takes labs an average of 16 days to add a new supplier (rising to 26 days with procure-to-pay software). Procurement teams often spend over 20 hours a week navigating order confirmations and supplier updates.

As one respondent noted, “It’s acceptable when things work smoothly, and a nightmare when they don’t.” These issues move beyond administrative frustration and often directly affect how quickly science moves.

Procurement as an R&D accelerator

In today’s shifting R&D environment, procurement has evolved into a strategic function that directly influences speed to market, cash flow, and the overall success of research programmes.

Rising R&D costs and tighter budgets are forcing organisations to reshape how they plan and procure. Global inflation and raw-material shortages are straining supply chains, while pharmaceutical pipelines face intense pressure to deliver results faster and with leaner resources.

Industry analysts at Deloitte estimate that the cost of developing a new drug now exceeds $2.3 billion when adjusted for risk and attrition. This massive investment, combined with heightened expectations from investors and regulators, creates a clear incentive for R&D and procurement teams to find new efficiencies wherever possible—from sourcing consumables to managing long-lead equipment orders.

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The rise of digital lab marketplaces

To reconcile cost pressures with the necessary speed of science, the latest wave of transformation has come through digital lab marketplaces—platforms that consolidate thousands of suppliers and millions of products into a single, searchable hub.

This model mirrors the rise of consumer e-commerce but is tailored for the complexities of scientific requirements. Instead of navigating dozens or hundreds of vendor websites, researchers can compare real-time pricing, availability, and delivery across multiple suppliers and place consolidated orders through a single checkout.

Scientists using these systems report spending significantly less time on repetitive administrative work, freeing up hours for experimentation. ZAGENO, a leading example, provides single entry-point access to over 50 million SKUs from more than 6,000 vetted suppliers. It integrates directly with enterprise systems, allowing procurement and finance to maintain oversight while lab teams retain autonomy.

The shift signals a broader trend across life sciences: replacing fragmented, manual processes with integrated infrastructure that treats efficiency as an accelerant of discovery rather than a cost-cutting exercise.

Balancing transparency, control, and adoption

The move to digital procurement is a cultural transformation within research organizations, not merely a technological one. Previously autonomous order managers, scientists now work in interconnected systems that relate purchasing choices to delivery metrics, budgets, and compliance.

In the meantime, procurement teams are changing from gatekeepers to enablers, guiding rather than controlling lab operations with real-time data. According to industry comments, the best transitions occur when digital platforms are offered as shared resources that balance scientific agility with financial accountability rather than as supervisory tools.

In this sense, the rise of lab marketplaces is transforming procurement from an administrative necessity into a collaborative partner in innovation.

Results from centralised labs

Massachusetts-based Apogee Therapeutics faced a challenge common to modern biotechs: scaling research operations and financial systems in parallel. Fragmented procurement created unnecessary friction, slowing approvals and obscuring real-time spend.

To address this, Apogee connected its lab and finance workflows through ZAGENO’s centralised digital platform, consolidating 98 vendors, automating approvals, and introducing real-time spend tracking through its ERP platform.

According to Apogee, the company reported saving over $200,000 in time, seeing a 40 per cent reduction in purchase orders, and gaining more than 250 hours back for research during its first year using ZAGENO. The finance team also reported approximately $60,000 in savings through faster supplier onboarding and simplified reconciliation.

This and other case studies suggest a broader trend in life sciences: digital procurement may reduce administrative effort and help researchers and finance teams work from a shared data foundation, shortening the distance between budgets and breakthroughs.

Towards the lab of the future

Analysts expect the next wave of laboratory innovation to centre on connectivity, automation, data transparency, and sustainability.

According to PwC, procurement digitalisation is accelerating, with organisations targeting an average 70 per cent digitalisation rate by 2027. Furthermore, Gartner predicts that 70 per cent of large organisations will adopt AI-based supply chain forecasting by 2030, highlighting the defining role artificial intelligence will play in shaping data-driven procurement.

For biopharma and research institutions, this means evolving toward interconnected lab ecosystems where purchasing, inventory, and experimental data flow seamlessly between systems. Such integration can support faster supplier onboarding, help reduce stockouts, and contribute to potential sustainability gains through more efficient ordering and fewer urgent shipments.

A digital shift grounded in science

From universities to pharmaceutical giants, laboratories are recognising that procurement is no longer a back-office function, but a strategic capability tied directly to innovation.

Platforms such as ZAGENO and other lab supply marketplaces demonstrate how efficiency, transparency, and sustainability can co-exist with scientific agility.

As Florian Wegener, Founder and CEO of ZAGENO, states: “In science, every hour counts. The next generation of procurement technology is about giving researchers more time to push discovery forward and drive product cost savings.”