Revolutionizing Life Science Procurement: The Marathon Pacer Advantage

In the vast life science landscape, to operational efficiency, scientific progress, and the timely delivery of critical products. Disorganized supply chains, fragmented procurement processes, and a lack of transparency often lead to stockouts, double orders, and increased costs. These issues not only disrupt research workflows but also strain resources and budget.

Recognizing these challenges, Marathon Pacer introduces a brand agnostic procurement methodology that combines advanced technology with strategic sourcing to address the unique needs of life science labs.

The Marathon Pacer Procurement Method: A Strategic Approach

Marathon Pacer’s procurement method replaces many of the limitations that come with the traditional procurement hierarchy with a transparent framework that puts labs’ best interests before the distributor’s. This is accomplished in four primary ways: strategic sourcing, brand agnosticism, a vast supplier network, and procurement on customer’s behalf.

Strategic Sourcing: Procurement with the Future in Mind

Strategic sourcing is a unique procurement approach that drives value to the customer, rather than the distributor, all supported by data. To drive value to the customer, purchases are made based on your priorities whether that be scientific preference, product availability, off-site storage eligibility, price, corporate initiatives, and so on. The model sources from a broad range of suppliers – direct manufactures, distributors, and corporate initiative partners – into a vast product catalog. The result is a holistic and strategic sourcing model that values your preferences over pushing proprietary products, promoting brand-agnostic purchasing, healthy competition, and continuous improvement.

What makes this model so powerful is its ability to leverage data into actionable insights. Because Marathon Pacer has visibility into customers’ historical usage trends, it can anticipate needs and place consistent, higher-volume orders with select suppliers. This predictability strengthens supplier relationships, and allows for preferred pricing, volume discounts, and rebate opportunities. Furthermore, customers in the Marathon Pacer program can leverage their off-site storage to increase bulk orders to achieve this special pricing, without having to worry about finding the space on-site. In some cases, the increased volume and frequency of these purchases not only generates cost savings but also creates greater value for customers.

This model delivers measurable benefits across the organization:

• Scientists gain reliable access to critical supplies.
• Operations teams streamline inventory control.
• Procurement teams gain transparency and clarity.
• Executive teams see improved cost management and an ability to align procurement with broader corporate initiatives such as sustainability goals or spend targets.

Strategic sourcing through Marathon Pacer is not just about purchasing smarter; it is about building a procurement network that creates lasting value for every stakeholder.

Brand Agnostic: The Products You Want, When You Want Them

Marathon Pacer’s procurement methodology is grounded in a brand-agnostic approach. Customers determine their preferred suppliers based on the previously mentioned evaluation criteria and Marathon Pacer simply facilitates access, without bias or preferential sourcing.

For example, a lab may be looking to reduce costs without compromising quality. Industry standard often means being pushed towards proprietary products strictly to reduce costs, regardless of fit. In contrast, Marathon Pacer only suggests product alternatives that support the lab’s specific goals or preferences, providing cost savings while ensuring quality.

This flexible sourcing supports labs in executing their own strategic priorities, whether that includes meeting “green” targets, standardizing vendors across departments, or leveraging specialized supplier relationships. This approach removes the headaches of decentralized sourcing while still empowering researchers to use the products they prefer.

A Vast Supplier Network: All the Brands You Want, All in One Place

At the core of Marathon Pacer’s strategic procurement model is a robust and carefully constructed supplier network. This network is not just extensive; it is foundational to how Marathon Pacer delivers value at scale and with remarkable efficiency. By securing strategic distribution agreements across a broad portfolio of trusted manufacturers and distributors, MarathonLS offers access to thousands of lab products – including a wide range of single-use products – all through one convenient platform.

This model allows Marathon Pacer to operate with agility, continuously expanding its catalog to reflect the evolving needs of the life science community while offering competitive pricing.

Purchasing on Behalf of the Customer: Save on Costs, Time, and Headaches

Decentralized procurement can lead to an abundance of operational headaches, including excessive transaction fees, duplicate orders, expediting fees, and more. While it may seem convenient for researchers to order on their own behalf, the lack of communication can lead to a serious spending problem.

For example, a Boston-based research lab allowed scientists to handle their own purchasing. At first, the system seemed to offer speed and autonomy, but over time, a pattern emerged.

Multiple scientists unknowingly placed identical orders for the same materials, sometimes just days apart, resulting in duplicate orders and unnecessary transaction fees. In one case, one team member rushed an order of cell culture chambers incurring an expensive overnight shipping fee, only to discover later that the same item was in stock at another point of use. No single transaction seemed outrageous, but the cumulative effect quietly drained budget and resources.

By centralizing procurement with Marathon Pacer, this lab was able to reduce transaction fees by 95% and eliminate duplicate orders. Not only did this provide cost savings but also allowed

The Marathon Pacer Software: Smarter Analytics, Smarter Lab

The impact of these strategic procurement methods is visible through the Marathon Pacer software. Created from a desperate industry-wide need for inventory visibility and transparency, the platform pulls on-site and off-site inventory data and stores real-time and historical reports that are always available for viewing. All this information is readily available through a customizable dashboard.

The dashboard equips teams with advanced analytics that drive smarter, data-backed decision making. Usage trend analysis allows labs to monitor consumption patterns over time, offering valuable visibility for procurement and finance teams. Predictive analysis, powered by lead time and usage data, informs dynamic minimum and maximum inventory thresholds to ensure supply levels align with the actual situation rather than static assumptions. The system also presents side-by-side comparisons of current inventory thresholds versus suggested adjustments, giving teams actionable insights rather than guesswork. These insights empower operations teams to ensure their critical products arrive on-time, despite fluctuating lead times.

To further increase inventory visibility and client convenience, The Marathon Pacer app was developed to allow for detailed item location tracking, providing visibility into the exact location of certain SKUs within stockrooms and points of use. This tracking brings efficiencies by reducing the time researchers spend locating consumables, all within one convenient mobile location.

By consolidating this operational intelligence into a single, transparent interface, stakeholders can move beyond transactional purchasing into data-informed decision making that directly supports their organizational goals.

Conclusion

The Marathon Pacer procurement methodology is not simply a purchasing model – it is a strategic foundation that enables labs to operate more efficiently, transparently, and on their own terms. From automated inventory tracking to data-driven purchasing insights and unbiased sourcing, every element of this system is designed to serve the unique needs of each lab it serves.

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