Turn Idle Equipment and Instruments into a Financial Advantage
By: Keith Martinko
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Companies today are quickly adjusting to the global recession by right-sizing their organizations and implementing operational efficiencies. According to McKinsey & Company, pricing pressures throughout the life sciences industry are impacting top line revenue growth, driving greater focus on cost improvements through operations. While this unfortunately may lead to layoffs and idle capacity in the short-term, the process of reviewing and evaluating company assets often yields better operational performance that endures long after the economy improves.
Consider the surplus instruments and equipment across your enterprise. Companies can no longer afford the cost of even a single non-performing asset. Optimizing the redeployment of your instruments and equipment could actually strengthen your bottom line in ways that may not seem readily apparent. Understanding your entire equipment inventory prevents the purchase of redundant instruments, which can greatly enhance your cash flow. This comprehensive knowledge also allows you to maximize your idle asset depreciation. In addition, focusing on individual assets prompts you to analyze your equipment’s useful life status, repair history, maintenance contracts, vendor performance and other key information that can save you significant operational expense.
While it’s easy to understand why this kind of asset review is valuable, gathering the necessary data for analysis can be a real challenge. Many companies struggle with the process of gathering asset records—kept in disparate systems—for the full range of equipment spread across their enterprise. In fact, redeployment may be a viable option only if there is a process in place for fast asset discovery and rapid approval requests.
“It can be a logistical nightmare,” said D.J. Pallet, Program Services Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific, referring to the task of collecting and analyzing all of the necessary equipment information. “Many companies don’t know where to start, or where they can turn for guidance.”
Fortunately, there is a surprisingly simple and cost-effective solution. The Thermo Scientific LIFECYCLE 3D Virtual Depot is a web-based portal that provides complete visibility into all equipment and instrument assets, enterprise-wide. A key component of a Thermo Scientific Asset and Service Management solution, Virtual Depot offers an easy-to-use visual interface and is both completely secure and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With a few mouse clicks, information about all equipment inventories is readily available by department location, serial number and other key identifiers, along with maintenance histories, service plans and certification status. Now all the knowledge you need for redeployment or disposal decisions is at your fingertips and easily organized into reports for fast analysis.
Virtual Depot is also available with a key additional advantage: Thermo Scientific Implementation Services. “Our experts assist Virtual Depot customers with uploading their surplus asset lists, as well as with developing the workflow approval processes for asset redistribution,” Pallett added.
In today’s business climate, achieving operational efficiency through the effective redeployment of available assets can make a real contribution to bottom line performance. Powerful web-based tools like Virtual Depot, combined with expert implementation services, can make it happen.
To learn more about Virtual Depot, please call 1-800-558-6377.
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