The value of partnering with an all-around service provider

Clinical laboratories are an integral part of modern healthcare, powering innovation, ensuring operational efficiency, and directly influencing patient care. With the rising complexity, heightened expectations, and persistent financial pressures, labs are being asked to deliver more with less.

Today’s lab leaders are faced with ever-growing diagnostic demands, further integration with the digital ecosystem, regulatory and quality pressures, workforce and staffing challenges, as well as innovation cycle acceleration. While the right instruments and technologies remain essential, today’s lab leaders know that success is no longer just about devices. It's about partnership and collaboration over competition.

To truly prosper, labs need more than transactional relationships. They need a trusted all-around service provider who works with them, not just for them.

In healthcare and across most, if not all, industries, customer experience is becoming a major differentiator. Labs, often viewed as the engine room of the healthcare system, are beginning to adopt a similar philosophy.

When customer-centric service becomes the standard, support goes beyond fixing equipment or delivering reagents. It becomes about anticipating needs, solving problems collaboratively, and aligning service delivery with the lab’s unique mission, goals, and constraints.

We’ve seen this evolution in other industries, where customer experience determines brand loyalty more than rates or fees. Deloitte research shows that proactive, personalized support is one of the top drivers of long-term value and customer trust in that sector.¹

In healthcare, the same logic applies. McKinsey research shows that healthcare providers who lead with a consumer-centric strategy grow more than twice as fast as their peers.² That kind of transformation starts by embedding the customer at the centre of the service model—and it's time for labs to expect the same.

Some of the world’s most successful companies, like Amazon, Apple, and Netflix, have completely reinvented themselves by putting their customers first. They didn’t just launch new products; they changed how they served people.³

“You‘ve got to start with the client experience and work backwards to the technology” – Steve Jobs

Healthcare organizations have started to do the same, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From virtual care to diagnostics on demand, patient expectations shifted overnight, leaving many labs scrambling to keep up.

The lesson? Organizations that prioritize service and experience over product alone are not just surviving, they’re thriving. What’s more is that they’re better equipped to handle the next disruption when it comes.

So, what does an all-around service provider actually offer? More than you might think. It’s about:⁴

• Technical depth: Yes, devices matter, but so does ensuring your team is trained, your workflows optimized, and your data is integrated across systems.
• Operational support: From system uptime to throughput improvements and predictive maintenance, a great partner helps you meet KPIs consistently.
• Strategic alignment: Vendors that understand your long-term objectives can co-create solutions. like IT integration, automation pathways, and growth modelling, that evolve with you.
• People-first culture: They know your pain points, ask the right questions, and show up with solutions, not just sales scripts.

A recent article in ScienceDirect highlighted how customer-centric support services are becoming mission-critical across industries, and particularly in health-related fields where trust and outcomes are closely intertwined.⁴

It’s time to move beyond the transactional mindset. Vendors who only show up when there’s an issue are no longer enough. The new standard is embedded partnership, where labs are not just supported, but empowered.

Labs can now focus on the bigger perspective where they see vendors as partners. Co-creating value across the lab journey, from implementation to optimization to transformation. It’s not just about the services offered. It’s about aligning expertise, tools, and people to help your lab thrive.

Whether it’s continuous on-site support, technical education, digital workflow optimization, or even strategic transformation workshops. Look for a partner that isn’t just there to fix issues, but they’re also there, anticipating them and building long-term solutions.

This kind of model is rare. It’s what more lab leaders should be asking for: service providers who see themselves as part of your team.

Partnering with an all-around service provider brings tangible benefits:⁵

• Improved uptime and productivity
• Better staff satisfaction and training continuity
• Faster response during disruptions or demand spikes
• Data-driven insights to enhance decision-making
• More value from your existing systems and investments

Most importantly, it gives you time and space to focus on what matters most: patient care, scientific leadership, and the future of your lab.

With lab leaders facing more complex demands than ever before, it’s no longer enough to evaluate vendors on cost and catalogues. The real value lies in long-term, customer-centric relationships that evolve with your lab.

Think of it like this: you wouldn’t hire a new staff member based on price alone. You’d look for fit, alignment, values, and future potential. Why should your service providers be any different?

When you partner with a provider who provides all-around service, you’re not just buying a solution, you’re building one. That’s where the real value lies.

Want to deepen your lab’s impact through stronger partnerships?

Discover how prioritizing collaboration over price in the Request For Proposal (RFP) process leads to better long-term outcomes. Read the full article here.