This whitepaper presents a Total Landed Cost (TLC) analysis comparing cold-chain shipping of liquid in vitro diagnostic reagent kits against ambient shipping of the same kit in lyophilized form, arguing that lyophilization saves money once all shipping and packaging costs are counted, not just the sticker price of the product.
Key structure and data points
- Defines Total Landed Cost as purchase price plus all packaging/transportation costs
- Builds a simulated 100-unit shipment comparison: a two-box cold-chain kit (2-8°C gel packs + -20°C dry ice) at $200 purchase price vs. a single-box ambient lyophilized kit at $220 purchase price
- Shows cold-chain shipments require far more packaging weight and specialized coolers than ambient shipments for the same order size
- Presents a four-lane shipping cost comparison (Carlsbad to Boston, San Francisco, Raleigh, and London) with TLC savings ranging roughly 8%–43% in favor of the lyophilized version, savings increasing with shipping distance
- Notes 3-day standard delivery is viable for lyophilized (ambient-stable) product versus overnight/expedited requirements for cold-chain product
Save on Cost for Cold Chain Logistics by Lyophilizing in vitro Diagnostic Assays
In a real-world analysis, lyophilizing in vitro diagnostic assays realized financial savings compared to cold chain logistics when Total Landed Costs(TLC) are considered.
This article will challenge your current thinking around molecular in vitro diagnostic assay cold chain logistics by considering TLC, and the potential savings using lyophilization. Life sciences have, understandably, relied upon cold chain support for decades. However, molecular in vitro diagnostics has reached a tipping point that challenges the scalability of the cold chain standard. Cold chain’s lack of scalability will inhibit the point-of-care testing (POCT) market from growing to its full potential.
Pushing the existing cold chain model down from central laboratories into the many more diversified, lower complexity facilities will require immense growth. In the US alone, there are approximately 230K physician practices, compared to approximately 172K CLIA-certified high-complexity labs. This would result in more than doubling the entire existing cold chain capacity for laboratories.
Lyophilization technology has moved product stability in ambient conditions from a “nice to have” to a “must have” for the total cost, ease of use, and environmental factors. We will focus on the TLC cost comparison of “Going Ambient” vs. cold chain because, for many organizations, the total cost is the primary driver, ahead of environmental impact or ease of use. In performing the analysis, we will reveal the hidden costs of cold chain logistics.
Read this white paper to learn how you can save on shipping and cold chain cost by lyophilizing in vitro diagnostic assays.
