It’s Not a Black Hole

What happens when you place an order? At some companies, it may seem like a black hole. At ABS, this is not the case. We want you to know as much as possible so that you understand the care we take and that there are no surprises.

We start working on your order before it is an order. Business Development personnel begin by discussing your request with you to clearly understand your needs, sometimes offering creative alternatives to best meet your desired outcomes. In the background, we are discussing your requests with our Laboratory and/or Biospecimen Teams to make sure all details are addressed and understood and that there will be no delays if you place an order. These teams may also be introduced to you to proactively manage any potential issues.

After all details are clarified, your Business Development contact will send you a Price Quotation including deliverables. Because our work is customized to meet your exact needs, we do not send a Price Quotation until we align on a complete solution.

We try to make the ordering process as fast, easy, and simple as possible for you. We respond to requests within one business day. Depending upon the complexity of your request, it may take a few days to find the right solution. For example, if you are requesting disease tissue samples that are uncommon or have stringent requirements such as treatment with a specific drug, we may have to reach out to multiple sources to find the appropriate samples, which may take several days. We will keep you informed during that time.

Beginning with receipt of your order, Client Services at ABS is your representative.  Client Services keeps you informed of the progress of your order and any unanticipated issues so that you always know what is happening. In the background, Client Services and our Biospecimen and Laboratory Teams are updating the status of your order in our NetSuite® Oracle database. This highly customized database tracks every inquiry, every request, and all technical and financial data that link to your order. This information is always accessible to relevant personnel, preventing delays. 

When we receive a Purchase Order, we immediately begin working on your order. If it is a biospecimen request, sites will begin shipping stored samples to us for QC or will initiate prospective collections if requested. For cell culture orders, if we are storing or engineering your cells, they are placed into culture as soon as possible.

We track metrics on every component of your request from procurement times to time to culture after receipt of your cells. The objectives are always to shorten delivery times and increase quality, while keeping you informed.

When your order is complete, QC personnel are automatically notified. Following appropriate QC, our Shipping Team is automatically notified. Your order is then appropriately packaged, and you are notified to expect a shipment. We then track your shipment to make sure it arrives at the location that you specified.

Your order is not over at this point, just because you received it. We routinely check back with you to ensure that you are satisfied. Our ultimate goal is to be an extension of your laboratory. Working with us should be as easy as working with a colleague down the hall, while having the advantage of our decades of experience and expertise.