The company has seen better sample tracking, faster testing turnaround times, more accurate reporting, and simplified quality control management with the Starlims R&D Quality Manufacturing Informatics Platform.
With products in over 100 countries, multiple operating facilities, and an expanding product portfolio, streamlined quality operations and faster time-to-market were critical for this leading coffee and tea company.
Business Challenges
The company’s existing LIMS was due for an upgrade and could no longer address its needs. Manual processes, measurement errors, and poor document collection and storage were costing the company time, resources, and money.
Constant retesting meant more personnel, reagents and consumables, and equipment time were needed, while issues with managing test results and reports led to delays in turnaround time.
The company’s analytical staff was also being weighed down with labor-intensive routine testing, making them unable to focus on in-depth scientific analyses. It became essential that the company outsource this testing so its team could focus on the critical method development that would drive the business forward. To do so, it needed a secure, cloud-based solution with automation and integration capabilities that would reduce manual processes, improve workflow inefficiencies, and speed turnaround time.
Why the Company Chose Starlims
When assessing different systems on the market, the company focused on several key factors. It looked for a cloud-based LIMS solution that offered out-of-the-box capabilities with capacity for configuration. It also needed a partner that could provide a high level of customer and service support. Data security, easy integration with other systems, and compatibility with different devices were also critical drivers in its search for a new solution.
Starlims exceeded the company’s expectations and outperformed other vendors across traceability, ease-of-use, cloud security, and functionality. The company selected Starlims’ fully managed cloud hosting services, as well as the LIMS, Scientific Data Management System (SDMS), Advanced Analytics, and Mobility components within the Starlims R&D Quality Manufacturing Informatics Platform to help them efficiently manage quality operations and drive business growth.
The Excel integration to export, copy, and paste labels is seamless and very effective, saving time.
QDA Panel Leader
Results
Implementing automation has been a critical success factor for the company. Automated sample testing, traceability, label printing, and management – from creation, to transfer and test scheduling – has provided a seamless overview of its samples across different global sites, in a single system. Being able to automatically upload and transfer results has reduced manual processes and saved the company time, money, and resources. It has also sped testing turnaround times because the company doesn’t have to worry about manual transcription errors and can feel confident that accurate results are in the system.
One of the biggest benefits the company has found is the ability to integrate and automatically link the STARLIMS system with its existing platforms, including its LIMS, scientific software, administrative systems, project coding system, and potential future platforms. This has significantly streamlined system management and given the company a holistic view of its quality operations. STARLIMS also has the flexibility to connect with and extract data from third party systems. Being able to integrate these systems has helped with proactive decision making and trends predictions, something the company wasn’t able to do with its previous system.
Simplistic, easy, and friendly interface to use.
Packaging Specialist
Another advantage is that the STARLIMS platform provides the storage, cloud capabilities, and data security needed to outsource its routine lab testing, freeing up the analytical staff to carry out more difficult analyses. Having complete data available for each workflow and test process means its teams are better informed when developing scientific hypotheses or new solutions. Additionally, being able to upload STARLIMS data into Excel and integrate it seamlessly with third party software has made sharing information fast and easy.
Lastly, the company is now capable of creating its own data repositories so that it can manage thousands of lab results and reports, and easily search current and historical results by any parameter. This significantly reduces the need for repetitive testing and allows users to view current projects in the context of previous work.
It helps to create and use a singular type of wording format between cross-category teams, which creates ease in understanding when you are a new.
Sensory and Consumer Science Team
Overall, the company is happy with the STARLIMS platform and has seen significantly improved process and workflow efficiencies, faster testing turnaround times, and better quality control management.