Cracking the inventory management code

Decode Science has used Cin7 since its founding. Twenty years of experience in the life sciences and diagnostics sector had taught Director Josh Warburton that inventory software was something he could not live without.

“I’ve worked in other businesses, and if you don’t have a good operating system for your inventory, it kills you,” Josh says. “Cin7 had the functionality that we required and needed minimal optimization to implement into our business.”

Enabling Discovery Throughout Oceania

Based in the Melbourne suburb of Carrum Downs, Decode Science imports and distributes medical research and clinical diagnostics equipment to facilities across Australia and New Zealand. “We’re direct-to-business distribution model, so the customers that we sell to consume the product, typically.”

Their clients include universities, medical research institutions and hospital labs, so it’s literally vital that their customers get the correct products within the required time frame. Decode Science carries laboratory equipment, reagents and plasticware for cancer and cardiovascular research, neuroscience, genomics, developmental biology and even agricultural biology. Items they sell include next-generation DNA-sequencing machines and library preparation solutions for whole-genome mapping.

“It’s a combination of research and in vitro diagnostics for things like cancer, coronavirus,” Josh explains. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Decode Science has seen an increase in demand from diagnostic test labs.

In layman’s terms, “What customers are doing most commonly is, they’re taking DNA from the world or RNA from the world and they’re turning that into data using our machines. So they’re taking the DNA and sequencing it to identify the code of that DNA.”

A Collaborative Onboarding Approach

Before going out on his own to helm Decode Science’s team of nine, former biologist Josh was a manager at a larger company in the same industry, with business units specializing in medical devices, diagnostics and life sciences. Which is why he knew from the outset that skimping on inventory management would be an unwise decision.

“We’re using inventory and the associated purchasing and sales order management that goes with it and then the Xero integration and reporting as well.”

Josh describes the onboarding experience as “well-handled.” A dedicated onboarding specialist took the team through training, troubleshooting and data management. “It was a very collaborative type of approach that got us up and running in about two or three weeks with something that was functional.”

Dependability Is in Their DNA

Being quick to market is crucial in the breaking world of bioscience technology, so Decode Science was pleased with the speedy implementation of Cin7 and minimal need for intervention.

“[Decode Science] is all B2B, but our sales process is a little bit more combination B2C/B2B.” By this, Josh means they use relationship building as a key sales strategy, partnering with companies like Bionano Genomics to host seminars to educate the medical community on emerging genetic technologies.

And because Decode Science performs this integrated sales and marketing function in-house with a very lean and agile team, less time spent managing orders is certainly welcome. While Josh knows that many small businesses operate on a shoestring budget, he says he “actually can’t imagine” being without Cin7. “I can’t imagine running a business off an Excel spreadsheet. [Inventory management software] is a relatively low-cost part of it.”