At some point in the work of almost every analyst, situations arise where analytical work has to be outsourced and measurements must be ordered from an external laboratory. This may be due to missing instrumentation, limited internal capacity, regulatory requirements, or the need for a specialized method that is not available in house.
Choosing an analytical laboratory in such cases is rarely a simple task. While there are thousands of laboratories worldwide, their distribution is uneven and their capabilities vary widely. Most importantly, their true areas of expertise are not always obvious from the outside. Yet the quality of your data, and the decisions based on it, depend first and foremost on whether the laboratory is genuinely specialized in the analysis you need.
Start with Specialization
The first and most important step is identifying laboratories whose core specialization matches your analytical task. This sounds straightforward, but in practice it often is not. Many laboratories advertise broad portfolios and long lists of available methods, which makes it difficult to understand what they actually perform routinely and what they offer only occasionally.
A laboratory that runs a given analysis as part of its daily work will usually deliver more reliable and consistent results than a laboratory for which the same method is secondary. Unfortunately, this distinction is rarely visible from a website or a service list and often requires deeper verification.
Logistics and Practical Constraints
Once suitable specialization is identified, practical considerations quickly come into play. Not every laboratory that is technically suitable is also logistically feasible. Some samples cannot be shipped easily, safely, or legally. Others require strict temperature control, special packaging, or rapid delivery.
Customs regulations, transport routes, and transit times can all limit available options. In real projects, logistics often becomes the first hard filter after specialization.
Certification and Accreditation
For regulated, contractual, or legally sensitive work, certification and accreditation are essential. It is not enough to know that a laboratory is certified. It is necessary to confirm that the relevant certificates explicitly cover the required methods and sample types.
Not all accreditations apply to all analyses, and general quality certificates do not replace method specific validation. Careful checking at this stage helps avoid serious issues later.
Experience and Scientific Track Record
For complex, advanced, or uncommon analyses, practical experience is particularly important. One way to assess this is by reviewing scientific publications, conference presentations, or other public outputs from the laboratory.
A laboratory that has implemented and refined a method over many years is more likely to understand its limitations, sources of uncertainty, and potential pitfalls than one that has only recently added it to its offerings.
Instrumentation and Technical Implementation
In many cases, analytical results depend strongly on the underlying technique or instrumentation. It is therefore reasonable to ask how a given analysis is performed and whether the available instruments are suitable for the intended purpose.
Beyond general descriptions, it is useful to confirm that the laboratory’s instrument park supports the claimed performance in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, and robustness.
Outsourcing and Subcontracting
Some laboratories outsource particularly complex or highly specialized analyses. This is not necessarily a problem, but it should be transparent from the beginning.
If measurements are performed by a third party, that laboratory should be evaluated as carefully as the primary contact. In some situations, direct collaboration with the performing laboratory may be more appropriate.
Academic and Research Laboratories
Commercial laboratories are not the only option. Universities and research institutes often operate highly specialized analytical facilities and may accept paid work or collaborative projects.
For rare or research level analyses, academic laboratories can provide valuable expertise, provided that timelines and reporting formats meet project requirements.
Comparing Laboratories for Long Term Work
For ongoing projects or a continuous flow of samples, trial orders can be extremely useful. Comparing results, turnaround times, communication, and reporting across several laboratories often reveals differences that are not visible at the proposal stage.
Although this approach requires additional effort initially, it can significantly reduce long term risk.
Making Specialization More Visible
Because true laboratory specialization is not always easy to identify, finding suitable candidates can be time consuming. To support this process, analyte.me offers a Laboratory Finder that helps connect analytical needs with laboratories based on their actual analytical focus and capabilities.
Rather than relying solely on generic searches or incomplete service lists, the Laboratory Finder provides a structured way to identify laboratories whose specialization matches a given analytical task.
A Decision That Shapes Your Data
Selecting an analytical laboratory is not simple, but it is one of the most important decisions in any analytical project. A well chosen laboratory reduces the risk of flawed data, misinterpretation, and costly rework.
Good decisions start with good data - and good data starts with the right laboratory.