User:Shawndouglas/sandbox/sublevel4

There are hundreds of software vendors offering LIMS and LIS solutions making for a daunting challenge of narrowing down your laboratory’s options. However, there are a few tools available to you. Chief among them is LIMSwiki, a curated repository of cited knowledge concerning laboratories and informatics. You can find a list of LIMS vendors and LIS vendors on the site, with each vendor having their own cited, non-marketing page providing information about the company and its offerings. Some vendors even make their pricing public, which is also indicated on the vendor page when available.

Additionally, those vendor pages have categories assigned to them based off the industries the vendor claims to serve. This categorical organization of LIMS vendors by industry and LIS vendors by industry gives laboratories another useful way to sort through vendor offerings.

Word of mouth is also an important yet underutilized, tool. Have you reached out to other laboratories in your industry and asked them about their experiences with finding and implementing a LIMS? Can they give you additional recommendations or advice about their past or current approach? Are there any upcoming conferences and trade shows where you can learn more? What about talking to members of a trade or professional organization you’re part of?

Finally, your laboratory may want to consider the usefulness of a request for information (RFI) in finding vendors who may be able to fulfill your lab’s requirements. An RFI is an ideal means for learning more about a potential solution and how it can solve your problems, or for discovering your options when you're not even sure how to solve your problem yet. By posting an RFI, you may find that multiple vendors respond. However, to maximize the number of responses, the RFI should not be unduly long and tedious to complete for prospective vendors. It should be concise, direct and honest. This means not only presenting a clear and humble vision of your laboratory and its goals, but also asking just the right amount of questions to allow potential vendors to demonstrate their expertise and provide a clearer picture of who they are.