labor team, Switzerland’s fourth largest medical laboratory, offers its medical clientele the best service in the field of diagnostics. This is also reflected in the transport of laboratory samples, which are delivered to the central laboratory in the canton of St. Gallen as quickly as possible by rail and bicycle couriers. Find out in the following reference report why this clever transport solution gives one of Switzerland’s leading private laboratories a real competitive edge.
Our core competence is high-quality sample analyses, not logistics. We deliberately decided against maintaining our own fleet of courier drivers and work together with swissconnect and a large number of local bicycle couriers for sample transport – and have been doing so for over 20 years.
Chief Operating Officer, labor team
Speed and quality are key
In modern laboratory medicine, speed is a decisive factor. This is demonstrated at labor team by state-of-the-art laboratory automation, as well as the fast and safe transport of samples. More than 95% of the daily laboratory samples are delivered free of traffic jams by bicycle courier and train. The sample material from all over Switzerland arrives at the highly automated central laboratory in Goldach in the canton of St. Gallen within one to five hours at a maximum. “We took the strategic decision not to transport samples using our own vehicles and courier drivers,” emphasises Dr Thomas Brinkmann, Chief Operating Officer. “Our core competence is high-quality sample analyses, not logistics. We deliberately decided against maintaining our own fleet of courier drivers and work together with swissconnect and a large number of local bicycle couriers for sample transport – and have been doing so for over 20 years.”
Patients depend on a quick diagnosis. Our decentralised transport solution enables us to react quickly and flexibly throughout Switzerland – and above all to be close to our customers. It’s exactly this proximity that would be eroded by having an in-house fleet of vehicles: fixed pick-up routes, traffic jams, red lights or the search for a parking space prevent flexible and timely services. Instead, we rely on a system that focuses on customer proximity and efficiency – and guarantees that samples from all over Switzerland arrive in our laboratory within five hours
Team Leader Sample Scheduling, labor team
Ultimate customer proximity
The efficient transport solution is characterised by several factors. The local bike couriers are close to the customer at all times and in emergencies can react within minutes. The samples are picked up and transported by train, secure and temperature-controlled, from all corners of Switzerland to St. Gallen. The sample material is handed over to the bicycle courier, who delivers the sample under his/her own steam. Patients depend on a quick diagnosis. Our decentralised transport solution enables us to react quickly and flexibly throughout Switzerland – and above all to be close to our customers. It’s exactly this proximity that would be eroded by having an in-house fleet of vehicles: fixed pick-up routes, traffic jams, red lights or the search for a parking space prevent flexible and timely services. Instead, we rely on a system that focuses on customer proximity and efficiency – and guarantees that samples from all over Switzerland arrive in our laboratory within five hours,” says Eleonora Iacono, Team Leader Sample Scheduling. In recent years, the number of hours spent stuck in traffic on Swiss roads has risen sharply, meaning that car couriers need more time and the samples reach their destination with ever greater delays. swissconnect’s clever transport solution is based on the very reliable Swiss rail system, which ensures traffic-jam-free delivery and thus gives labor team a real competitive edge.
The greenest laboratory and the most sustainable courier service
labor team has been certified as a “Green & Sustainable Laboratory” by the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) – the first laboratory in Switzerland and the fourth in Europe to receive the accolade – and consistently focuses on sustainable diagnostics. The fact that laboratory samples have been arriving in Eastern Switzerland by rail for over two decades confirms that sustainability is a fundamental component of labor team’s corporate culture. Using sophisticated software, swissconnect coordinates the interaction between the local bicycle couriers and the railway and, with trained personnel, ensures that the laboratory samples are delivered safely and on time. In 2024, labor team saved over 700,000 kg of CO2 by having the samples delivered by train rather than car. If the positive CO₂ balance of the bicycle couriers were also taken into account, the savings would be significantly higher. In this way, labor team impressively underlines that ecological responsibility and medical excellence can go hand in hand – and sends a strong signal for the sustainable future of laboratory medicine.
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