From Sample Tracking to Smarter Sample Management
Laboratories across Australia and the Asia Pacific region are processing more samples, generating more data and working under increasing pressure to deliver results quickly without compromising quality or compliance.
For many organisations, LIMS is already central to managing this workload. It provides the structure needed to register samples, manage testing, capture results and maintain traceability.
But laboratory operations are changing. As sample volumes increase and workflows become more complex, knowing where a sample is may only be part of the challenge. Laboratory teams also need to know which work should take priority, where delays are developing and how changes in instruments, resources or storage conditions could affect the workflow.
This is where intelligent sample management is starting to change the role of LIMS.
Sample management is becoming more demanding
A sample can pass through numerous stages during its lifecycle. It may be registered, labelled, prepared, allocated for testing, transferred between locations, reviewed, stored, retested or disposed of.
Each step needs to be recorded correctly, particularly in regulated or quality-controlled environments where traceability and chain of custody are essential.
As laboratories grow, managing this becomes increasingly difficult. Teams may be dealing with higher sample volumes, additional instruments, more complex testing requirements, tighter turnaround times and greater regulatory scrutiny.
These challenges are particularly relevant across pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing, food and beverage, environmental testing, mining, contract laboratories and other regulated industries throughout Australia and APAC.
When tracking alone is not enough
Moving from paper records and spreadsheets to LIMS is an important step in improving laboratory operations. However, even laboratories with established LIMS environments can encounter operational gaps.
A LIMS can record that a sample has reached a particular stage, but laboratory staff may still need to manually determine which samples are most urgent, how to respond to instrument downtime or what impact a delay will have further along the workflow.
Typical challenges include:
- Time spent checking sample location and status
- Manual prioritisation of urgent work
- Bottlenecks that become apparent only after delays occur
- Reactive responses to instrument downtime
- Information spread across multiple laboratory systems
- Administrative work associated with chain of custody
- Difficulty balancing available resources against changing workloads
These issues become more noticeable as laboratory throughput increases.
Moving from sample tracking to sample orchestration
The next step is to use the information already available within the laboratory to help coordinate sample workflows more effectively.
Rather than treating each sample as an individual record, intelligent sample management considers the wider operational picture. This can include sample urgency, due dates, instrument availability, storage conditions, laboratory capacity and other workflow dependencies.
LabVantage CORTEX™ brings Agentic AI into this environment, using laboratory context to help identify issues, prioritise work and support decisions throughout the sample lifecycle.
The aim is not to remove laboratory professionals from the process. It is to give them better information at the point where decisions need to be made.
How LabVantage CORTEX™ supports sample management
LabVantage CORTEX™ extends the laboratory informatics environment beyond recording activity by helping laboratories respond to changing operational conditions.
For example, it can support laboratories by:
Prioritising samples as conditions change
Urgency, due dates and available resources can be considered when determining which samples should be addressed first.
Identifying potential problems earlier
Instrument availability, workflow delays, storage deviations and other operational risks can be identified before they develop into larger disruptions.
Making better use of laboratory resources
Sample requirements can be considered alongside instrument availability, storage capacity and laboratory workloads.
Supporting day-to-day decisions
Instead of relying only on reports showing what has already happened, laboratory teams can use current operational information to determine what needs attention.
Improving traceability
Digital records and audit trails provide greater visibility across the sample lifecycle and can help support chain-of-custody requirements.
The difference is relatively simple. Instead of only asking “Where is the sample?”, the laboratory can also ask “What needs to happen next?”
Connecting the wider laboratory
Sample management rarely operates in isolation.
Many laboratories use a combination of LIMS, ELN, LES, SDMS, analytical instruments and other scientific applications. If information remains separated between these systems, laboratory teams can still find themselves manually bringing data together to understand what is happening.
A connected laboratory environment gives intelligent tools more useful context.
This is particularly important when introducing AI into laboratory operations. AI cannot compensate for poorly connected processes or inconsistent data. The underlying digital environment still needs to provide reliable information and well-defined workflows.
LabVantage CORTEX™ builds on the wider LabVantage laboratory informatics environment, allowing intelligence to be applied within the context of laboratory operations rather than as a separate standalone tool.
Keeping people in control
For regulated laboratories, greater automation also raises questions around governance, accountability and oversight.
There will always be laboratory decisions that require scientific or quality judgement. Intelligent systems can assist by identifying an issue, analysing available information or recommending an action, while laboratory professionals retain control over decisions that require approval.
This Human-in-the-Loop approach provides a practical way for laboratories to introduce more advanced automation without losing the oversight required in regulated environments.
The operational impact of better sample management
Poor sample management can have consequences beyond the laboratory itself.
A misplaced sample, delayed test or missed workflow step can result in repeat testing, additional labour, longer turnaround times and delays to downstream activities.
At scale, even relatively small improvements can make a difference.
Better coordination of samples and resources can help laboratories reduce avoidable delays, improve throughput, strengthen traceability and make better use of available instruments and staff.
For high-volume QC, manufacturing, research and testing laboratories, those improvements can have a direct impact on operational performance.
What this means for laboratories across Australia and APAC
Not every laboratory is at the same stage of digital development.
Some are still replacing spreadsheets and paper processes. Others already have established LIMS environments and are integrating instruments and additional scientific applications. Some are beginning to explore AI-assisted workflows and more advanced laboratory automation.
The important point is that the laboratory informatics environment needs to be able to develop with the organisation.
A LIMS should support current requirements without limiting what the laboratory may need to do next.
For laboratories already looking beyond basic digitisation, LabVantage CORTEX™ provides a way to introduce greater intelligence into existing laboratory operations and move towards more proactive management of samples and workflows.
Where does sample management go next?
LIMS has traditionally provided laboratories with a reliable record of samples, testing and results. That remains fundamental.
What is changing is how laboratories use that information.
Instead of waiting for someone to identify every delay, reprioritise every sample or investigate every disruption, intelligent sample management can help laboratory teams recognise issues earlier and decide what should happen next.
For laboratories managing growing workloads and increasingly complex operations, this represents a natural progression from digital sample tracking towards more intelligent laboratory execution.
LabVantage CORTEX™ helps laboratories move from recording laboratory activity to using laboratory information more actively to manage samples, workflows and resources.
Learn more about how LabVantage CORTEX™ can support intelligent sample management and the next stage of your laboratory’s digital development.