LabX Scientific Marketplace

Auction website for science products saves time and money!


Dynalab Corp. has been using LabX to sell our overstock and clearance goods for years now. It's a one stop shop for used equipment and scientific supplies. Specifically we use it to market overstock and clearance Plasticware and Supplies. 


This site saves time over other auction sites due to its product focus. It also saves money as we clear products through this site well below our costs! It's a win - win for everyone involved, so much so that we even include freight on most auctions.


LabX is sort of a year round Spring cleaning warehouse. If you purchase scientific goods and are looking to save some money, be sure to check it out!

Beaker anyone?

Overstock, a problem at every company especially a master distributor

The story starts with a customer that suddenly can't get enough of a product you previously sold minimally. This goes great for maybe a year or if you are lucky longer. MRP screams at the buyer, we NEED these! Stock is kept on hand to make sure the newly valuable business remains happy. THEN...


The orders stop, no notice, no explanation just cease and desist. Unfortunately this can take a month or 2 to realize so more stock comes in while little to none goes out.


Before you know it, the most popular item in the warehouse is suddenly stocked at 10 years or better! That takes a lot of overstock sales to regain control. That's where we are right now on this 100 mL Azlon Square Ratio PP Beaker. So long as you don't need more than 15,000 of these little beauties, please feel free to MAKE US AN OFFER we can't refuse!

Lean or lucky?

Tis the season...
vacation season! 


This is a time of joy and excitement, a break from the daily grind, unless you are the unlucky people still at work trying to cover all the bases! Next week is spring break for schools in glorious Rochester, NY. The time of year where kids run wild and adults make the decision to spend 3 times as much on airfare or drive way too far in one day to escape the early Spring blues.

Under normal circumstances, Dynalab Corp. is like a well oiled machine where although most people play more than one part, it all comes together for superior service to our customers. In a small company, such is life and we enjoy the challenges. Then comes vacation season and the world explodes, or so it feels like. You are convinced that at full staff it's just never this busy!

The real question then becomes does our company run lean or is it sometimes just luck? Well for the week we just completed we were a lean mean fighting machine coming together to cover a key customer service employee's absence in the beginning of what is our busiest time of the year. To add to the fun, I spent a good part of the week in our final ERP Review meetings so they were essentially cover for two people. The luck comes in when somehow our shortage matches everyone else's and it's quiet enough to survive. Better luck next week...or so I hope!

School spring break next week being combined with a regular holiday on Friday has the vacation request sheets flying in the door! I am hoping for a nice combination of lean and luck to get through four days of business. We have a great team that is dedicated to our customer's satisfaction. The difference for next week is that the same CSR is out again but I am breaking one of my own rules and heading out for a few days too. The only difference is that the laptop and Blackberry that enjoy my vacations.

Happy Spring Break to you all...I'm outta here!

Social Media for Business

#plasticbeaker is so cool (now hit the Like) button or better yet leave a comment!


As a company that deals with both distributors and end users one would think we should be jumping all over this social media craze. Which I must admit there have been efforts put into evaluating if it's a good fit but for our company but that's about it at this point. When I started this blog a number of year's back it was at the suggestion of an internet marketing consultant. He said it would connect us directly to our customer base allowing a more personal interaction.


Not that I have been a saint at blogging but as you can see, there have been attempts lately to keep it more active...and personal. There was a time this space was used for sales announcements. That seems redundant to the Dynalab Corp. website. Back to the more personal area, isn't that how most of us use our social media sites like Facebook and Twitter? I know that's the case for me anyways. It's a way to connect with friends and family...but then again I am in my late 30's! I do follow a few business but they are mainly focused on things I enjoy like hotels where I vacation, restaurants that I enjoy and Barnes and Noble so I can keep up with Nook offerings. 


As you know, Dynalab Corp. sell plastic lab supplies, custom plastic fabrication and basic science equipment. Maybe people that really enjoy their jobs using our products would be interested in following this type of a company. It's hard to comprehend but entirely possible. This is one of those topics that requires a lot more thought before launching excessive time and efforts into tweets about plastic beakers!

Product replacement on our HDPE 1 gallon containers

Here's how the change starts... we place an order with a manufacturer for a product that has not only been selling but increasing in sales over the past couple years.

Then instead of being notified of the lead time, the manufacturer notifies us that they are discontinuing that product and have no replacement. The tool is old and there are no investment plans to replace it unless we buy some crazy amount that would stock our shelves well into our golden years of retirement. Doesn't seem like a huge deal but in the time between when we placed our PO and were notified, 5 customer orders came in. So now we are also behind the eight ball so to speak. 

Not a big deal right? We can just source a similar product for replacement through a different vendor. Simple...unless your buyer of 25 years just left the company (and the snow) to move to Florida! So simple turned challenging quick and turned into a 5 month process to source and actually receive the product in to fill what is now many more customer orders, or shall I say back orders!

This is likely a problem met by distributors much more often in this age of high MOQ from the vendor and JIT on the customer end. Fortunately I am writing this as 873-0000 replacement containers are being received in our warehouse and will be ready for shipment on Monday. Have a nice weekend!

Improve work life and home life improves ten-fold

This week's ERP demonstrations were a real tail wagger!


When our IS project began almost a full year ago my main goal as part of the committee was to figure out how and why we do things currently. Now a year later I wonder, why do we do it like that and how soon can we change? How soon can we optimize our service levels? How soon can we optimize our stock levels to be better prepared for our customer's needs?


One good thing (of many) that has come from this exhausting process is making us think how can we do things better NOW without waiting for software to save the day? I would assume, or at least hope, that every company tries to think that way. In my opinion, we have gone above and beyond to maintain high service levels despite all the manual processes internally. So to dream about how good it will be when software does save the day, makes me one happy employee. When I am one happy employee, my dog wags his tail to the smile on my face when I get home at night!


This sounds corny and like I have no social life. Truth be told, myself and many people in my social circle, spend more waking hours at work than at home. Dynalab Corp. is a nice company to work for, I've been here 15 years. They have built a successful business based on employee loyalty as much as customer satisfaction. I stay because I am treated well, feel as though I have a common goal of business success and overall have made lasting friendships with people whom I interact.


To end this week with another blog entry (two in a row) and in a positive mood excited about the future is nice. Trickle down effect; when we improve our business it leads to satisfied customers and happier employees! Have a nice weekend everyone, time to go see my dog.

Where does time go?

I made a New Year's resolution to put weekly entries into our blog... 
how am I doing?


Easy answer... not good! If I can't seem to keep up the schedule (which obviously I can't) then I should at least start posting what's going on at Dynalab Corp. keeping me so busy! I am on a team of employees chosen to investigate a new ERP system. This project has been in progress for close to a year now. We spent the majority of that time talking with many key employees and flow charting how we do everything currently. 


RFI have been sent to a number of software companies. Now the fun begins, seeing what they have to offer and how it will fit our company's needs. The list is down to a hand full of companies which doesn't seem like many for such an expensive purchase until communication overlaps between them all. Our IT Manager is facilitating that part and I don't envy him at all. 


Although we feel our customer commitment is high there are definitely processes that could be automated serving you all better. We want to grow our customer relationships, instill confidence in our abilities and overall grow the business for all.


Any customers out there willing to share their similar ERP experience please chime in!