is the longest sustained period of price growth for truckers since the industry was deregulated in 1980, and transportation company CEOs believe we have not yet reached market peak.


Warehousing: Paying for Labor to Store Printed Forms


Beyond the trends of the paper market, we must also look at the rising cost of warehousing and its impact on the forms overprinting process performed onsite at the laboratories. When factoring warehouse space and labor, these costs can account for over 15% of all the expenses tied to the use of printed forms.


Skilled Labor Shortage With U.S. unemployment at a 10- year low, finding skilled workers for warehousing positions has become increasingly difficult. Coupled with high turnover, many employers are struggling to overcome this shortage, and this is reflected in their pricing.


Wage Increases In 2017, warehouse wages rose 6% to a range of $12 to $15 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of course, the biggest news in wage increases came with Amazon’s recent decision to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour. While this announcement will help the e-commerce giant to atract more skilled labor to its more than 100 warehouses across the country, it is also likely to force other warehouse operators to raise their wages, and ultimately their pricing.


Going Digital: The Impact of Electronic Form Adoption


An electronic chain of custody and control form, or ECCF, is the digital version of the traditional five-part paper custody and control form. While there are considerable advantages associated with this digital option, its increased use in the industry has an impact on the cost of printed forms.


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Effects on Printed Form Pricing Currently, the industry is experiencing a trend toward lower-quantity orders for printed forms—and lower-quantity orders mean that overprinting will be increasingly costly. Tere are two factors contributing to this trend: increased form customization and a rise in the utilization of ECCF. More clients are demanding customized


chain of custody forms with unique aspects like company logos, field sequences, and additional bar codes to drive efficiencies. Regardless of how forms are customized, each request demands a unique SKU and reduces the volume of generic forms. In addition to this growing demand


for customization, the industry is seeing more collections processed through ECCF. With ECCF gaining popularity, a lower volume of printed forms is being produced at a higher price. As these factors make an impact on


printed-form pricing, labs will be forced to make difficult decisions. Tey must determine whether to continue to invest in costly internal overprint and warehouse services, or to begin outsourcing these services in preparation for the future.


In Summary The facts:


Major shiſts in the global paper market, a warehouse labor shortage, and a boost in wages, along with the increased adoption of ECCF and lower print-order quantities, have impacted the cost of printed forms across the entire clinical and drug testing laboratory industry.


The Solution: Tere are several tactics that laboratories can deploy now to combat these cost pressures. Cost increases may be inevitable, but the amount of the increase can be minimized with the right strategy. Te solutions vary in complexity, and because each lab’s operations differ, each lab should consult their print provider to provide a comprehensive needs and cost analysis to determine which strategy will best fit their situation. ❚


datia focus 31


Steve Palma serves as the director of laboratory solu- tions for GO2 Lab Media. The GO2 team brings over 25 years of expertise in working with clinical


and drug testing laboratories. Their team of specialists assists laboratories with their mission-critical, specimen-tracking products. Steve has a specific expertise in consulting with laboratories and TPAs as they deploy barcode technology to drive efficiencies within their internal operations. Steve and the GO2 Lab Media team are DATIA members.


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