We asked the industry: here’s the #1 lab data challenge

Over the past few months, we’ve been interviewing experts for the upcoming Lab Efficiency Report from 1LIMS. One theme kept coming up:

Lack of connectivity in laboratory data management.

In other words, how your instruments, LIMS, ELNs, and spreadsheets actually talk to each other.

And in the middle of it all, the universal connector is still… Excel.

Labs have been using Excel for decades. Resistance to change and fragmented data make change slow and costly. That’s why Excel persists. The way forward, as one expert told us, is to connect what you already have and roll changes out step by step.

The “all-in-one” trap

Vendors know labs struggle with data connectivity. Many respond by promising a magical all-in-one LIMS platform. The problem is, it often ends up like a Swiss Army knife with 30 tools sticking out, when you use 2-3 of them at most.

Which one would actually help your team more?

🔘 An “all-in-one” platform packed with features you’ll rarely touch
🔘 A focused system that nails the 3–4 things you need every single day

Precision over overload

At 1LIMS, we see digitalization less like a gadget with too many blades, and more like a Swiss watch mechanism: precise, reliable, and purposeful. Every component has a role, and together they create something greater than the sum of the parts.

That’s why our approach is different. We sit down with your team to map how work actually gets done in the lab: where data gets stuck, where Excel takes over, and where mistakes can creep in.

At Estoppey-Reber SA, a galvanic coatings company, we ran a one-day on-site LabCheck workshop to map QA, QC, and production-lab workflows, from wastewater treatment to galvanic baths.

What we found:

• ~135 Excel reports created every week
• 1+ hour wasted weekly just on compiling them
• Many checks still on paper, with constant paper → Excel transfers

What we recommended:

• Centralize all lab and process data in one LIMS
• Integrate with the warehouse system for real-time inventory and chemical updates
• Automate OOS alerts, standardize test plans, and enable real-time dashboards

The result is stronger traceability, fewer handoffs, faster data access, and lower error risk.

🔘 Book your LabCheck and let us show where your data remains in silos, and how you can connect it without buying into another “all-in-one” promise.

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P.S. Want to dive deeper? Check these out:  

👉 See how Estoppey-Reber can cut 135 weekly Excel reports down to one LIMS.

👉 See how Polygal AG replaced error-prone spreadsheets with a centralized LIMS

👉 Not all LIMS solve the same problems. Read our 1LIMS vs Labguru comparison

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Happy & safe lab work!

❤️ Greetings,

1LIMS Team