How Marathon LS Ensures Steady and Predictable Supply

Marathon has a reputable history for ensuring a reliable supply chain, which was evident through the height of the pandemic in 2020. Through our exclusive relationships with global manufacturers, we had the ability to source some of the most elusive lab supplies and PPE to keep laboratories up and running. Since then, our devotion to supply chain resilience has remained unwavering.

Over the past year, Marathon has announced initiatives that will further establish our position as an industry leader in supply chain excellence.

US Manufacturing Shortens the Supply Chain

Marathon is leading the industry towards 100% U.S. manufacturing. Marathon has made this commitment for a multitude of reasons – reduction in our carbon footprint, higher quality projects, supporting the American economy, shorter lead times and a more predictable supply chain.

Keeping the entire supply chain of products geographically state-side decreases the amount of time products spend in transit. A significant factor will be the elimination of time that goods spend at the ports. These delays are often the result of several reasons including labor shortages, trade deficits and unforeseen events such as bad weather. On top of this, customs clearance can take up to multiple weeks after products are received in at ports. The result of these challenges could potentially lead to a major disruption of laboratory workflow.

When our customers are doing as critical work as finding cures and solutions to horrible diseases and discovering revolutionary drugs, we must ensure they are getting the proper lab supplies that they need, when they need it – not weeks later.

Marathon Pacer Contributes to a Strong Supply Chain

Earlier this year, Marathon announced its unique Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) program, Marathon Pacer. As an organization within MarathonLS, Marathon Pacer is a strategic inventory management and lab operations program developed to provide our clients predictable supply in an unpredictable world. The Marathon Pacer team strives to develop strategic partnerships with laboratory operations professionals who share our vision for operational excellence and an uninterrupted supply chain. You can read more about Marathon Pacer and its deliverables here.

Pacer ensures predictable supply through established minimum and maximum inventory capacity levels, data-driven forecasting, and offsite storage. The Marathon Pacer team is diligently trained to study trends on your team’s actual usage, so your lab is always operating at par level, mitigating the risk of disruptions to your research due to lack of readily available product.

If your lab is in need of a unique inventory management program tailored to the specific objectives of your lab, please contact us here to schedule a consultation.

Ongoing Supply Chain Solutions

Marathon maintains four warehouses across the U.S. which allow us to deliver on our commitment to in-stock products shipping out within 24 hours of an order. To mitigate shipping delays and long transit durations, our warehouses are strategically spread throughout the country, allowing our customers to receive their laboratory supplies as quickly as possible from the nearest warehouse location. Marathon plans to have full warehouse coverage throughout the continental U.S. by the end of 2025 to support our growing customer base.

Marathon’s operations team members are experts in procurement and logistics, which allows us to offer a standing order program where your products are ordered and delivered at a regular cadence. We understand how important a consistent and reliable supply chain is – especially since we all have struggled through the contrary. For this reason, Marathon keeps a minimum of three months of supply on hand for standing orders, with steady and regular replenishments scheduled.

Here at Marathon, we sincerely value our goals and promises, which is why we have several different avenues available to provide predictable supply as we enable the race for innovation. Learn more here about our programs to best assist your lab.