Medical Purchasing

• Dedicated Customer Service Representative to assist in order placement, shipment coordination, and tracking, special delivery requests (such as desktop delivery or white glove service), returns and exchanges, expediting back-ordered items, and finding alternate products.
  • Sandra Villegas, 314-619-2824 or washu-cs@thermofisher.com
• Local Sales Representatives to assist with helping customers find and sample products, make technical suggestions, coordinate demos, consultative visits with product specialists and vendor sales reps, quote requests, order placement and fulfillment, and coordinating with the on-site customer service representative to ensure timely product delivery.
  • Savannah Nelson, 803-834-0540,  savannah.nelson@thermofisher.com
  • Joe Ahearn, 314-456-9594, joe.ahearn@thermofisher.com
• Technical Sales Specialists are product/category-specific specialists who add an extra level of consultation and expertise to your specific needs. These individuals work closely with the Sales Representatives and are experts in their specific fields of science.
  • Michael Ren – Life Sciences Technical Sales Specialist, 314-503-3360, ren@thermofisher.com
  • Doug Beissel – Fisher Scientific Chemical Specialist, 612-749-5849, beissel@thermofisher.com

Please contact the Supply Chain Management team here with any escalated issues and improvement opportunities.

Please start by contacting WashU’s Systems Helpdesk at 314-935-5707.

Fisher Scientific won the Washington University Lab Supply Contract in the fall of 2014 by offering the best value supplier partnership. Fisher continues to be WashU’s first stop for lab supplies and equipment, offering value-add incentives, aggressive category discounting, and consistent pricing to the entire University. The expectation is that if an exact match product (same brand and item) is provided by Fisher, then Fisher is the distributor. New Lab Start-Ups and Encompass exceptions apply as noted below. The brand and product selection is always the choice of the researcher.

Fisher offers promotional discounts on new lab start-ups and should be included in these opportunities; however, new lab start-ups can still be competitively bid and awarded.

• WashU purchasers are not required to purchase items from the Fisher’s Catalog that carry the Encompass and/or Encompass Preferred logo via Fisher Scientific. Items marked with the “Encompass” or “Encompass Preferred” logo are non-distribution products offered as a convenience to the researcher.
  • Encompass Preferred offers a 5 – 10% off list pricing. Shipping & handling will apply.
  • Encompass items are offered at list plus mark-up for one-off purchases and/or suppliers not yet established with WashU. Shipping & handling will apply.

Consolidated spending with Fisher drives aggregate savings for WashU. Supply Chain Management conducts an annual assessment of high-volume items to deliver the best value.  Additionally, aggressive catalog discounts are applied to the larger portfolio. The lab supply industry continues to be dynamic and market-driven. 

Supply Chain Management negotiates direct discounts and contracts with several of our larger manufacturers including R&D Systems, BD Biosciences, Microflex®, Corning®, Promega, and Greiner Bio-One. These orders are placed via Fisher for order processing and free shipping.

For standard, non-rush orders, Fisher provides free freight with waived ice and hazmat charges. Please consider free shipping when assessing an all-in price. Shipping fees do apply for expedited shipments and Encompass™ orders. As part of the Encompass™ program, Life Technologies/Thermo Fisher orders where the product is labeled with the Encompass™ logo, there is a flat $49.95 fee.

All pricing in Fisher’s punch-out is already provided at a discount. Additional quotations may be provided for a new lab start-up opportunity, a significant large order, or specialized equipment. If the Customer Account number in the Sales Quotation box ends in -001, your order can be completed through the Fisher punch-out. When you are in the punch-out, hover over “Ordering” then click on “Quotes”. Search for or enter your quote number. When you “View Details” it will allow you to add quantities to your shopping cart. If the Customer Account on your quote ends in any suffix other than -001, it will need to be entered as a Non-Catalog order.

Fisher can accommodate special requests for deduct & holds special delivery requirements and installations via a non-catalog order. Please note that any special notes entered into a punch-out catalog order cannot be viewed by the supplier. If you have a special request, notify your Fisher Sales Representative and/or WashU’s dedicated Customer Service Representative prior to a non-catalog order entry.

Fisher Scientific has several warehouses located throughout the US. Washington University’s default warehouse is located in Hanover Park, IL, and there is a dedicated daily truck line that delivers products to the St. Louis area. Fisher Scientific strives to stock the most commonly and frequently purchased items for its customer base at each warehouse, ensuring that most items ordered by 2 p.m. local time will be delivered the following day. In situations where the product is not stored at the Hanover Park warehouse, Fisher Scientific can arrange for shipment from another warehouse or directly from the vendor. Typically, direct vendor shipment takes an additional 1-5 days.

If you are the shopper, you will receive an order confirmation PDF via email. This order confirmation includes a live link to check your current order status on fishersci.com. If you have concerns with “Estimated Delivery” dates, please contact our On-site Customer Service Representative with your order number.

Effective September 2016, Fisher Scientific is processing orders for the Thermo Fisher division, except for the Life Technologies Marketplace catalog. To enter these orders, create a non-catalog order in WashU Marketplace using the Fisher Scientific vendor record, and attach any Thermo Fisher quotes or documents to the requisition. These orders will route to our On-site Customer Service Representative, for order acceptance and routing to the proper division and address. This decreases the number of vendor records required to maintain and eliminates the guesswork on which Thermo Fisher division to select when creating your purchase requisition.

A product is a medical device if the manufacturer registers it with the FDA. Many simple products that they do not normally think of as medical devices may be medical devices, including specimen cups, specimen slides, exam gloves, etc. You can have the same product be both a medical device and a non-medical device. For example, a manufacturer could sell the same glove under two catalog numbers and label one a “glove” and the other one an “exam glove”.  Even though it is exactly the same product, the exam glove is a medical device, and the “glove” is not a medical device. The “exam glove” would be registered with the FDA, and the “glove” would not. If you are interested in the FDA’s classification of an exam glove, please see the following link: FDA Classifications.

As part of an internal audit and review conducted through their Quality Management System in accordance with the Quality System Regulation (21 CFR 820), Fisher Scientific updated their policy to assure the quality of their products and customer safety. This policy update will further ensure that no adulterated medical device products are ever inadvertently returned into active inventory.

No. The recent update to their “no hassles” return policy did not result from any specific incident or event. They are unaware of any instances of adulterated products being returned back into their active inventory. They have, however, proactively taken this step to update their policy and further assure the quality of their products and the safety of their customers.

No. The policy change was not brought about as a result of any specific change in regulation. Fisher Scientific routinely conducts internal audits and reviews as part of its Quality Management System in order to continuously improve its quality and in accordance with the Quality System Regulation (21 CFR 820). Based on their own internal audits and reviews, they identified this policy update to further assure the quality of their products and the safety of their customers. There was a “daily tip” communication that was issued by Customer Service that inaccurately attributed the policy update to a recent change in regulation. As a result, some customers were provided with inaccurate information. That inaccurate “daily tip” has since been corrected. Fisher Scientific apologizes for any confusion that this may have caused.

Their suppliers’ policies vary based on the supplier and the product. As a distributor, their decision to change their policy was independent of their suppliers’ policies.

The policy change is applicable only to their channel business and does not apply to all of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Their individual manufacturers, including their Thermo Fisher Scientific manufacturers, each have their own returns policies applicable to their specific products.

Yes. They use the same definition as the FDA.  They have a written procedure that they follow to determine whether a product is a medical device. This includes a review of the product labeling or inserts, a review of the FDA database, and, if necessary, a consultation with the manufacturer.

Yes. The following link takes you to the updated ‘Returns and Refund Policy’. The exclusion of medical devices is referenced in the last line of the paragraph entitled ‘Product Returns’. Fisher Refund Policy

Specialty Underwriters is an independent company who help manage the costs of equipment service through unbiased comparisons, pricing, repairs, and service issues when your equipment needs maintenance. They assist with converting to a time-and-materials basis as compared to a typical yearly service agreement and will review existing service agreements. Note: They do not manufacture, sell, or service equipment.

The preferred supplier agreement provides savings of 15-30% over the previous spending.

Yes, you decide which vendor you want to service your equipment.

Yes, preventive maintenance services (PM’s) are critical to equipment uptime and long-term cost management. Specialty Underwriters recommend that PMs be performed on a regular basis. They can assist you in setting up proper schedules for your equipment.

Usually, laboratory or scientific equipment valued at $10,000 or more is targeted. However, they will review your entire equipment list to help you determine what pieces should be included.

The help hotline at 1-800-558-9910 provides support before, during, and after a service call. They can also help with third-party alternatives for equipment service and parts.

Several departments are already enjoying the savings with this program, including Biochemistry, Anatomy, Neurobiology, and Anesthesiology.

You may contact Supply Chain Management at 314-935-7052. Since every department is unique, your equipment list and existing service agreements will be reviewed to prepare an Equipment Quotation that will allow you to identify the savings opportunities.