Is LDB the right LIMS for your laboratory?

Let’s find out. Book a call with our LIMS experts.

ERP for production, CRM for sales—a LIMS for the lab.

That’s how we explain it in every initial conversation, because it immediately puts things in context: a dedicated software category for a dedicated business function. A LIMS is the tool for digitizing a laboratory—it tracks each sample’s journey and records who did what and when.

What the standard requires—and why a Word document still isn’t enough

Section 7.11 of ISO/IEC 17025 does not require a product called a “LIMS.” The standard deliberately uses the broader term “laboratory information management system”—Note 1 to 7.11.2 even explicitly clarifies that this includes non-computerized systems, which could, in principle, mean paper or Word.

At the same time, the standard requires (7.11.3) protection against unauthorized access, tampering, and loss; a suitable operating environment; continuous data integrity; and complete records of system failures and corrective actions—throughout the entire lifecycle of each individual sample. In practice, meeting all these requirements with paper or Excel is no longer feasible without disproportionate effort. This is precisely the gap a commercial LIMS fills.

DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018, Sections 7.11.1–7.11.6 · LIMS-Forum, Dr. Roman Klinkner

Is LDB the right LIMS for your laboratory?

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  1. 1
    Sample registration
    The sample, client, and scope of testing are recorded upon receipt—with a unique ID based on your numbering system and a barcode or QR code label. Explore sample management
  2. 2
    Defining the scope of testing
    Define which parameters to test and which methods to use—with sample templates and test packages instead of individual selections.
  3. 3
    Sample routing
    Assignment to instruments, methods, and responsible staff, visible in daily schedules and worklists. Explore process management
  4. 4
    Results capture
    Manually through the data entry screen or automatically through instrument integration—measurement values flow directly into the system instead of being transcribed.
  5. 5
    Results calculation
    Formulas, plausibility checks, and comparisons against limits and specifications. Deviations are highlighted in color.
  6. 6
    Results reporting
    Formatted in accordance with standards, version-controlled, approved through a two-person review process, and electronically signed. Explore test reports

Six-step workflow based on Dr. Roman Klinkner, LIMS-Forum · Implemented in Labordatenbank

Is LDB the right LIMS for your laboratory?

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Core functionality

Sample management, customer management with CRM, test reports, quotes, and invoices. These are the essentials every laboratory needs. View all features

Quality management modules

Document control, test equipment management, material and batch management, process management, training plans, competency matrices, 8D reports, and supplier evaluation. Explore document control

Service laboratory modules

Formulation management, stability and storage studies, and chemical and hazardous substance management—relevant for contract and development laboratories.

Specialized features

Electronic lab notebook (ELN), interfaces to ERP systems such as SAP or Microsoft Dynamics, a customer portal, and AI integration. Explore AI integration

Module taxonomy based on Dr. Roman Klinkner, LIMS-Forum

Is LDB the right LIMS for your laboratory?

Let’s find out. Book a call with our LIMS experts.

LIMS or Excel?

Excel is not a LIMS—and that becomes an issue by the time your accreditation audit comes around. Three pain points we regularly encounter in RFPs and discussions:

  • Validation requirements: Spreadsheets with formulas are considered custom-developed software and would each need to be validated and controlled—a requirement that is difficult to meet consistently in practice.
  • Version chaos: Who changed which cell, and when? Without an audit trail, there is no way to reconstruct the changes—and that is exactly what assessors ask first.
  • Lost raw data: Once a file is overwritten, the original value is gone.

More than half of our customers started there: Excel, Word, Access, or paper. For us, this transition is the norm, not the exception.

LIMS or a quality management system?

The question quality managers ask most often: “Isn't a standalone quality management system enough?” The answer depends on where the system originated.

CAQ systems (computer-aided quality) typically originate in mechanical engineering and the automotive industry and are tailored to ISO 9001 and manufacturing processes: incoming goods inspection, complaints, and monitoring inspection and measuring equipment in production.

A LIMS also covers these quality management functions, but is additionally designed for day-to-day laboratory work: sample flow, methods, result calculations, and the evidence required by ISO/IEC 17025. For a laboratory, a LIMS with integrated quality management is usually the leaner solution—one application instead of two systems that need to be kept in sync.

RFP requirements catalogs · CAQ classification based on Dr. Roman Klinkner · internal competitive statistics (n=105)

Is LDB the right LIMS for your laboratory?

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  • ✓
    Protection against unauthorized access
    Roles and permissions matrix for each employee, group, or role; critical permissions require SSO, a passkey, or MFA. Explore access permissions
  • ✓
    Protection against tampering and loss
    A complete audit trail with the user, timestamp, and original value—tamper-protected and fully text-searchable. Explore the audit trail
  • ✓
    Suitable operating environment
    Hosted in the ISO 27001-certified AWS data center in Frankfurt across three Availability Zones. Explore data security
  • ✓
    Documented validation
    Validation tests run automatically every week and before each update; each run is permanently stored as a PDF report. Explore validation

An important distinction: A LIMS is not required for accreditation. The standard specifies capabilities, not a product. In practice, however, a dedicated LIMS is the most reliable way to demonstrate those capabilities during an audit—because audit trails, access permissions, and versioning are core features rather than additional measures.

DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018, Section 7.11.3 · DAkkS assessment practice

Is LDB the right LIMS for your laboratory?

Let’s find out. Book a call with our LIMS experts.

Cloud LIMS or your own server?

Labordatenbank runs exclusively as a cloud service—in the AWS data center in Frankfurt, across three availability zones. You access it through your browser, with full functionality on Windows, macOS, Linux, tablets, and smartphones.

This eliminates the operational workload that a system hosted on your own server places on your IT team: we handle updates, backups, resilience, and security patches. Smaller laboratories without their own IT department benefit the most. Explore the deployment model

What AI actually does in a LIMS

AI appears in almost every software brochure these days. Here is exactly what it means in Labordatenbank: AI imports extract data from unstructured documents, such as sampling records or external laboratory reports, and assign it to the correct samples. The Query Explorer answers data analysis questions in everyday language, without SQL. The Audit Assistant checks documents against the requirements of standards.

What matters for accredited laboratories: you choose the model yourself, your data is not used for training, and every AI action is recorded in the audit trail. Explore AI integration

General Data Security Guidelines (ADSR) · SaaS deployment model

What LDB delivers

26.4 %

less time spent in everyday lab work

26 %

faster sample turnaround

> 50 %

time saved in individual laboratories

4.3 / 5

satisfaction after the rollout

Customer survey conducted as part of our ISO 9001 certification, 2025 and 2026 (50 % response rate). Average values across all participating laboratories; time savings range from 10 % to over 50 % depending on the laboratory.

Frequently asked questions about LIMS functions

A LIMS maps the journey of the sample: sample registration, definition of the test scope, sample distribution, result entry, result calculation and the final report. Accredited laboratories also need complete traceability of every change, governed access rights and demonstrable validation of the software in use.
Yes. In a demo of 60 to 90 minutes we show Labordatenbank using your own workflows, prepared for your industry. On request we also put you in touch with laboratories already working with LDB.
Yes. For the demo we set up a dedicated demo system in which we model and walk through your process – including configuration, user management and the key admin functions. We are happy to arrange a second session for further team members.
It starts with a kick-off workshop in which we define the approach, drawing on experience from more than 200 LIMS implementations: database model, login and security, access rights, settings and templates. The typical project sequence, effort and timeline are discussed openly during the demo appointment.
Through thematic onboarding workshops run live by our project managers – covering parameters, limits and specifications, test reports, the customer zone, import interfaces and AI, among others. Every workshop ends with an open Q&A, and all dates are published in advance.
Regular online sessions in which we show new releases and features directly in the system – most recently the Fall Release 2026, the SHAPTH interface for drinking water laboratories and connecting AI assistants via MCP. Recordings remain available afterwards.
Yes, a comprehensive online guide to all features—from label printing to status management and dashboard widgets, to SSO login, backups, and IT requirements. It is searchable and is updated with every release.
Smaller than most expect: more than half of our customers had no professional LIMS before, but Excel, Word, Access or paper. That move is our normal case, not the exception, and the implementation process is built around it.
Yes. Master data, parameters, customers and historical results are migrated via the import interface editor. Which data makes sense to migrate, and in what structure, is settled in the kick-off – data migration is part of the implementation project.
Labordatenbank runs as a cloud service: computing power and storage grow with you, without adding servers or moving to a new licence tier. Annual growth in the double digits is the norm among our customers and does not require a change of system.
Konrad Wagner, LDB Labordatenbank GmbH

Konrad Wagner

konrad@labordatenbank.de
+49 (151) 22 33 98 44
Check your requirements in a conversation

You have a requirement specification – let us go through it together.

In 60 to 90 minutes we show LDB LIMS using your own workflows, in a demo system we set up for your laboratory beforehand. We work through your requirement list point by point – including the points we do not cover.

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LDB LIMS is ISO 27001-certified laboratory software

Preferred LIMS partner

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