Two-Touch Fulfillment: Kits Out, Samples Back, Results Automated

The Challenge

The core problem was that there was no system of record for the sample return leg of the fulfillment cycle. When a kit went out, that was logged. When the sample came back, it was logged separately, manually, with no automatic linkage to the original order. Accessioning — the process of receiving, labeling, and routing a biological sample — was done by hand with paper checklists.

Retest management was the most fragile piece. When a lab flagged a sample for retest, that notification arrived in a Slack channel. Someone read it, found the original order in a spreadsheet, and manually initiated a replacement kit shipment. If the Slack message was missed or the spreadsheet wasn’t current, the customer didn’t get their retest.

Shipping biological samples internationally added compliance complexity. Each shipment required documentation specific to bio-substance courier requirements — documentation that was being generated manually for every package.

As order volume grew, the company needed a system that treated the full two-touch workflow as a single managed process — not two disconnected operations linked by manual handoffs.

Why SkuNexus

Standard OMS platforms are built for one-way fulfillment: order comes in, product goes out. The two-touch health kit model requires the system to manage an inbound leg with its own receiving workflow, accessioning requirements, and downstream routing logic. That’s a fundamentally different architecture than most off-the-shelf tools support.

SkuNexus’s flexibility — and source code access — meant the two-touch workflow could be built as a native part of the order lifecycle rather than bolted on as a workaround. The custom workflow capabilities allowed the accessioning process, lab manifest generation, and retest triggering to all be modeled as structured system states rather than manual steps.

The courier integration framework extended to the specialized documentation requirements of international bio-substance shipping, eliminating the manual compliance work that had been required for every international sample return.

What Was Built

Outbound Kit Fulfillment

Kit assembly and dispatch follow a structured pick workflow with barcode verification at each component step. Kit component inventory depletes automatically as kits are assembled. Every outbound kit is linked to a customer order and a unique kit ID that persists through the entire two-touch lifecycle.

Inbound Sample Receiving and Accessioning

When a return sample arrives, the receiving workflow links it to the original kit ID and customer order. Accessioning steps — sample labeling, condition assessment, and routing determination — are structured as mandatory workflow steps rather than manual checklists. Chain-of-custody is logged automatically at each step.

Lab Manifest Generation

Samples are batched into lab manifests by routing destination and test type. Manifests generate automatically based on configurable batching rules, with full traceability between manifest, sample, and original customer order. Labs receive structured data rather than ad hoc paperwork.

Automated Retest Triggering

When a lab result triggers a retest flag, the system automatically initiates a replacement kit shipment for the affected order. No manual monitoring of notifications required. No spreadsheet lookup. The retest loop runs as a configured system workflow, not a human process.

International Bio-Substance Shipping

Courier integrations include automated generation of bio-substance shipping documentation at label creation. The compliance requirements that previously required manual preparation now execute as part of the standard shipping workflow.

The Results

The two-touch fulfillment cycle that previously required manual coordination across spreadsheets, Slack, and paper checklists now runs as a single managed workflow from kit dispatch through sample receipt, lab routing, and retest triggering.

Retest fulfillment — the most failure-prone part of the old process — is now automated. Customers who need a retest receive their replacement kit through the same workflow as the original, with no manual intervention required.

The chain-of-custody log that accessioning generates provides documentation that’s increasingly important in the health diagnostics space. Every sample can be traced from arrival through lab routing with a complete, auditable record.

The company can scale kit volume without scaling the operational headcount required to manage the manual handoffs that previously held the process together.