Pathlab III makes a comeback

Abstract

In the last couple of weeks, two distinctly different documents crossed my desk. The first was a 1989 industry trends report from Ron Johnson. The second was a Laboratory Systems Market report from Sheldon I. Dorenfest & Associates. As I reviewed both documents, the first thing I noticed was the major difference in the systems sales and client lists between the two reports. As an example, Dorenfest had recorded 95 total 3M clients and Johnson's report showed 144. All other companies were also very different. I suppose one discrepancy comes about by Dorenfest asking hospital users whom they have as vendors, while Johnson asks the vendors who their clients are. All this aside, while reading the Dorenfest report, I finally wandered down to the reports on the laboratory vendors and read with awe the one-liner on 3M's Pathlab III system, "No longer a force." A sensational statement, I thought. After reading these reports I decided to call a few experts in the lab field that I thought might give me a better picture of where 3M was in the lab business. To these calls I also added some conversations I have had with some 3M management.