“This is the most pressing matter the industry is facing right now,” said Zac Sweeney, EPCIS Data Encoder at Capital Wholesale Drug, addressing a room full of supply chain leaders. “DSCSA compliance is shaping the industry, and I can’t stress enough the importance of getting together, in person, across different levels of engagement.”
That moment set the tone for LSPedia’s first-ever Logistics Forum; a highly focused gathering designed to bring practical, boots-on-the-ground solutions to the industry’s most urgent DSCSA challenges. As the final compliance deadlines loom, the forum created space for open dialogue, collaborative problem-solving, and the kind of cross-functional learning that rarely happens over emails or virtual webinars.
Held in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the event drew participants from across the pharmaceutical supply chain—manufacturers, wholesalers, 3PLs, health systems, and dispensers—all looking for answers to the shared question: How do we get this right, together?
A Forum, not a Conference
Rather than presentations and panels, the Logistics Forum felt more like an industry lab. Breakout groups focused on real-world use cases, walked through unresolved pain points, and built actionable workflows on the spot.
Tom Mullen, Chief Strategy Officer at Pharmsource, described the experience succinctly: “This felt like an innovation lab—we’re shaping the tools we’ll use daily, and that others in the industry, even regulators, will be affected by. We were going to handle a process one way, but based on what we learned here, we’re changing it Monday.”
The urgency was real. With DSCSA enforcement already underway, there’s no time left for theoretical strategies or one-size-fits-all checklists.
Serialization Pain Points That Lead to Progress
For many, activating exception handling revealed more than just data issues—it exposed fundamental gaps between what’s shipped and what’s recorded. While these early disruptions caused delays and frustration, they also brought long-hidden problems to light.
Some participants shared how resolving exceptions using LSPedia’s OneScan Investigator tool led to dramatic improvements, with error rates dropping by more than 80%. It wasn’t just a compliance fix—it transformed their operations. Still, the industry faces a major challenge: serialization-related inefficiencies are costing an estimated $6 billion. And at the center of it all are familiar culprits—missing data, master data or otherwise.
Master Data & Exception Handling: The Core Issues
A key area of discussion was master data quality—or the lack thereof. Across the board, attendees cited issues like mislabeled cases, packaging discrepancies, and outdated or conflicting data fields. These seemingly small problems compound quickly, leading to compliance delays, inventory quarantines, and unnecessary rework.
Transparency and consistency were recurring pain points. Packaging changes often go unreported or undocumented, leading to inventory errors and quarantines that ripple across the supply chain. Forum participants shared real-world examples: cases labeled with incorrect quantities, mismatches between human-readable labels and machine-readable data, and outdated information that forces teams into manual rework. These issues don’t just stem from bad data—they’re the result of inconsistent practices in how that data is shared, maintained, and communicated across partners.
Another closely tied concern was exception handling. Misalignments between serialized codes and physical packaging still plague many operations, forcing manual intervention and stalling otherwise automated workflows.
“There’s no silver bullet,” one attendee said. “But what this forum allowed us to do was cut through the fat and really dig into resolving the exceptions. Hearing directly from manufacturers about what they need to reconcile discrepancies—that’s invaluable.”
To streamline resolution efforts, participants proposed a shared framework:
- Day 1: Identify the issue
- Day 10: Resolve or return
Anything unresolved beyond that point could become a regulatory risk—or worse, trigger unnecessary reporting under FDA 3911 protocols.
From Manual to Smart: Tools That Scale
The forum didn’t just highlight problems—it pushed toward scalable, technology-enabled solutions. Real-time APIs, standardized master data formats, and centralized platforms to replace inbox-heavy exception workflows were all proposed as high-impact upgrades.
More importantly, there was a shift in mindset: accountability and cross-departmental coordination were just as vital as the right tools.
“Instead of just seeing one piece of the puzzle, I got to see the end-to-end supply chain and how everyone interacts,” said Adam Smith, a consultant at Fisher Management Partners.
Turning Insight into Product
LSPedia’s product development team was on-site and fully engaged, using these conversations to inform their roadmap. Upcoming improvements to LSPedia’s solutions will focus on:
- More intuitive exception tracking
- Better master data input and exchange
- Enhanced communication tools across trading partners
Looking Ahead
As LSPedia continues to foster forums like this, one thing is becoming clear: DSCSA compliance isn’t just a regulatory goal—it’s an opportunity to reshape supply chain operations for the better. The organizations willing to tackle these challenges now will be the ones leading the industry forward.
Planning is already underway for the next Logistics Forum. If your organization wants to be part of the conversation—or if you're ready to start fixing these issues—reach out to us at trace@lspedia.com
Let’s build what’s next, together.
.png)
%201.webp)
%201.webp)
.png)
