This week, we have a special feature: Our LSPedia Expert Interview with Customer Success Manager Ana Schleicher! Read on for her insights into the challenges around DSCSA implementation, interoperability, the Exceptions Pilot, and more.
It's different for each customer! The implementation process is different based on which modules for OneScan they need and what kind of ERP they have. So, first, we gather information on their ordering process, receiving, shipping, and so on, and once we know how that works, we can design new processes, determine touchpoints with the ERP system, and diagram it for them. We can clearly show users how it's going to work, and that process is personalized for each integration we do.
I like to learn about customers and understand their challenges, so the most satisfying thing is turning on the system and knowing that every single checkbox has been checked. I know they're compliant. Their business depends on it, and it will be compliant with no problems.
The pace at which everyone involved is responding. Even when we all had the basic plan for DSCSA, time was needed for consensus and implementation. The industry actually requires everyone to respond really rapidly to changes of direction, and an advantage we can give our customers is that speed and flexibility. For one example, when it was time to adopt GS1's standard for VRS, we did a lot of work to keep everyone on the same page while reacting very quickly, even with a transition period.
Everything is new. It's like building a new house rather than remodeling. As guidelines and standards emerge, customers rely on our guidance. That's how we started, and we've continued that customer-first legacy. We know what customers' needs are, and help them fit OneScan tools to their requirements.
We've been building for 10 years to support interoperability, and yet we know for sure that there will be issues. That's what Investigator is for. The only certainty we have is that life's not going to be perfect. That's why Investigator's so popular with customers -- it gives them the power to handle errors when, not if, they happen.
The challenges have really changed over the years. The industry initially only had the "what" on DSCSA -- we knew it had to happen, so everyone's been working day and night for 10 years on the "how." At the very beginning, with the very first timeline for manufacturers to affix serialized numbers to product, there was a lot of misinformation or confusion, say, on how to calculate a GTIN or do a 2D barcode label. They ran tests, and the percentage of effectiveness was very low. It's part of why we're here -- to make it all easier.
The industry's past all that, but not everyone has complete information on where DSCSA is now. LSPedia accounts for that, constantly building new solutions and adapting to new requirements. So, recently, it's less any specific challenge than the need to communicate how it's all actually going to work in practice.
Interoperability is a challenge people ask about; the basics of trading partners being able to talk to each other and trace product history without a single central repository. Everyone has their own part of the picture. Once a product's on the market, everyone needs to be able to speak the same language, so we can follow the product from manufacture to the dispenser. Helping make that possible, and easy, is what we do.
Do you have questions on DSCSA? Get in touch with us today.
.svg){kind=icon}
