OpenDSCSA Sign up

For pharmacies, and everyone who ships to them

An open DSCSA network,
built for every trading partner.

Pharmacies will check every shipment against its DSCSA data in a free web app. Manufacturers, wholesalers, and software providers will connect once, through the systems they already use.

Open to join, open to build on, and your data always leaves in open formats.

Pharmacies must receive with data by at the latest. Everyone who ships to them has to be ready first.

Join the waitlist FAQ

OpenDSCSA is at the planning stage. The web app will be free for pharmacies; the network is what you pay for.

01Who it's for

Two ways in. One open network.

For pharmacies

Release what matches. Resolve what doesn't.

Every shipment now arrives with tracing data, from a different supplier or portal each time. OpenDSCSA will check each package against that data, so staff shelve the routine with confidence and give every exception an owner and evidence. The web app is planned to be free.

Join the waitlist See the receiving workflow
For everyone who ships to them

Connect once, through the systems you already use.

Manufacturers, repackagers, and wholesalers keep the providers they chose. Software providers embed the same receiving and exception behavior instead of rebuilding it for each trading partner. OpenDSCSA plans to connect those systems rather than replace them.

Connect your network See how connecting works
00Follow one shipment
01 / IdentifyProduct · serial · lot · expiry

Every package starts with an identity.

The manufacturer serializes each package: product, serial, lot, and expiry, recorded as data that travels apart from the box.

Identity recorded

Illustrative · planned network

02The operational gap

A file is not a decision.

The hard part starts when electronic records meet the physical shipment.

  • 01Data is scattered across counterpartiesSupplier portals, credential providers, verification services, uploads, and point-to-point connections each expose a different piece of the traceability workflow.
  • 02Receiving needs a usable answerTechnicians need to know what matched, what is missing, and whether a portion of the shipment can move forward. They do not need to know how the underlying protocol works.
  • 03Exceptions need owners and evidenceA mismatch is not resolved by storing another file. It needs a reason, an owner, an aging clock, partner communication, and an auditable outcome.
03Receiving workflow

Show the work. Hide the protocol.

OpenDSCSA is being designed to turn package-level tracing into four explicit operational steps.

  • 01Receive the dataAccept tracing data however the partner sends it: API, file transfer, upload, or connector. Validate it, preserve the original, and record what to expect.Expect · Data ≠ physical shipment
  • 02Scan the shipmentScan the pallet, case, or tote. Trust packing hierarchy when the data supports it; scan packages only when the hierarchy is incomplete.Observe · Fewest scans that preserve confidence
  • 03Release what matchesKeep arrival, release, and receipt closure separate. Partially release good stock without allowing one bad item to block everything.Decide · 142 released · 3 held
  • 04Work the exceptionsAssign every exception, track its age, communicate with the partner, and preserve the evidence that explains the outcome.Resolve · Owner · age · messages · evidence
04Exception integrity

A hold describes the problem. It does not decide the law.

Ordinary data errors are kept distinct from quality concerns and staff determinations about suspect product.

Hold type 01
Data

Missing data hold

The shipment arrived, but the tracing data it needs is absent or incomplete.

Hold type 02
Investigate

Data mismatch hold

What was counted and what the data says disagree, so the item needs investigation and a documented resolution.

Hold type 03
Staff review

Quality hold

A separate operational reason, such as damage, keeps product off the shelf while authorized staff evaluate the facts and choose the next action.

The software assists with facts, policy, and evidence. The customer’s staff make every legal determination.

05For everyone who ships to pharmacies

Connect what you have. Replace nothing.

Manufacturers, repackagers, and wholesalers already send tracing data through the providers they chose. OpenDSCSA plans to connect those systems rather than replace them, so pharmacies receive with the data DSCSA requires and every partner keeps the connections it has. Software providers embed the same receiving and exception behavior in their own product instead of rebuilding it for each trading partner.

  • 01Visible behavior is the contract; conformance tests never depend on one vendor’s internals.
  • 02Open-format export keeps every trading partner in control of its own data.
  • 03The network connects the providers partners already use instead of pretending they do not exist.
// Open format; implementation-neutral
{
  "receipt": "ASN-84921",
  "arrived_and_counted": true,
  "summary": {
    "matched": 142,
    "missing_data": 2,
    "needs_review": 1
  },
  "release": {
    "authorized_by": "pharmacy_staff",
    "packages": 142
  },
  "holds": [
    { "type": "missing_data", "count": 2 },
    { "type": "review", "count": 1 }
  ]
}
06Business architecture

Free where it should be. Operated where it must be.

Free (planned)

The web app costs nothing.

Pharmacies use the web app at no charge. Anyone can practice on synthetic shipments in the OpenDSCSA Lab, embed the SDKs, inspect the formats, and test implementations against public conformance behavior. Lab practice builds readiness, not certification. Open-source licensing is under review.

  • WEB APP
  • PRACTICE LAB
  • SDKs
  • DATA FORMATS
  • CONFORMANCE TESTS
Paid network (planned)

The network is what you pay for.

OpenDSCSA alone operates the network: message routing, supplier and partner connections, credential checks, six-year record retention, uptime commitments, and day-to-day operations.

  • ROUTING
  • PARTNER CONNECTIONS
  • CREDENTIALS
  • 6-YEAR RECORD
  • UPTIME + OPERATIONS
07System principles

Infrastructure that can explain itself.

  • P.01Never rewrite historyCorrections create linked new records. Prior observations remain visible in the append-only audit trail.
  • P.02Explain every classificationAutomatic results identify the facts and policy that produced them instead of presenting an unexplained label.
  • P.03Keep humans responsibleThe system supports quarantine, verification, and reporting workflows without silently making legal decisions.
  • P.04Test outcomes, not vendorsExternal providers remain replaceable because conformance is measured through visible behavior at the boundary.
08Sign up

Be there when it opens.

Pharmacies join the waitlist for the free web app. Manufacturers, distributors, and software providers ask us to connect their network. Tell us which you are and we'll email you when there's something to show.

Still deciding? Read the OpenDSCSA FAQ for plain-English answers about DSCSA, the project, timing, pricing, and what “open” means.

Thanks, you're on the list. We'll email you when there's something to show.

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