Key Takeaways:
· As the industry faces stricter enforcement of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, companies are struggling with fragmented data and manual verification processes.
· CARO v1.3 will work to consolidate regulatory workflows into a single, high-integrity platform.
· It offers a protected environment for requesting information and exchanging sensitive DSCSA-related documents with full audit trails.
Spherity, a global software provider specializing in secure and decentralized identity management solutions, announces a major upgrade to its DSCSA Compliance Software, CARO. The launch of version 1.3 marks a strategic evolution of the CARO platform from a service provider utility into the industry’s comprehensive Authorized Trading Partner (ATP) Master Data and Communication Platform, purpose-built for regulatory compliance across the U.S. pharma supply chain. This comes as the industry faces stricter enforcement of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).
Spherity Inc.’s CEO, Dr. Michael Rüther, explains how CARO's Master Data Portal prevents the logistics bottlenecks currently facing the industry. "Master data integrity is the backbone for the pharmaceutical supply chain. We’ve evolved CARO into a Trading Partner Master Data Portal to ensure compliance never becomes a logistics bottleneck. By providing a single source of truth, we empower supply chain leaders to adopt a proactive, data-driven governance model that ensures total supply chain integrity and operational continuity,” says Rüther.
Aside from logistics bottlenecks, companies are struggling with fragmented data and manual verification processes. CARO v1.3 solves this by providing a unified 'source of truth' for dynamic trading partner data. Pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, and pharmacies alike are feeling the data strain.
“Mining the large volumes of data generated through DSCSA really comes down to master data maturity,” says Matt Sample, SVP, manufacturer, quality, and replenishment Operations at Cencora, Inc, a drug wholesale and distribution company. “Across the supply chain, organizations are leaning on GS1 standards to drive implementation, barcode scanning, and data exchange, but those standards introduce new data elements that, if wrong or missing, can directly impact compliance. “
He further offers an example of a data failure from a barcode change. “For example, when a manufacturer changes a GTIN (global trade item number) in the physical barcode without notification, scans can fail, and when GLNs change or are duplicated, it can impact our ability to receive or send DSCSA data to trading partners. Without a robust way to accurately identify trading partners across multiple sites, those gaps create real risk in getting DSCSA data where it needs to go.”
According to Spherity, CARO v1.3 will work to consolidate regulatory workflows into a single, high-integrity platform. Key features include:
ATP Portal for Master Data Management: A governed “Address Book” to maintain direct and indirect partner data. It features credential-backed ATP status checks aligned with established industry standards, GS1 (GLN), OCI, and PDG.
On-Demand License Verification: Automated entity license checks against authoritative sources to ensure continuous regulatory compliance.
Hierarchical Entity Mapping: Complex parent-child relationship mapping that connects specific facility locations to corporate headquarters for seamless data governance.
Seamless Partner Onboarding: A streamlined "Invite" flow that brings trading partners into the CARO ecosystem for instant credential exchange and verification of dynamic ATP master data.
Secure Message & Document Portal: A protected environment for requesting information and exchanging sensitive DSCSA-related documents with full audit trails.
