Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy MFC Inventory Tracking

Rebuilding Inventory Infrastructure for a Regulated Supply Chain

To comply with the FDA’s Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), I redesigned a 20+ year-old, analog inventory system into a modern mobile experience.

Company

Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy (Pharmtech)

Role

0 > 1 design ownership, UX UI, systems thinking

Team

Engineers, business analyst

Deliverables

Web-app for Zebra barcode scanner

Overview

Turning Operational Complexity into Guided Mobile Workflows

To comply with the FDA’s Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), I redesigned a 20+ year-old, analog inventory system into a modern mobile experience enabling real-time inventory visibility and tracking, improved accuracy, and regulatory alignment across the supply chain to ensure safer drug distribution.


As the sole designer on a lean team, I went beyond just designing screens—working closely with engineering to actually understand the regulatory and operational logic, not just design around it.

Key Impact

Improving Efficiency, Accuracy and Traceability Real-Time

The new app enhances critical warehouse workflows while introducing net-new capabilities required for DSCSA compliance. It supports a system that helps identify and remove unsafe drugs quickly ultimately protecting patients and ensuring supply chain integrity.


  • Brought a legacy system into compliance with DSCSA, aligning with FDA mandates for traceability and safety

  • Reduced operational friction by modernizing slow, manual workflows into guided, mobile-first experiences

  • Designed for real-world operator use, enabling faster task completion and higher accuracy

  • Introduced system-level validations and guardrails to reduce errors and ensure compliance

  • Established a scalable UI foundation that can evolve alongside regulatory and operational changes


Note: This project is ongoing and we are still gathering impact data.

“I’m getting through tasks faster because I’m not stopping to think about the next step—it’s just right there.”

“Receiving new inventory used to take forever because I had to scan every item. Now scanning is just faster and more accurate."

“It didn’t take long to get used to. Once you do it a couple times, it just makes sense.”

“The old system was slow and kind of clunky. This is just… easier. Especially when you’re busy and trying to get through a lot quickly.”

Approach

Deep Collaboration, Not Handoffs

We designed in tandem with live operations. By pairing closely with engineering and grounding decisions in real user behavior, I could make sure the experience actually held up when pressure-tested in real time.

​

Closely partnered with:

  • A Tech Leader (30+ years experience) with deep operational expertise and information architecture of Walgreens-specific fulfillment operations

  • A very skilled contract Full Stack engineer who moved quickly from building back-end logic to high-quality UI implementation

  • A Systems Engineer embedded in micro-fulfillment centers, providing real-time user feedback and validation


This tight collaboration meant we could move fast without guessing—decisions were grounded, not reactive.

Core Features

  • Receiving



Reimagined intake workflows with real-time validation and traceability at the package level

  • Putaway



Designed guided placement logic across standard storage and quarantine states, improving efficiency by organizing the operator’s route on the backend after Receiving was completed

  • Intracompany Transfer (ICT)



Enabled seamless, trackable movement of inventory between distribution centers

  • Quarantine



Introduced clear system states and controls for isolating and managing at-risk inventory

Summary

This project took a 20+ year-old, analog system and rebuilt it for a regulated, fast-moving warehouse environment. DSCSA compliance was the mandate — but the real work was making that complexity disappear for the operators using it every day.