ARxIS: Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy Inventory Management System
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.
My Role
Sole Design Ownership
Systems Thinking
UX UI Design
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 and regulatory alignment across the pharmaceutical supply chain to ensure safer pharmaceutical distribution at scale.
As the sole designer on a lean, high-impact team, I operated beyond UI—partnering deeply with engineering to translate complex regulatory and operational requirements into a cohesive, scalable system.
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 I just scanning is 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 worked in a highly iterative, agile model—designing in tandem with live operations. By pairing closely with engineering and grounding decisions in real user behavior, I was able to go deeper than surface-level UX—ensuring the experience held up across real-world complexity.
Applied systems thinking to understand complex backend logic and turn it into intuitive, operator-friendly workflows
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 allowed us to move with speed and precision—making informed decisions without heavy process overhead.
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
Turned a legacy system into a scalable foundation for inventory integrity
This project modernized an outdated inventory system mandatory for the regulated pharmaceutical supply chain. By adhering and adapting to DSCSA requirements, we turned deeply complex operational logic into intuitive, mobile-first workflows for use in fast-paced warehouse environments. Working in close partnership with engineering and frontline operations allowed me to continuously iterate alongside daily work streams, as system logic and user needs evolved.