Explore every episode of the podcast Decommissioned: The Serialisation Podcast

Four vendors. Different platforms. One shared challenge: interoperability.What happens when competing technology vendors sit around the same table and agree that interoperability shouldn’t belong to any one of them?In Episode 5 of Decommissioned, we look beyond the idea of simply being “connected” and ask what a genuinely interoperable pharmaceutical supply chain should look like.We talk openly about standards, EPCIS, partner onboarding, proprietary networks, vendor dependency — and TraceLink.Because if an industry built on standards still requires SOWs, NSMs, manual intervention and vendor-controlled connections just to exchange data between trading partners, we should be asking whether we’ve built a digital network at all.The Connectivity Illusion.

Is AI the next leap forward for pharmaceutical serialization, or the latest buzzword wrapped in sales promises?

In this episode of Decommission, hosts Scott Pugh, Jerome Burton, and Justin Ahdan are joined by three technology providers in serialization: Dimitar Iliev, Director of Software Development at SoftGroup; Abiram Vijayakumar co-founder of AltiusHub; and John Winkler, CTO at Trust.med.

Together they examine the practical reality of AI in pharma supply chains — where it's already delivering value, where it's still maturing. Scott takes on the role of a serialization manager navigating vendor pressure, surfacing the questions that practitioners are actually asking: Am I too late? Will this fix my day-to-day problems? Is this just another module I'll stop using in two years?

The conversation is frank, collaborative, and deliberately free of hype. By the end, there's a clear message: you're not too late, but the fundamentals — standards, data quality, clear business requirements, still have to come first.

Data standards are meant to simplify serialization operations — not complicate them.In this episode of Decommissioned, Jerome Bertin, Scott Pugh, and Justin Ahdan explore where the pharmaceutical industry’s data standards truly help — and where misapplication, proprietary detours, and weak enforcement create noise, cost, and confusion.From the US DSCSA to the EU FMD, the trio break down how adherence to standards isn’t bureaucracy — it’s the foundation of digital transformation.Automation, efficiency, and insight aren’t born from technology alone, but from data that speaks a common language. The standard isn’t broken — the implementation is.

With DSCSA enforcement looming, this episode dives into the global fight against counterfeit medicines. Scott and Jerome compare the U.S.'s decentralized approach with the EU's centralized FMD system, highlighting key milestones, rollout challenges, and what's at stake. From tech alignment to pharmacy realities and SME struggles, get insights on what's worked, what hasn't, and what's next for pharma traceability.