Join Blue Link at HDA’s Distribution Management Conference for the Pharmaceutical Industry

For the first time, Blue Link will be exhibiting at the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA)’s 2018 Distribution Management Conference and Expo March 4^th – 7^th in Austin, Texas. As a key organization in the pharmaceutical industry, the HDA’s annual conference is the largest supply chain education event of it’s kind. The conference aims to engage attendees on topics related to healthcare supply chain and provide a forum for operation and strategic discussions among key players in the industry. This year’s conference is co-hosted with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW) and the Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management (CAPDM). The show is a must-attend for influential managers, executives, and specialists from across the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Highlights of the Distribution Management Conference and Expo include:

• The option for attendees to participate in a variety of educational sessions on healthcare supply chain issues facing businesses today
• Updates from the pharmaceutical industry’s leading experts on regulatory changes and compliance
• More than 30 breakout sessions on crucial distribution issues such as DSCSA implementation/product traceability, specialty pharmaceutical trends, contracts and chargebacks, supply chain security, controlled substances regulations as well as legislative updates
• The chance to network with more than 500 manufacturers, distributors, consultants and 3rd parties who keep the pharmaceutical distribution industry moving

As Blue Link’s family of pharmaceutical distributor customers continues to grow, and in anticipation of attending not only HDA’s Distribution Management Conference but also the HDA’s Traceability Seminar, we wanted to reflect on the company’s pharmaceutical development from 2017 and look ahead at what’s to come for 2018.

2017 Recap:

CSOS Launch

• Blue Link released our own DEA Certified, CSOS component back in March 2017, becoming the only Pharmaceutical ERP software that has its own built-in CSOS with no integration required.

HDA Traceability Seminar

• Blue Link sponsored and attended the 2017 HDA Traceability Seminar in early November in Washington, DC to continue our goal to stay up-to-date with current industry direction and compliance. There was a lot of valuable information shared, and we encourage you to read our key takeaways from the seminar.

Pharmaceutical Software Update Released

• Blue Link released a new version of its pharmaceutical specific software functionality.
• This update was a result of suggestions, issues, and ideas from our existing pharmaceutical partners and internal discussions.
• Highlights from the update include:
  • Improved quick item look-up
  • Addition of fields to enter license and expiry information for inventory locations
  • Controls to prevent pack slips and invoices from being printed if a customer license has expired
  • Additional reports
  • Restrictions on inventory by state
  • Ability to exclude RX products from controlled items

What’s Ahead for 2018?

New User Interface Launch

• Blue Link released a new version of the entire software's user interface
• Click here for a quick overview of the new look and feel
• Release of UI with pharmaceutical functionality expected in summer 2018

Serialization Update

• Blue Link has been working on the specification for serialization functionality for many months and finalized the features after we attended the 2017 HDA Seminar to ensure our strategy for functionality was inline with the industry, DCSCA, and requirements discussed at the seminar. As a result, the serialization spec was completed in late December.
• Once we determine Scope of Work, the development will be scheduled, and at that time we will have a better idea when the Serialization release will be available
• The Serialization development is a priority and is estimated to be completed sometime in mid-summer 2018, far in advance of the current DSCSA serialization tracking requirement of November 2019

HDA Conferences

• Blue Link will be exhibiting at the 2018 Distribution Management Conference and Expo in Austin, Texas March 4^th-7^th (booth #406) and at the 2018 Traceability Seminar in Washington, DC October 17^th-19^th. If you are thinking about attending either event drop us a line - we would love to meet you!