When Product Changes Form, Its Story Shouldn't Break: Introducing Transformations in OneScan Edge

In the pharmaceutical supply chain, a product's identity is everything. The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requires every package of prescription medicine to be tracked from the factory to the pharmacy. Each package carries its own serial number and a status that must stay accurate from the moment it is commissioned (or ready to sell) until it reaches the patient. That is simple enough when a product moves from one location to the next in the same package.

But product doesn't always stay in the same package.

Manufacturers and repackagers routinely take bulk product and turn it into something new. A tray of units becomes a set of new saleable packages. One group of serialized items is consumed to create another. GS1 calls this a transformation, and it is one of the moments where traceability is most at risk.

Why transformations are hard to get right

When a product is transformed, three things need to happen in the record:

1. The original serial numbers must be retired and never appear in the supply chain again.

2. The new serial numbers become active.

3. The connection between the old serial numbers and the new serial numbers must be preserved.

Miss any one of these and the consequences add up quickly. Retired serial numbers can resurface and trigger verification failures. Repackaged products can sit in an unknown status. And if a recall hits one of the original lots, there may be no reliable way to find the product it became.

From the back office to the warehouse floor

OneScan has supported transformation events through its API since early 2026. That works well for trading partners and systems that can send transformation data automatically. But many transformations happen at a packing station, with an operator holding a scanner. For those teams, recording a transformation meant leaving their normal workflow or relying on middleware to bridge the gap.

That's why we added Transformations to OneScan Edge.

Edge is the OneScan module built for the warehouse floor. Operators already use it to receive, aggregate, pick, pack and ship product on desktop browsers and handheld smart scanners. With the new Transformations feature, they can now record a transformation in Edge too, in the moment and as part of the same workflow.

How Transformations in Edge works

Transformations gives operators one simple screen to record what was used up and what was created. OneScan updates the records behind the scenes.

Capture inputs and outputs the way you already work. Operators enter the transformation details and capture units by scanning a barcode, entering an SGTIN manually or scanning a container.

Scan a container, get everything inside it. When a case or bundle is scanned as an input, Edge automatically pulls in every unit aggregated within it. Those units stay grouped together, so no individual unit is accidentally left behind.

Retire inputs automatically. Once a transformation is recorded, OneScan can automatically remove and decommission the serial numbers of the consumed units from their parent containers.

Activate outputs automatically. OneScan can also commission serial numbers on the new output units as soon as the transformation is recorded.

Stay in control. Administrators can turn automated decommissioning and automated commissioning on or off independently, so the process fits how each organization operates.

Find it fast. Transformations has its own place in the Edge navigation, so operators can get to it without switching modules.

Look back at any transformation. Edge keeps a list of recorded transformations, and users can open any one to see its full details, including every input and output unit.

Recalls that follow the product

One of the most important benefits shows up when something goes wrong. If a recalled NDC and lot has been consumed in a transformation, OneScan treats the resulting product as recall-impacted across the platform. Repackaging no longer creates a blind spot. The recall follows the product, whatever form it takes.

The benefits at a glance

• No middleware or separate workflow. Transformations are recorded where the physical work happens.

• Less manual entry. Barcode scanning and container capture replace typing serial numbers one at a time.

• Accurate serial status without cleanup. Inputs are retired and outputs are activated automatically.

• Unbroken traceability. Every output connects back to its inputs.

• Safer recalls. Recall status carries through repackaging.

• Built on industry standards. Transformations align with the GS1 EPCIS transformation event, so records match how the rest of the supply chain communicates.

Who it's for

Edge Transformations is designed for any organization that changes a product's form before it moves on:

• Manufacturers, including contract manufacturers and packagers, who convert or repackage product and are accountable for its serial status

• Repackagers turning bulk product into new saleable units

• Warehouse and packaging teams who need a fast, scanner-friendly way to record what they just did

• Compliance and quality teams who need a complete, defensible audit trail

Keeping the story intact

DSCSA is built on a simple idea: you should always be able to tell a product's story, from where it started to where it is now. Transformations are one of the places where that story is most likely to break.

With Edge Transformations, the people doing the work can record each change as it happens, and OneScan takes care of the rest. The old units are retired, the new units are activated and the connection between them is preserved.

Want to see Edge Transformations in Edge in action? Contact our team for a demo.

‍