PharmaGlobal's Product Reference Data Harmonization

PharmaGlobal is a pharmaceutical manufacturer with operations in 40 countries, producing 800 drug products across 5,000 SKUs (different formulations, strengths, and package sizes). Each country's regulatory authority requires product registration with country-specific coding schemes. The company uses 14 different ERP systems inherited from acquisitions, each with its own product coding and reference data. The supply chain team reports that 15% of international shipments are delayed due to product code mismatches between ordering and fulfillment systems. Regulatory compliance teams spend 30% of their time reconciling product information for submissions. A recent product recall was complicated by the inability to quickly identify all affected SKUs across all markets and systems. The COO has mandated a product master data management and reference data harmonization initiative. The challenge is that product master data must align with multiple external coding standards (NDC in the US, PZN in Germany, CIP in France), internal manufacturing codes, and commercial brand identifiers, while supporting real-time supply chain operations.