Pharmacy Vendor Returns Modernization

Overview

Pharmacies regularly hold more stock than they dispense. Medication that sits on the shelf eventually expires, and expired stock that was never sold is lost money. Returning excess inventory to vendors before that happens recovers its value, but only if every package is pristine and unopened.

Walmart Pharmacy needed to modernize its vendor returns process as new pharmaceutical serialization requirements were taking effect. The existing desktop-based workflow, supported by external vendor systems such as McKesson, could not process returns with the serialized information the new regulations required.

Without a replacement, Walmart faced a significant disruption to its ability to return pharmaceutical inventory to vendors.

I took ownership of UX design for the initiative, working with business stakeholders, product managers, and engineers to understand the existing process and design vendor returns as a sub-application integrated into RxOne, Walmart’s Android handheld pharmacy application. RxOne offered some existing patterns to borrow from, but most had to be heavily adapted for the demands of returns.

RxOne runs on Zebra TC devices with a built-in laser scanner fired by a physical button. Most of the returns workflow advances through that button rather than on-screen taps, so associates can keep their attention on the stock in front of them.

We delivered the initial serialized returns capability in six months and expanded the experience within nine months to accommodate additional inventory categories and return scenarios. The solution launched across Walmart Pharmacy’s store network, maintaining a critical operational capability during the regulatory transition.