Executive summary. Trading-partner eligibility is a control you maintain. Licenses lapse, entities merge, and relationships move.
Definition
An authorized trading partner is a manufacturer, repackager, wholesale distributor, or dispenser that meets the applicable DSCSA licensing and registration requirements.
Establish the evidence basis
An onboarding record should identify the entity, its role, the relevant licenses or registrations, the source of verification, the reviewer, and the verification date. That makes the decision inspectable and keeps a shared inbox from becoming the system of record.
Entity identity needs care where a parent company, a location, and the legal counterparty differ. Match the evidence to the party that will actually transact.
Review when conditions change
License status, legal entities, and trading relationships change. Set a review cadence, and name the events that force re-verification: an address change, a merger, a failure in a transaction workflow.
A failed verification should stop or reroute the relationship under a documented decision. An informational alert that nobody owns changes nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Can a vendor directory replace verification?
A directory can be a useful source. The organization still decides what evidence it relies on and how it handles uncertainty or changed information.
Referenced standards and further reading
- FDA: Authorized Trading Partners ↗U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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