A conversation with Daron Whisman, director of financial operations at Memorial Hermann Healthcare.

The maker of sophisticated medical equipment had reached a "plateau" in its efforts to boost customer service and optimize costly inventory within its global operation. Then it found a way to climb higher.

A year after adulterated heparin caused deaths in the United States and Europe, inspectors in California were still finding contaminated product in hospitals throughout the state, even though the manufacturer had sent out multiple recall notices, and the issue with the product was well known. As the pharmaceutical industry responds to regulatory mandates to address such weakness in the supply chain, it's important to ask, "Could this same thing happen in a 'serialized' world?"