The International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guideline on Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (M4) offers advantages in the consistent format of the registration dossier using the Common Technical Document (CTD). However, it does not deliver a comprehensive view of the overall manufacturing control strategy or a means of understanding and managing the quality of the product throughout its life cycle. As a result, several regulatory authorities that have implemented the CTD format have also insisted on supplementary quality summary documentation that exceeds ICH requirements, and, in effect, creates divergent expectations for chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) content. A single global quality overall summary (QOS) format could clearly convey a holistic view of a product’s control strategy and improve the efficiency and economy of the regulatory review of an application while providing a way for the applicant and reviewer to align on a product life-cycle management plan.