Workflow By Design - News & Events

Reflecting back on the year is always amazing.  We have brought new capabilities to market, embraced new clients, and grew in many ways together with our long-established clients.  For all of this, we are grateful.

We wish you much joy and happiness over the coming weeks with your family and friends, as well as time for you to relax, reflect, and come back recharged in the New Year.  We will be here ready to conquer the world with you.

Bonne Année et Bonne Santé
(Happy New Year and Good Health)

As we approach gift-giving season, many of us begin to make lists to hold it all together.  Imagine being able to gather all the right gift ideas, connected to all the right people, and have the gifts at the right place at the right time!

A connected workflow system helps deliver your different project types with the correct information and assets, supported by the right people, to the requesting organizations on time.  How?  Simple, by collecting the right information upfront from the requestor, aligning the team and milestones at the start of the project, associating both the approval process and file sharing with the project, and finally archiving the asset with associated metadata from the project.

FDA requirements have you stressed out?  New Nutrition Label requirements are hanging like a dark cloud over many consumer food companies and private brand retailers. 

We can help!  Workflow by Design has a pre-configured solution that will help manage all of the moving pieces from ingredients gathering through updated packaging.

Come see our demo, and learn how to bring structure to chaos! You can also schedule a demo directly with us by clicking here

Hope to see you there,

Maria

On July 29^th, President Obama signed a new law that would require all food labels to declare whether the item contains genetically modified ingredients. Companies will be allowed to either place words on the package, or provide a QR code, 1-800 number, or website for consumers to visit for more information.

The federal law pre-empts a Vermont ruling that requires food to say, "produced with genetic engineering."  The good news for the packaged food industry is that there is one national law, and you will not have to track state-by-state laws. 

The Agriculture Department has two years to write the rules, although some large packaged food producers are already updating packaging with QR codes in preparation for the rules.

It is not quite as explosive as a time bomb, but three months have already passed since the FDA published the update requirements.  Every Nutrition Facts label has to be updated and ready for production by July 2018.  Seemingly, this seems very far away.  In reality, it is a very short amount of time given the steps that need to happen to successfully update the artwork associated with the volume of packages across your product lines.

Below are a few examples of essential and time consuming steps that must be project managed carefully across your full set of SKUs:

Just like many children go for a wellness checkup before heading back to school, your systems need a Health Check on a regular basis as well.

Organizations evolve, grow, change and with that so do the processes that support the work that needs to be done.  Think back on your last two years.  Are you doing new project types?  Is there a new leader?  Have you changed your system administrator?  Was there a reorganization?  Teams change, people change, organizations change all driving the need to update processes and the solution that supports your daily work.

We are excited to introduce Scott Berkley our new Director of Implementation and Account Management.  Scott leads our team of client facing professionals as they continue to provide the best implementation and ongoing service experience possible.

Scott has been immersed in the Creative Services Industry for his entire career.  He has lived the craziness of deadlines, approvals, and last minute changes.  Scott understands the value of a strong project management solution from the user’s perspective.  His system skills and unique perspective come from having implemented several workflow systems in his past roles; he was you so he gets it.

As we have introduced him to our clients over the last few weeks, it is clear that our clients are happy to have him onboard and in their corner.  He brings insights from real experience and understands how to make our solution solve your problems.

You purchased your workflow system, training went well, and each person knows what needs to be done.  Your projects are flowing along with everyone knowing the current status of each project… GREAT!

Fast forward 6 months, management asks you to produce some reports that will assist with gaining insights into project timelines, resource planning, overall project status…the list goes on and on. YIKES! Don’t sweat it, we can help. WBD has the experience and expertise to help you and your organization with that daunting list of reporting needs.

WBD’s team of experienced data and reporting analysts assist all of our clients with understanding the value that data and analytics can provide to the overall success of their artwork production, marketing, and campaign management needs. Our team of analysts have assisted clients with improving overall speed to market, pinpointing process bottlenecks, resource allocation reporting strategies… the list continues.

In-House Creative Departments are often overtasked and understaffed.  We have heard this time and again from our clients and those reaching out for our help.  One tool that will keep your world more organized is a Project Management Solution – but not just any project management solution, you need one who gets your world.  Cella Consulting recently published their 2016 In-House Creative Industry Report findings, which included some Project Management Software insights.  First, 1 in 3 of you are still managing your project load without the help of software. OUCH!  Of those with systems, sadly, nearly 40% ranged from neutral to very dissatisfied with their solutions. 

Don’t suffer in silence.  We know change is difficult; but our implementation methodology supports you through the entire process.  We have decades of experience, creative services roots, and a solution that simply works!

As Science is advancing, we are constantly learning and expecting to know more about the food we are consuming and the affect it will have on our health. When new information is found, it is up to the FDA to update laws that ensure the general public is aware of this information. On May 20^th 2016, the FDA finalized new Nutrition Facts focusing on the link between diet and chronic diseases (i.e. obesity and heart disease).