Workflow and Processes

November 27, 2023November 27, 2023

The Power of Comparison: Elevating Packaging Proofing to Precision

Before a packaging design goes to print, it undergoes a series of reviews and approvals. This meticulous process aims to catch any errors, inconsistencies, or deviations from the brand guidelines. The consequences of overlooking inaccuracies in packaging can be severe, ranging from costly reprints to damage to brand reputation due to misleading or incorrect information.

Why are comparison tools indispensable for such a task?

Comparison tools provide a side-by-side analysis of different design versions. This visual consistency check is crucial for ensuring that all elements align with the brand’s visual identity and standards.

In packaging, textual errors can be disastrous. Comparison tools not only highlight changes in graphics but also allow for a detailed proofing of textual content, ensuring that every word is accurate and compliant.

Furthermore, and specially in collaborative environments, different stakeholders may suggest changes to a design. Comparison tools aid in version control, allowing designers and approvers to track modifications and verify that the correct version is being approved.

How do Comparison Tools Enhance Accuracy in Packaging Proofing?

Detecting difficult to see variations: Packaging designs often involve intricate details. Comparison tools can zoom in on specific areas, making it easier to detect even the smallest changes in text, images, or color.
Streamlining Collaboration: In a collaborative design process, multiple individuals may provide feedback. Comparison tools streamline this feedback process, enabling efficient collaboration by highlighting exactly where changes have occurred.
Reducing Human Error: Human proofreaders may inadvertently miss changes or introduce errors. Comparison tools eliminate the risk of oversight, providing a systematic and objective approach to proofing.

Martiderm, a Spanish cosmetics company with presence in 45 countries, use Twona X-RAY to review files and compare them against earlier versions to make sure all
changes have been made.
For them, using this comparison tool has proven really useful in working with their external print suppliers, as they have been able stop errors introduced in the designs before they are printed on the boxes and leaflets of their products, saving potential product recalls or reprints of materials to fix the issues.
read more

Embracing Precision: Integrating Comparison Tools Into Your Workflow

If you aim for an improvement of your artwork management process, using a comparison/proofing tool is a good start, as it gives your team a quality tool to improve accuracy. However, it may be interesting to consider a proper evaluation of tools and their capabilities, offerings, and whether going for a tool that also will help you improve your complete workflow may be an more interesting choice.

Selecting the Right Tools: Explore the available comparison tools in the market and choose one that aligns with your specific packaging design needs. If you are interested in ours, check our website or contact us for a demo.

Integration with Workflow Management Systems: To maximize efficiency, consider how these comparison tools integrate seamlessly with your existing workflow management system. This integration ensures a cohesive design and approval process. Our comparison tool is offered as a stand alone solution (X-RAY) but also as part of our Artwork management tool (Twona AMS).

Training and Adoption: Properly train your team on the use of comparison tools, emphasizing their importance in achieving accurate and error-free packaging proofing. We offer ad-hoc training for our comparison tool to your team, using our template files or your own files if you wish to.

Accuracy of your packaging design is non-negotiable. Comparison tools help you elevate packaging proofing to a level of precision that safeguards your brand, reduces costly errors, and ensures that the final product hitting the shelves is a true representation of your vision. So, what are you waiting for?

October 13, 2023October 13, 2023

Empowering Mid-Size Companies: Harnessing the Power of Artwork Management Solutions

One size does not always fit all. While large corporations often have the means to invest in high-end Artwork Management Solutions (AMS), mid-size companies face a unique challenge. They need to find a middle ground between limited budgets and the demand for efficient, compliant processes.

Thankfully, this is not a problem without a solution as there is not only large scale AMS solutions in the market today but also those that cater to the needs of mid-size enterprises.

Navigating Mid-Size Challenges

Mid-size companies encounter a distinct dilemma: how to achieve streamlined packaging design processes without exceeding their financial capacities, and still complying with regulations for quality, control, and even validation. Unlike industry giants, these businesses require a solution that is both powerful and cost-effective, yet equally adept at ensuring quality and compliance.

Harnessing Innovative Solutions

What are the main benefits that solutions such as Twona for mid-size companies offer?

1. Affordability: Mid-size solutions are designed to be budget-friendly without compromising on performance. This enables mid-size companies to optimize operations without straining their financial resources.

2. Scalability: As mid-size companies evolve, their solutions must evolve too. AMS solutions can adapt to new challenges as businesses expand and diversify.

3. Flexibility: Unlike one-size-fits-all solutions, you will find that it is possible to match the unique workflow of your business, ideal for mid-size companies with distinct processes.

4. Compliance Alignment: Even though you’re not a corporate giant, regulations are still pertinent. You should still be able to meet industry standards and compliance requirements, safeguarding your business against costly setbacks.

Realizing Efficiency: The Power in Practice

The benefits of adopting an AMS solution for mid-range companies extend well beyond the fiscal aspect:

1. Time Efficiency: With AMS solutions fine-tuned to your workflow, tasks become streamlined and automated, drastically reducing the time needed for design approvals and collaboration.

2. Error Reduction: Automated workflows and version control mechanisms significantly diminish the risk of errors, ensuring accurate designs are approved for production without unnecessary delays.

3. Collaborative Seamlessness: encompass collaboration features that enable teams to work harmoniously, regardless of geographical separation.

4. Competitive Advantage: In a competitive arena that values efficiency and adaptability, mid-size companies equipped with an AMS can stand tall alongside industry giants.

Embrace the Opportunity: Unleash the Power of an AMS Solution

If you’re a mid-size company aiming to gain a competitive edge in the packaging sphere, don’t underestimate the use of a powerful AMS. Embrace a solution designed to match your ambitions, enhance your efficiency, and usher in a new era of accomplishment, all while keeping your financial landscape in focus. In a world of dynamic solutions, your business deserves nothing less.

Check out our AMS solution www.twonas.com/ams/ and how it can fit your company.

August 28, 2023August 28, 2023

What is the process for a new Twona Release?

Some of you may have been wondering what happens before a new release of Twona AMS takes place.

When developing any new functionality for our Twona system, we follow a clear structure, which is consistent with SaaS product development. It consists of a well-defined series of steps that allows us to design, develop, deploy, and maintain the system in the best way possible.

Here is a bit of what happens :

*Image source https://wallpapercave.com/bpm-wallpapers*

Ideas and planning

Where do new functionality originate from? That depends. Sometimes new functionality is linked to user feedback which comes from tickets, or conversations with their customer success managers; other times, we follow the market to see what functionality is out there that could be interesting for our users and we evaluate it; a new feature could also be the result of an internal business objective that we aim at achieving.

Whatever the source of this, we always assess what the impact of the functionality would be on other features already in the system, how it would affect user experience, whether this is something that all or most customers would benefit from and use, and how it would affect our existing infrastructure.

During this phase, we also make sure that the user requirements (internal or external) are clearly defined, looking at all possible scenarios.

All this information is gathered in our Product Development board, in the form of cards, which will go through several process steps if they are validated by the product owners. If the card gets validated, the next phase will kick in, that would be the design phase.

Design

When we talk about design, we are referring to the visual interpretation of the application screens that will contain the new functionality. These are often referred to as wireframes or mockups. When we create these, we also make sure that we cover the interactions and integration with existing features, and we involve the technical and customer team to generate a result that is consistent with the rest of the application and will be seamless for customer experience.

Here we define a lot of possible scenarios of how the functionality would be used, where it would be accessed from, and how it will show to users with different access levels to the platform.

Development

Here is where our front and back-end developers get to work! They will be writing code (clean and modular ;)) to implement the wireframe design, integrate it with the existing software, and make sure that all is compatible and it will create no disruptions to user experience.

The development takes place in servers separated from our own platform, to make sure that nothing is compromised.. When it is ready, it is moved to the testing environment.

Testing

During the testing phase, several departments will be involved.

Initially, the development team performs a test to confirm the functionality is working as expected, but more importantly, they perform some integration tests. These make sure that the new functionality is not going to break anything that was already in place.

When this is confirmed, product owner and customer success get to test the functionality. Several eyes see more than two, so we always make sure that not only the originator of the request for new functionality gets to test it, but at least one other person does, although often testing is performed by at least 3 people, sometimes taking different roles and user permissions when performing the test..

If any issues are identified, it means we are back to the development team. A proper description of the issue is registered in our Product Board and the card about the functionality is sent back. The development team then works on the areas that are not working as expected, usually have questions for the requestors, and get back to coding.

The full process above is repeated until the functionality passes all tests.

When this happens, the functionality can be put into the production enviroment.

Deployment

At Twona, we have a rule to not deploy (send to production) on a Friday afternoon. Although we very rarely experience any issues when doing a deployment, we want to make sure that if we do encounter an issue, this is sorted quicky, without robbing anyone of their weekend.

So, we normally plan for deployments during the day. This is posible because there is little to no disruption to our client’s work when deployments take place, they are rather transparent to their operations. The reason for this is that we use a process where the old functionality/current version of our system does not get disconnected until the new one is in place, so the users will not notice anything until that happens and the new release is appearing in their screens.

The work starts by preparing the deployment environment : servers, databases, any infrastructure changes (if any , as we normally do these separately). When we start the deployment to the production environment, this is constantly monitored for any issues. When the release is completed, a notification is sent internally so that account managers can keep an eye on their clients for any potential ticket that may be related to the deployment.

Documentation and Communication

This phase does not really start now, after the deployment, but from the moment the development starts on the new functionality.

We make sure that new functionality is added to the online user guides, and start the preparation of newsletters with information on the changes. Very often, we distribute this information before the deployment is done so that our users get to know what is coming and how it will look when they log in to the system.

We also organize online webinars regularly to communicate and explain about the new releases, especially when these cover several items, or when the functionality is very new or very different to what our users were experiencing before so we can make sure that they can continue to make the most out of our tool.

Customer feedback, support, and continuous improvement

And mentioned before, we closely monitor our user experience after a release. This happens proactively through interactions with clients via their success managers and during trainings/online sessions about the new functionality, and more reactively through reaction to tickets that customers may have raised.

We do receive a lot of positive feedback as a reaction to new features, but of course there are also improvement points that customers may notice. We definitely react immediately to any comment that would indicate a bug/malfunction of the functionality or any other area of the application as a result of the release, and those are given priority and sorted with urgency.

However, we do take all feedback very seriously, and even though not all requests for improvement or changes are seeing the light immediately, they are always studied by the product team in combination with customer success to define whether these are individual/customized requests or they would benefit our customer base.

As mentioned, many of our new features start off as a customer feedback request, which is why we appreciate any input we receive about the tool. We are always looking for opportunities to identify areas for further enhancement.

Of course, we have our regular development and update cycles, but we aim to combine both our own views and expertise on the market with the needs of our customers to make the best artwork management system possible.

July 13, 2023July 13, 2023

GIGO when implementing a new tool

What is G.I.G.O? The term literally means Garbage in, Garbage out. This principle is a very significant one when it comes to implementing any new solutions at your company, let it be a new CRM, a marketing automation system, or an Artwork Management platform. Why? Because it refers to the fact that the quality of output or results from a system is only as good as the quality of input or data that is entered into it.

So if you enter garbage into it, what would you expect to get out?

Exactly…

Implementing a new tool gives you an opportunity to do things differently, better, and to remove or change any bad information or processes that you may have been carrying on for a long time. Therefore, neglecting the GIGO principle can lead to inefficiencies, inaccuracies, and suboptimal outcomes. And, who wants that, right?

The importance of GIGO in implementing your new tool

The success of your implementation depends heavily on the quality of data that is fed into the system. This is why it is not just about implementing a new tool, but often, this should be tackled as a project in itself within organizations, where not only the system provider has tasks (e.g configuration, user set up and onboarding…) but also the team at the company implementing will have to do some work to prep their data, processes, users to the tool that is coming.

What are some areas that may be affected if this is not properly considered?

Your Data Consistency

Imagine for a second we are talking here about a CRM system and that your old database had a series of fields that your main object record contained that do not exist any more (e.g. you got rid of fax number in a contact database), or are named differently (e.g. Surname>last name), or that the format in your new tool (or your new process) calls for a split of a field into two (First name Last Name instead of Name). These types of changes are normal, but would require your team to take a closer look at the database, than just exporting the data and sending it to your new provider for migration.

Inaccurate or inconsistent data can lead to failed data migration, but also to wrong reporting, analytics, and ultimately, decision-making. It can create discrepancies in customer records, financial transactions, or project management depending on what type of system we are talking about.

The most important thing to consider is that it is most of the times not at 1:1 transfer of data and information, but that it does require some fine tuning and review. This is often a big misinterpretation when companies decide for a new system, they expect the provider to do all work, and are surprised when they are also given some work to clear mistakes or inconsistencies in data to be used in the new tool. You should understand then that your provider will be the expert on their tool and can guide you in how to do things better this time around, but they should not be responsible for any garbage that stays in from the old system, and correcting those is really your responsibility, as it is you who knows most about your data and processes.

Your process efficiency

Sometimes you carry on doing things in a specific way because that is how it was done when you started, or because it would take a lot of effort to change. Well, implementing a new tool is a good moment to think if the process you have is the right one. Even if you keep it the same, and I don’t really suggest you do this, things will be done differently in a new tool, and your process may be slowing down progress for that same reason. Without proper attention, workflows and processes within the new system may suffer, as it may require unnecessary manual interventions, time-consuming workarounds, and ultimately, will lead to decreased productivity.

One example from our tool is how approvals are done. A lot of clients want to have their workflow directly replicated into our tool, however, that often means that they will have a few extra steps in their process that may not be needed, and could be sorted with an approval request, and maybe an automation rule to move the project along the workflow. Sometimes, they still do not understand the system enough to make that decision themselves, and are afraid to trust us with that decision. I would say that 95% of the clients who did not go with our suggestions the first time around, decide to make changes as we suggested a few months into the implementation, as they realize that the current set up is slowing them down.

Your user frustration level

When the data in the SaaS system is of low quality, or the process does not run smoothly because it is not optimized, users may encounter issues such as missing or incorrect information, difficulty in locating data, extra manual steps, or incorrect access. This can lead to frustration, decreased user adoption, and hindered collaboration within the organization.

All these are things you do not want when you have a new system. You do need users to slowly get trained and feel confident with the new tool so they are able to do their jobs better, and not complain about everything and second guess the change. There is so much that the provider can do to ensure user satisfaction, and of course this includes proper training and onboarding within your team, and making sure your requirements are translated into your configuration. But a lot of that satisfaction level starts from within, with your own internal communication about the reasons for the change, and the changes that have been implemented, as well as the development of SOPs and manuals so that it is all clear how you are actually using the tool internally.

So, if you are in the process of selecting a new tool, or already working towards that implementation, I hope these reflections help you in understanding the importance of starting with high-quality input to achieve desirable output, and also, that changing a new tool is not just about the tool, but also about the data you will put in and the processes that will make the tool successful.

My last remark would be to trust the partner you have chosen to give you advice about how you can make the best out of the tool – it may be hard sometimes to accept that the way you did things before was not perfect, but it will be good to start with a – not white/blank, as you don’t start from scratch but maybe light grey – slay into the new tool.

April 5, 2023

ChatGPT as Technical Sales

This is a followup of this post.

Me: lets reverse the roles. I will be the Artwork Manager and you will be me. I will start.

Artwork Manager: Hi, thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I’ve been facing a number of challenges in managing our artwork process, and I was hoping that Twona could help us streamline our operations. Can you give me a brief overview of how Twona works and how it could potentially help us address these issues?

Me: What? I said let’s reverse the roles. I will be the Artwork Manager and you will be me.

ChatGPT: Apologies for the confusion. Please go ahead and start the conversation as the Artwork Manager, and I will respond as the Technical Sales consultant at Twona.

Me: hi, thanks for taking the time to speak with me. I work as an Artwork Manager and I would like to know more about Twona and how it can help my team.Technical Sales Consultant: Hi! It’s my pleasure to speak with you today. Twona is a Cloud SaaS Artwork Management System designed to help organizations streamline their artwork processes. Our solution can help you address a variety of challenges commonly faced in the artwork management field, such as managing workflows and versions, handling approvals and feedback, and tracking KPIs.

Twona’s key features include:

Workflow and Version Management: This allows you to create and manage artwork projects, track progress, and maintain a clear version history.
Approval Management: Streamline the approval process by involving all relevant stakeholders, both internal and external, with configurable parallel or serial approval processes.
Online Proofing: Twona provides a platform for visualizing and comparing artwork versions, enabling easy identification of changes and reducing manual proofing efforts.

Additionally, Twona offers reporting capabilities through a powerful API that can be used to create custom dashboards for KPI tracking.

If you could provide more details on the challenges your team is currently facing, I’d be happy to explain how Twona can specifically address those issues and improve your artwork management process.

Me: Well, one of the key difficulties is that everyone sends me a lot of emails asking me to give them updates on the project, or sending information mid way while the artwork is being designed. So….its a lot of emails.

Technical Sales Consultant: I understand how managing emails can become overwhelming and inefficient. Twona can help you significantly reduce email clutter and improve communication within your team.

By centralizing all project-related information within the Twona platform, you’ll be able to manage and track project updates more efficiently. Team members and stakeholders can access project information, view the project status, and provide feedback or additional information directly within the platform.

With Twona’s task assignment and notification features, you can assign tasks to specific team members, set deadlines, and receive notifications when tasks are completed or when there are updates on the project. This eliminates the need for email-based communication and ensures that everyone has access to the latest information and updates.

Furthermore, Twona’s approval management feature helps to streamline the feedback process by allowing all relevant stakeholders to review, comment, and approve artwork within the platform. This eliminates the need for email-based feedback loops and ensures that all feedback is consolidated in one place.

Overall, Twona will help you to reduce email clutter and improve the efficiency of your artwork management process by centralizing communication and providing a single platform for project updates, feedback, and approvals.

Me (giving feedback on its performance): As Technical Sales, you need to be more proactive and ask more questions towards the end so the conversation can flow and there is a higher chance of closing a deal or getting one step closer to a deal. Please rewrite that last text and follow this general rule: talk less, be precise, ask more questions relevant to the client

Technical Sales Consultant: I can see how managing numerous emails can be overwhelming and inefficient. With Twona, we can help centralize project-related information and streamline communication.

Using Twona, your team can access project updates and provide feedback within the platform. This reduces the need for email-based communication and ensures everyone stays in the loop.

Could you provide more details on how your team currently manages approvals and feedback? This would help me better understand your process and explain how Twona’s features can specifically address your needs.

Me: We do everything via email. When the artwork is ready, I send it to the different people that need to review it. But because the process is a mess, I usually send it one person at a time. This takes a long time and I usually have to chase people because they have not done the review. Once I get all the reviews, I collate all the feedback and send it to the agency so they can create a new version.

Technical Sales Consultant: Thank you for sharing your current process. Twona can definitely help streamline the approval and feedback process, saving you time and reducing the need for chasing down reviews.

With Twona’s approval management feature, you can create approval loops involving all relevant stakeholders at once, rather than sending the artwork individually. The platform will send out notifications to reviewers and provide them with a centralized space to review, comment, and approve the artwork.

Twona will also send automatic reminders to those who haven’t completed their review, reducing the need for you to chase people manually. Once all feedback is collected, the platform consolidates it for you, making it easy to communicate with the agency for creating new versions.

Would you like to see a demonstration of how the approval management feature works in Twona? This can help you better visualize how it could fit into your existing processes and improve your workflow.

Me (giving feedback on its performance): Let’s assume the customer said yes and you demo the product. Proceed to the next question.

Technical Sales Consultant: I’m glad you found the demonstration helpful. Now that you have seen how Twona’s approval management feature works, I’d like to address any other challenges you might be facing in your artwork management process.

Are there any specific pain points or concerns, such as version control, reporting, or collaboration with external partners, that you’d like to discuss? Understanding your unique needs will help me better demonstrate how Twona can be tailored to your requirements and further streamline your operations.

Me: As I said in the beginning, I have to reply to a lot of emails for people asking me for an update. Then at the quarterly review, it is a bit embarrassing not being able to provide metrics on how many jobs or how long it took for them to get done. I also don’t know where to start improving my process, because everything is manual.

Technical Sales Consultant: I understand how important it is to have a clear view of your process and to be able to provide metrics during reviews. Twona can help you not only reduce the email clutter but also track and report key performance indicators (KPIs) for your artwork management process.

Project status updates: Twona offers real-time project status tracking, so team members can easily check the progress of a project within the platform. This reduces the need for update requests via email and keeps everyone informed.
Reporting and KPIs: Twona provides a powerful API that allows you to create customized dashboards for reporting and tracking KPIs. This way, you can have a clear overview of the number of jobs completed, average time taken for each job, and other performance metrics. Having this data at hand will make your quarterly reviews more insightful and help you identify areas for improvement.
Process improvement: With a clear view of your process and performance data, you can identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas where your team can improve. Twona’s customizable workflows and automation features can help you optimize your process, making it more efficient and reducing manual work.

Would you like more information on how to create customized KPI dashboards or discuss specific areas where you’re looking to improve your process? This can help us identify the best way Twona can be tailored to your needs.

Me: Wow, those are great features indeed. How long would it take for Twona to be implemented for my team?

Technical Sales Consultant: We’re glad you find the features valuable! The implementation timeline for Twona can vary depending on your specific requirements, the complexity of your workflows, and how quickly your team can adapt to the new system. However, our goal is to make the implementation process as smooth and efficient as possible.

Typically, we can have Twona up and running in under a week. We assign a dedicated Customer Success Manager (CSM) to guide you through the onboarding process, assist with gathering relevant data, configure the platform, migrate existing data, and train your team on how to use Twona effectively.

The CSM will work closely with you to ensure the implementation timeline aligns with your needs and resources. They will also provide ongoing support to help you optimize the system and get the most out of Twona’s features.

Is there a specific timeframe you have in mind for implementation, or any concerns about the onboarding process that we can help address?

Me: I would like to present this to management first. Will you be able to share a quote with me?

Technical Sales Consultant: Absolutely! We’d be happy to provide you with a quote tailored to your specific needs. In order to give you the most accurate pricing, we’ll need some more information about your team size, the number of users who will be accessing the platform, and any specific features or customizations you might require.

Once we have this information, we can put together a detailed quote for you to present to management. If you’d like, we can also provide additional materials or join a call with your management team to help present Twona and address any questions or concerns they may have.

Please feel free to share the necessary information, and we’ll get started on preparing a quote for you right away.

Me (giving feedback on its performance): Make it more specific and try to close the call with a specific action point, for instance a specific date for a follow up call.

Technical Sales Consultant: I understand that you’d like to present this to management first. To help you with that, we can provide a tailored quote and any supporting materials you might need for your presentation.

In order to give you the most accurate pricing, please share the following information:

Your team size
The number of users who will be accessing the platform
Any specific features or customizations you might require

Once we have this information, we can prepare a detailed quote and additional materials for you to present to your management team. To ensure we’re available to assist you further, let’s schedule a follow-up call after your presentation to management. How about we pencil in a call for next week on [specific date] at [specific time]? This will give us an opportunity to address any questions, concerns, or feedback that may arise from your management team.

If that date and time work for you, please confirm, and we’ll send you a calendar invite. Also, feel free to share the necessary information for the quote, and we’ll get started on preparing it for you right away.

April 5, 2023April 5, 2023

A demo for ChatGPT

My prompt

You are an Artwork Manager that works for a pharmaceutical company. Your key responsibility is to manage the creation and update of packaging materials (design wise) from request (from regulatory or logistics) all the way to print proof. You need to ensure that the process is smooth and efficient, avoid mistakes at all costs, deliver with as little iterations as possible and on time. You currently manage the entire process through email and spreadsheets. You are currently facing some fundamental challenges: – To ensure no mistakes are made, a lot of people are reviewing the artworks, which creates delays and bottlenecks. – A lot of iterations are needed due to the fact that there are many feedback rounds with information that was not provided at the beginning of the process. – Consecutive versions need to checked manually. – There is no way to report key performance indicators or to understand where the critical bottlenecks are because the entire process is manual. – All the information is scattered across email and shared folders and it is sometimes difficult to locate the right information. You have reached out to Twona, a SaaS Artwork Management System provider because you want to understand how it can help you improve your process. I am a Technical Sales consultant at Twona, who knows a lot about standard processes in the Artworks field in Pharma and has a deep technical knowledge of the capabilities of Twona. Let’s start a conversation that would typically happen during a demo. You can start.

The conversation

Me: Twona is a Cloud SaaS Artwork Management System that helps organizations streamline their artwork processes by means of three key areas: Workflow and Version Management, Approval Management and Proofing of Artworks. Since it is a web SaaS application, you can use your browser to access all your data from anywhere. Can you perhaps elaborate a bit more on your challenges so we can focus on which parts of the system might be more relevant to you?

Artwork Manager: Sure, let me provide more details on the challenges we’re facing. One of our main issues is the number of people involved in reviewing the artworks, which creates delays and bottlenecks. We also have multiple feedback rounds due to missing information at the beginning of the process, leading to numerous iterations. Additionally, we need to check consecutive versions manually, which is quite time-consuming.

Furthermore, we have no efficient way to report key performance indicators, making it hard to identify critical bottlenecks. Finally, our information is scattered across emails and shared folders, making it difficult to locate the right information when needed.

With these challenges in mind, can you explain how Twona can help us improve our process and overcome these issues?

Me: Thank you for that explanation. Let me try to answer one by one those challenges you are facing. We see frequently across our customers that there are many stakeholders involved in the review and approval process. Twona’s approval functionality allows you to manage the process in an efficient way. It works both with internal and external stakeholders (external stakeholders do not need a license for the system) and it can work both with parallel approval process as well as serial approval processes. So lets say the artwork needs to be reviewed at a certain stage, this is how it would work: You select the artwork version for which you want feedback and/or approval and then include all relevant stakeholders (both internal as part of your team as well as external, for instance CMOs, printers, etc). Twona will then send an email to all stakeholders with a link where they will be able to review, download, comment, upload supporting files and even record a video/voice message. All the relevant information will be collected in one place for you to review, without having to read one single email. To simplify the process, Twona will also notify you when all approvals have been collected. And if someone forgets, Twona will send them a reminder one week after the approval was requested and you can always send them a manual reminder directly from the application. How does that sound?

Artwork Manager: That sounds really helpful! It would definitely help to have a centralized platform for managing approvals and feedback. I’m also interested in how Twona can help with reducing the number of iterations and managing consecutive versions. Can you explain how the system addresses those challenges?

Me: A large number of iterations is typically symptom of a broken process. Twona can help you by streamlining the workflow and making sure everyone is aware of what they have to do. There are a few key bits that are relevant in that process. First of all, Twona does all the version tracking for you. Since we work with Pharmaceutical companies, Twona is very strict and compliant with market standards. Each version is uniquely identified by a number and cannot be deleted. Twona can also help you identify the state of that version: approved, obsolete, rejected by setting specific version states which are configurable and setting automation rules to set those states under specific circumstances, for instance “when all stakeholders have approved, change the state of the version to approved”, or “if a rejection is received, change the state of the version to rejected and move the project back to changes required”. Additionally, and this is not tool related but process related, we always recommend to our customers that a quality check is put in place to ensure that all information related to the creation of the artwork is correct and complete. This helps avoid iterations due to poor brief information. One additional feature that can help there, is the ability to configure brief forms to introduce all relevant information before a project is started, avoiding also the back and forth email process or unnecessary iterations due to faulty information. Does that answer your question?

Artwork Manager: Yes, that definitely answers my question. The version tracking and configurable workflow sound like they will help us minimize iterations and improve efficiency. One remaining concern is the ability to generate reports and track key performance indicators. Can you explain how Twona can help us with that aspect of our process?

Me: That is a great question. Across all our customers, we see very different needs when it comes to reporting. Some want KPIs on time to process, others want KPIs related to workload for their team. It is very difficult to create KPI dashboards that can answer all needs, so we do something different here. We provide a very powerful API that allows customers to create and configure completely customised dashboards for KPI reporting. Because APIs can be used across a multitude of systems, this provides the flexibility to create something completely tailored to your needs. One example is using Zapier, Google Sheets and Google Looker to create powerful dashboards without code. We are always happy to make a dashboard for your needs (this is usually just a couple of hours of work).

Artwork Manager: That’s fantastic! Having a customizable solution for generating reports and tracking KPIs will be really beneficial for us. It seems like Twona could be the solution we’re looking for to address our challenges and improve our artwork management process.

Before we wrap up, I have one last question. How easy is it to implement Twona into our existing processes? What kind of support do you offer during the implementation phase?

Me: That is a difficult question. We always say that we can have Twona up and running in under a week. However, in general the bottleneck is on the customer side given the complexities and number of people involved. The way we approach the onboarding phase is as follows: we assign a Customer Success Manager to you, who will guide you step by step during the onboarding and who will help gather all relevant data related to your workflow, configuration, automations, migration of data, reporting and who will also be responsible for training you team on your new tool. Your CSM will go as fast or as slow as you need depending on your current capabilities and resources.

Artwork Manager: That’s reassuring to know. It’s important for us to have a smooth implementation and a dedicated Customer Success Manager sounds like a great way to ensure that. I appreciate the detailed explanation of how Twona can help us improve our artwork management process. I’ll need to discuss this with my team, and we’ll get back to you with any further questions or to move forward with the implementation. Thank you for your time today!

Me: I have one last question before we close the conversation. What do you think would be the biggest challenge for you to get Twona implemented for your team?

Artwork Manager: I think the biggest challenge for us would be ensuring that our team adapts to the new system quickly and that we can successfully integrate it into our existing processes. Change can sometimes be difficult, and it will be important for us to have a clear communication plan and proper training in place to make the transition as smooth as possible. However, with the dedicated support of a Customer Success Manager, I’m confident that we can overcome these challenges and successfully implement Twona in our artwork management process.

March 23, 2023

Improving Collaboration between Designers, Artwork Coordinators, and Regulatory Affairs Professionals

In the complex world of product packaging and labeling (Pharma and Food mostly), effective collaboration between designers, artwork coordinators, and regulatory affairs professionals is crucial for ensuring compliance, efficiency, and overall success. With ever-changing regulations, tight budgets and timelines and a large set of very different stakeholders, having a streamlined process that connects everyone is essential. Below you will find some key aspects of how to optimize collaboration centered around the benefits of using an Artwork Management System (AMS) like Twona NeXT.

Establish Clear Communication Channels

One of the main challenges every organisation faces when there is a large number of SKUs and stakeholders involved is maintaining clear and effective communication. To address this, you must establish a clear communication channel for each project, where all stakeholders can share updates, feedback, and relevant information. While tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams can help facilitate these conversations, they are hardly suitable for highly regulated environments due the lack of traceability. Additionally, they tend to be disconnected from the projects themselves, serving only as a platform for discussion. Ensuring a Single Source of Truth is key wile Slack or Teams can be used as secondary channels by means of an integration. This means, for instance, a notification can be sent from your system to Slack when a project reaches a certain milestone.

Define Roles and Responsibilities

It is essential to outline the roles and responsibilities of each team member involved in the packaging workflow. Clearly defining who is responsible for what tasks or step ensures accountability and helps prevent confusion and potential bottlenecks. Create a detailed SOP that outlines each step in the workflow, add your work instructions to facilitate adoption and prevent errors and arrange training for every stakeholder involved in the process.

Implement a Centralized Artwork Management System

Using a centralized AMS like Twonas can significantly improve collaboration between designers, artwork coordinators, and RA. Twonas offers a unique set of features that are tailored to meet the needs of the Pharmaceutical, Food, and Retail Industry, making it a perfect choice for managing your artwork projects.

Some of the unique selling points of Twonas include:

Automated Workflows: Twonas streamlines the entire process by automating tasks, reminders, and approvals. This helps to eliminate manual processes and reduce the risk of errors or delays.
Real-Time Collaboration: Twonas allows team members to collaborate on projects in real-time, ensuring everyone is always on the same page. This feature is particularly useful for reducing the number of feedback rounds.
Version Control: Twonas offers a robust version control system that tracks changes and maintains a complete history of all artwork files. This feature helps to prevent confusion and ensures that everyone is working on the latest version of the project.
Integration with Third-Party Tools: Twonas integrates with key applications making it easy to connect your existing workflow and systems.

Continuous Improvement

Finally, always be open to learning and improvement. Regularly review your processes, gather feedback from your team (both internal and external), and identify areas for improvement. Implementing a culture of continuous improvement will help ensure that your team is always working efficiently and effectively.

Want to know more? Then drop us a line and we will be happy to discuss your process needs.

March 17, 2023

Streamlining Label Design Projects: Leveraging Google Sheets and Twona Integration for Efficient Artwork Coordination

In today’s fast-paced retail environment, companies specializing in providing products to retailers require efficient solutions to manage the high volume of label design projects. When selling a product, these organizations need to create or adapt and existing label and sometimes even customise it for their clients to include their details and design components. For Artwork Coordinators, streamlining the project management process while maintaining accuracy and efficiency is crucial. A remarkable solution that we have found works well with our customers is the integration of Google Sheets and Twona, our artwork management system, using an API via Zapier – a connector system.

This innovative integration has proven to be a game-changer for many organizations, as it allows them to create 50 or more label design projects in one go. The process is simple: Artwork Coordinators fill in the required details in a Google Sheet, which can be fully customised, and the API connection with Twona automatically creates projects for each entry. This setup provides the best of both worlds – the familiarity and speed of a spreadsheet, combined with the robust tracking capabilities of a project Artwork Management System. Furthermore, the sheet can then be kept updated as the project proceeds, giving teams a great deal of visibility.

The benefits this integration brings to the workflow include:

Familiarity and ease of use: Google Sheets is widely recognized for its user-friendly interface and seamless collaboration capabilities. Teams can effortlessly input project details and requirements into the spreadsheet without any additional training.
Speed and efficiency: By merely filling in a Google Sheet document, companies can create 50 or more projects in one go. This bulk creation feature significantly reduces the time spent on setting up individual projects, leaving more time to focus on other aspects of the work.
Accurate tracking: Twona’s Artwork Management System enables organizations to monitor the progress of each project, from design to completion. With the integration in place, manual data entry and miscommunication among team members are eliminated. Real-time status updates help manage deadlines and ensure project deliverables are met.
Time and cost savings: The integration of Google Sheets and Twona eliminates the need for manual data entry, significantly reducing the time spent on project setup. Consequently, this translates into cost savings, as resources can be allocated more efficiently.
Error prevention: The API connection between Google Sheets and Twona ensures that data is transferred accurately, reducing the risk of errors. This not only saves time but also helps maintain a high level of quality across all projects.

The integration between Google Sheets and Twona via an API through Zapier has been instrumental in optimizing label design projects for some of our clients who manage very large volume of designs with short timelines. By leveraging the familiarity and speed of a spreadsheet along with the tracking capabilities of a project Artwork Management System, organizations can streamline their workflows, save time, and prevent errors. If your organization is looking for ways to improve artwork coordination processes, consider integrating a popular spreadsheet tool with a reliable Artwork Management System – it might just be the game-changer you need.

March 10, 2023

Connecting your AMS with APIs

In today’s world of tech wonders, companies require robust and efficient systems to manage their workflows, and packaging design for pharmaceutical and food companies is no exception, specially considering the complexity in the process and the number of stakeholders involved. In order to streamline the process of exchanging information during the different steps of the workflow when more than one system is involved, companies can use REST APIs.

What is a REST API?

REST (Representational State Transfer) API is an interface that allow different software applications to communicate with each other over the internet. REST APIs use HTTP requests to send and receive data, making it easier for software applications to exchange information and interact with each other.

One-directional and Two-directional communication

REST APIs can facilitate one-directional or two-directional communication between different software applications. In one-directional communication, data flows only in one direction, for instance sending an approved artwork to an ERP system. In two-directional communication, data flows both ways, allowing for a more robust exchange of information between different software applications, for instance obtaining a Material Number and providing an approval over a packaging material.

Benefits of using REST APIs for packaging design

REST APIs provide several benefits when it comes to packaging design for pharmaceutical and food companies:

Streamlined workflow: REST APIs can facilitate a streamlined workflow by enabling different software applications to share data with each other. This reduces the risk of data corruption by ensuring a single source of truth. It can also reduce the amount of time and effort required to manage the packaging design process.
Increased efficiency: REST APIs can reduce manual data entry and other repetitive tasks. This can lead to faster turnaround times, improved accuracy, and reduced costs. A good example is a Pharma company working with a CMO. Each have their own AMS and both insist in using their own for quality and audit purposes. Without an API connection, data needs to be entered in both systems, usually triggered by email communication, while an API connection can automate the data sharing process reducing in less manual work.
Improved collaboration: REST APIs can facilitate better collaboration between different teams involved in the packaging design process. For example, designers and printers can use different software applications to work on different aspects of the packaging design process, and REST APIs can be used to share data between these applications, making it easier for team members to work together.

Challenges of implementing REST APIs

While REST APIs can provide several benefits, implementing them can also be challenging:

Compatibility issues: Different software applications may use different data formats, which can make it difficult to share data between them. When such compatibility issues arise, the time and effort required to implement a connection tends to grow.
Security concerns: REST APIs can create security risks if not implemented properly. Companies must ensure that their APIs are secure and that data is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access. A good API connection implementation will always secure protocols to encrypt the data while in transit.
Maintenance: REST APIs require regular maintenance to ensure that they continue to function properly as the different systems involved change over time. Companies may need to allocate resources to maintain their APIs and ensure that they remain up to date with the latest software updates.

REST APIs offer several benefits when it comes to optimising your packaging design workflow. By enabling different software applications to communicate with each other, REST APIs can streamline the process, improve efficiency, and facilitate better collaboration between different teams while reducing manual work and reducing risk.

If you want to know more, check out our public API documentation to see how it can help your process.

March 7, 2023

Improving your Artworks Workflow

As an artwork coordinator working for a pharmaceutical company, I oversee the packaging design process from start to finish. It’s a complex process that involves multiple stakeholders and departments: regulatory, supply chain, printing houses, customers (we also do Contract Manufacturing), Quality Assurance, etc. It requires careful coordination to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Over the years, we’ve refined our process to the best of our abilities, but as with any complex system, there’s always room for improvement. We make our process work, but it requires constant emails, reminders and nudges to certain stakeholders to keep everything in check.

When we decided to purchase an Artwork Management System, we agreed to bring in an external workflow and process consultant to help us optimize our packaging design workflow as we intended to digitise our process. At first, I was a bit skeptical. After all, I knew our process inside and out, and I wasn’t sure how an external consultant could provide any value. Our initial plan was to simply move from a manual email based workflow to a digital one. However, after a couple of phone calls regarding the process, we realized that an external set of eyes can sometimes identify issues in your process that you simply cannot see because you’re too close and too busy.

The Consultant

The consultant that came in had extensive experience working with other pharmaceutical companies, not only within brands, but also in CMOs, design agencies, etc. He got us started by going thought our current process, which was drawn on a white board and asking a lot of questions as we went through every stage: who is involved, what information is provided, when, what are the challenges, what happens in this and that scenario, etc. Very quickly he was able to spot a few areas where we could make improvements. There were a couple of key aspects that were particularly interesting where he suggested some changes in the process by analysing and justifying those suggestions. The following was one of the most relevant ones:

Our Process

In the beginning of our process, the Regulatory Department provides the key information related to the change that has to be implemented in the packaging material: a new text, a set of annotated changes due to a change in regulations and anything in between. When this information is received, the Artworks Team checks it and forwards the request to the agency to execute the changes. Later in the process, once the design has been implemented, the Regulatory colleagues check the artwork to make sure it complied with their request for change. The consultant asked: how often does an artwork need to be redone because Regulatory spotted a mistake in the content (not a mistake introduced by the design agency). The answer across my team was consistent…..very frequently. The consultant then made an estimate of the amount of hours involved across all teams between the moment the request is sent by RA and the moment the design is sent back to them for changes. We calculated around 40 to 50 hours of work.

The Suggestions

His suggestion was simple: add a four eye principle on the information provided by Regulatory BEFORE the artwork request is sent to the agency. The objective was to validate the information before those 40 to 50 hours of work were spent on the artwork so that the number of iterations would be reduced. We quickly involved the QA team, who happily agreed to review the data before it was sent to the agency. It was brilliant. A simple suggestion, a nudge to the colleagues in QA and the potential time savings were incredible.

At first, I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of implementing all suggested changes. After all, change can be difficult, especially when you’re dealing with a process that has been in place for years and many stakeholders involved. However, with an open discussions and proper justification of each suggested change, I realized that these changes were all aimed at making our jobs easier and more efficient. By embracing these changes, we could reduce the amount of time and resources we spent on each project and ensure the best possible outcome. Having an external set of eyes also helped align all relevant parties (external people are not afraid of starting difficult conversations).

Over the next few months, we worked closely with the consultant to implement the changes he had suggested. It wasn’t always easy, and there were a few bumps in the road, but overall, the process went smoothly. We saw an consistent improvement in in our process. and our workflow became much more streamlined. We were able to complete projects more quickly and with fewer errors, which made everyone involved in the process much happier.

Looking back, I’m so glad we decided to bring in an external set of eyes to help us optimize our packaging design workflow. I’m excited to see what other improvements we can make in the future, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with such a talented consultant.

If you want an external set of eyes on your process, setup a call with us and let’s work together to make your workflow flawless.