Multi-brand CPG companies have many tasks when launching a product, from designing labels to creating content, ensuring regulatory compliance, etc. When time-to-market pressures increase, managing all these critical tasks and seeking necessary approval seems all the more challenging, especially in the absence of a unified system that makes managing, tracking, and monitoring artwork easy.

Let's explore how centralizing artwork management will allow you to keep chaos at bay and bring order back to your world.

5 Key Advantages of Centralizing Artwork

Handling artwork across many brands can become complex in the fast-evolving consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Different product regions, teams, or product lines can make it easy to lose track of the latest versions or run into compliance issues with the end product.

 A centralized view of the portfolio is no longer a luxury but a necessity for streamlined, efficient operations. Getting all artwork assets into one standard system streamlines management and assures consistency while improving collaboration between dispersed teams. 

Here are five key benefits of centralizing artwork management for multi-brand CPG portfolios: 

1. Brand Consistency Across Markets: When multiple teams work using siloed tools, version confusion is commonplace. One version has an outdated logo, whereas another team's packaging missed out on a typo. Specific issues might easily slip through the cracks when artworks exist in varied versions. Eventually, inconsistencies get introduced, and brand reputation takes a beating. 
   
   Centralizing artwork management eliminates that problem by creating a single source of truth for all your brand assets. With such centralization, you no longer have to worry about not following brand guidelines or working on the wrong artwork version. By storing everything centrally, teams can obtain the most recent copy of the artwork, regardless of their location, team, or stage. This helps portray a strong brand identity and reinforces consumer trust.

2. Better Collaboration Between Teams: If your design team works in one time zone, the legal team in a different time zone, and marketing teams worldwide, a lot of time is lost in waiting—waiting for changes, feedback, and approvals. You’ve sent artwork to the marketing team for feedback, but still have to wait for legal approval. Emails go to multiple people, with the hope that everybody is on the same page. This back-and-forth can seem never-ending.  
   
   With centralization, everyone works from the same platform. Every stakeholder, whether design, marketing, or legal, simultaneously reviews the same accurate version. Every update becomes visible immediately without waiting for approvals or guessing if you’re working on the correct version. This means faster approvals with fewer chances for mistakes or delays.

3. Faster Launches: In the dynamic CPG market, the need for speed is critical. Getting caught up in the never-ending cycle of artwork drafts and versions would be the last thing you want. Waiting for multiple artwork pieces can cause your artwork approval process to hit a wall. The longer it takes to finalize an artwork, the slower your product reaches the shelf, impacting customer perception and competitive standing. 
   
   Having your artwork centralized in a single tool eliminates this back-and-forth. Everyone is notified once an artwork is finalized and moves quickly through approvals. You could even automate processes such as sending emails and proofreading changes. This makes the entire process much faster, reducing rework and recalls and allowing you to bring your product to market quickly.

4. Stronger Compliance: Multiple versions of artwork make it tough to verify if every detail on the packaging complies with local regulations. Tracking compliance becomes difficult, and a missed detail can attract heavy fines, costly rework, and recalls. 
   
   When you centralize artwork management, compliance is automatically built into your process. Regulations are integrated into your workflows, and every version of the artwork is tracked for compliance. Intelligent audit trails make it easy to see who made changes, when, and what was modified. They also ensure that the final artwork packaging copy comply with regulatory and industry standards.

5. Improved Productivity and Efficiency: Managing different artwork copies for different products and emailing them to relevant stakeholders can get overwhelming. There are many redundancies, and the chances of errors are immeasurably high. Meanwhile, your team spends hours redoing every work or searching for files instead of focusing on what is essential: getting products to the market. 
   
   Centralizing artwork using a digital asset management tool eliminates duplication and wasted time. Instead of managing many email threads and versions, a few clicks lead teams to the latest versions of artwork. This minimizes the risk of errors and rework. It also minimizes admin headaches and allows stakeholders to concentrate more on the creative and strategic parts of their jobs.

A Real-world Success Story

When Saxco International began to grow its product portfolio, it faced many challenges in ensuring that every product complied with the guidelines established by the local and global governments. With different product and region guidelines, artwork approvals, and product launches were invariably delayed. 

Managing over 1,028 artworks was no cakewalk, and the many inefficiencies led to frequent errors in artwork due to multiple reprints. The company spent considerable time and money on the artwork approval stage and experienced a poor right-first-time percentage. The artwork proofing and management process was extremely slow, with a turnaround time of 56 days.  

Considering these challenges, the company opted for a modern artwork management solution to streamline the workflow, reduce the time to complete artwork, and adhere to the regulatory and industry standard guidelines. Adopting ManageArtworks enabled Saxco to: 

• Reduce the artwork termination percentage from 21% to just 8%.

• Reduce the turnaround time for artwork completion from 56 to 31 days. 

• Increase the FTR rate from 75% to 86%.

Ready to Take Your Multi-brand CPG Business to the Next Level?

As CPG companies navigate a dynamic business landscape, investing in a modern artwork management tool can be highly beneficial. Modern artwork management software centralizes all artwork-related tasks into a unified platform. This helps enhance workflow efficiency and reduces reliance on disparate tools, thus enabling teams to ensure accurate designs, high compliance rates, and greater customer satisfaction. 

Learn how ManageArtworks can transform your artwork process and lead your CPG business to continued success! Contact our experts to get started today!