What does the phrase “Enterprise DAM” mean to you? If you think it just means each department having its own separate digital asset management tool, then you may be missing the big picture. There are images being used all over the company as part of different processes, but often they exist in functional silos. Yet connecting these with your product content and managing them through a true enterprise-wide common digital asset management platform can bring real dividends in both increased efficiencies as well as improved employee and customer experiences.
We need to stop thinking about images as completed isolated assets created for a singular purpose and start to think in terms of an enterprise digital content supply chain.
Digital Asset Management can no-longer just be about automating the existing media processes, it should be the catalyst for connecting the media content and data across the enterprise so it flows from idea, to design, creation, marketing, sales and all the way to delivering consistent, engaging omnichannel customer experiences.
Connecting Product Data and Content
Taking an approach of connecting product data and content across the digital supply chain is key to a digital transformation strategy. The idea is to pull the data from systems that are not currently integrated and associate that data with the core media content. This strategy positions the digital asset management process as the connective tissue that enables information to flow across the digital media supply chain.
Developing an efficient digital supply chain, therefore, results in an increase in the value of your digital assets, and positions media management as a key business function.
At Nuxeo, we have identified several touchpoints during the product life cycle where digital assets can drive the most value when the assets are connected with business-driven data. Even if a company is focused on solving issues in one (or more) specific area it needs to be viewed as a part of an overall flow that impacts the efficiency of the product lifecycle from idea to market and support. In other words, no matter the functional area under consideration, it should be viewed as one component of the overall supply chain that is impacted by what happens before it and can impact what happens after it. Assets that are considered as part of the digital supply chain and should be accessible to those that need them irrespective of which step of the process they are acting in.
Any rapidly evolving market requires brands to move new ideas and product updates to market quickly and efficiently by connecting cross-functional teams with the right data and assets from development to launch. One proven way to connect across the functional boundaries: use a common language among the various stakeholders to direct product development in a way that best achieves a brand’s goals. Creative media assets aligned with business systems provide the foundation for that common frame of reference.
Media assets were once thought to fit entirely within the purview of marketing operations, but in successful companies that is no longer the case. The most nimble and fast-growing brands understand that media assets impact not just marketing, but the full idea-to-shelf lifecycle, from product design to customer experience. In some instances, we have seen digital assets used in twenty or more different touchpoints around an enterprise.
Some of the examples of the benefits of media content and business data working together in a well-thought-out digital supply chain that we have have seen and heard about over include:
- Acceleration in the application of 3D designs and digital supply chains that eliminates the need to move samples and other physical objects from location to location.
- Growth in the use of tools like Digital Asset Management and Content Management platforms has become almost exponential as they spread across the enterprise.
- Use of existing back-catalog media to maintain marketing programs and provide a trigger for new campaigns and product messaging
- Accelerated and simplified workflow approvals across the product life-cycle
- Use of machine-learning and entity extraction to automate repetitive data entry tasks freeing up designers, marketers etc to be more creative.
When correctly configured, an enterprise DAM platform can be more than just a tool used by the marketing department. It can supply the connective tissue that unifies the digital supply chain across the whole company.
Alan will be speaking Henry Stewart’s DAM Fest Europe event on 4 November 2021. Register here: https://www.henrystewartconferences.com/events/dam-fest-europe-2021