Why WoodWing
Why WoodWing

How we help

icon-woodwing-enterprise-information-management-eim

Enterprise Information Management

Take charge of your content and information with Enterprise Information Management

icon-woodwing-unlock-your-potential

Unlock your potential

Unlock your potential with WoodWing's innovative solutions

icon-woodwing-content-orchestration

Content Orchestration

Managing content at scale has never been easier or more profitable

Solutions
Solutions

Content Creation

icon-woodwing-content-creation

Content Creation

Collaborate and create high-quality channel-neutral content

icon-woodwing-dam

Digital Asset Management

Manage and distribute digital assets for streamlined content

icon-woodwing-multichannel-publishing

Multichannel Publishing

Maximize reach with seamless multi-channel content publishing


Content Management

icon-logo-woodwing-document-management

Document Management

Centralize and control your documents, ensuring secure access

icon-woodwing-information-management

Information Management

Become more agile, reduce risks and benefit from available data

icon-woodwing-knowledge-management

Knowledge Management

Share knowledge for better collaboration and productivity

icon-woodwing-process-management

Process Management

Document and optimize business processes for greater efficiency

icon-logo-woodwing-quality-management

Quality Management

Ensure consistent and compliant quality standards for your organization


Content Services

icon-woodwing-creative-workflow-services

Creative Workflow Services

Unleash creative potential with tailored support from experts

icon-woodwing-digital-publishing-service

Digital Publishing Services

Enhance digital publishing strategy with expert services

icon-woodwing-integrations

App Integrations

Integrate WoodWing seamlessly into your existing tech stack

icon-woodwing-cloud

WoodWing Cloud

Experience stress-free hosting, software maintenance, and more


FEATURED CONTENT PIECE

Der Spiegel

How one of Germany’s largest news publications increased editorial and production workflow efficiency using WoodWing’s publishing software.

Read this case
Products
Products

Take charge of your content

WoodWing Studio

Streamlined content creation and multichannel publishing solution

Assets Logo (base)

Enterprise-grade digital asset management for streamlined workflows

WoodWing Swivle

Cloud-based DAM for seamless file management and collaboration

WoodWing Scienta

Simplified quality and process management for regulated industries

WoodWing Xtendis

Secure digital archiving and document management system

Connect Logo (base)

Powerful integration suite for seamless connectivity and automation

WoodWing Smart Styles

Efficient plugin for enhanced Adobe InDesign design workflows

Industries
Industries

We know your challenges

icon-woodwing-agencies

Agencies

Optimized workflow, improved collaboration, and brand consistency

icon-woodwing-finance

Finance

Modern document and quality management helps you manage risks and improve processes

icon-woodwing-franchise

Franchise

Ensure unity with document, quality, and knowledge management

icon-woodwing-healthcare

Healthcare

Always access the latest version of each process, protocol, guideline, or agreement

icon-logo-woodwing-housing-corporations

Housing Corporations

Document management from context, always up-to-date, complete and accurate documents

icon-woodwing-manufacturing

Manufacturing

Consistent branding, accelerated launches, and integrated content management

icon-woodwing-publishing

Publishing

Efficient content creation, collaboration, and multichannel publishing

icon-woodwing-retail-ecommerce

Retail & eCommerce

Streamlined catalog and marketing content production for faster time-to-market

icon-woodwing-transport-logistic

Trade & Logistics

Increase efficiency with process, document, and quality management


Featured content piece

Bavaria

How Bavaria significantly improved its global brand management.

Read this case
Inspiration
Inspiration

Learning centre

icon-woodwing-success-stories

Success Stories

Read success stories from trusted organizations that rely on WoodWing's solutions

icon-woodwing-ebooks-whitepapers

eBooks & Whitepapers

Dive into in-depth knowledge with our comprehensive digital publications

icon-logo-woodwing-videos

Videos

Lean back and enjoy one of our educational videos

icon-woodwing-events-and-webinars

Events & Webinars

Meet us in person or virtually at one of our events or webinars


Latest articles

'Zero Defects' Manufacturing: how the manufacturing industry aims for perfection

'Zero Defects' Manufacturing: how the manufacturing industry aims for perfection

What is document management? And why is it so important?

What is document management? And why is it so important?

Enhance team collaboration with WoodWing Studio Cloud's Commenting feature

Enhance team collaboration with WoodWing Studio Cloud's Commenting feature

View all blog articles

Featured content piece

Medium Rare

How Content Agency Medium Rare delivers better client experiences and outcomes with WoodWing.

Read this case
Company
Company

About us

icon-woodwing-about-woodwing

About WoodWing

Discover our company's vision, mission, and innovative solutions

icon-woodwing-management-team

Management Team

Meet the leaders driving WoodWing's success and growth

icon-woodwing-contact

Contact

Reach out to us for inquiries, support, and collaboration


Jobs & Press

icon-woodwing-job-opportunities

Job opportunities

Explore exciting career opportunities and join our team

icon-woodwing-press-release

Press releases

Stay updated with our latest company news and announcements


Partners

icon-woodwing-partners

Partners

Explore our partners for local support and expanded capabilities

icon-woodwing-become-a-partner

Become a partner

Join our global partner network and grow with us


Want to work for us?

Developer

Would you like to further develop your development skills? As our developer you will learn all about new techniques and innovations.

Join our team
English
Select language
Support Support Support Contact sales Contact sales Contact sales Login Login Login
Login

Choose a product

icon-woodwing-login-scienta

WoodWing Scienta

icon-woodwing-login-swivle

WoodWing Swivle


Contact us
Search Support Support Support Contact sales Contact sales Contact sales Login Login Login

Choose a product

icon-woodwing-login-scienta

WoodWing Scienta

icon-woodwing-login-swivle

WoodWing Swivle

English English

Nederlands

Why WoodWing

How we help

icon-woodwing-enterprise-information-management-eim

Enterprise Information Management

Take charge of your content and information with Enterprise Information Management

icon-woodwing-unlock-your-potential

Unlock your potential

Unlock your potential with WoodWing's innovative solutions

icon-woodwing-content-orchestration

Content Orchestration

Managing content at scale has never been easier or more profitable

Solutions

Content Creation

icon-woodwing-content-creation

Content Creation

Collaborate and create high-quality channel-neutral content

icon-woodwing-dam

Digital Asset Management

Manage and distribute digital assets for streamlined content

icon-woodwing-multichannel-publishing

Multichannel Publishing

Maximize reach with seamless multi-channel content publishing


Content Management

icon-logo-woodwing-document-management

Document Management

Centralize and control your documents, ensuring secure access

icon-woodwing-information-management

Information Management

Become more agile, reduce risks and benefit from available data

icon-woodwing-knowledge-management

Knowledge Management

Share knowledge for better collaboration and productivity

icon-woodwing-process-management

Process Management

Document and optimize business processes for greater efficiency

icon-logo-woodwing-quality-management

Quality Management

Ensure consistent and compliant quality standards for your organization


Content Services

icon-woodwing-creative-workflow-services

Creative Workflow Services

Unleash creative potential with tailored support from experts

icon-woodwing-digital-publishing-service

Digital Publishing Services

Enhance digital publishing strategy with expert services

icon-woodwing-integrations

App Integrations

Integrate WoodWing seamlessly into your existing tech stack

icon-woodwing-cloud

WoodWing Cloud

Experience stress-free hosting, software maintenance, and more


FEATURED CONTENT PIECE

Der Spiegel

How one of Germany’s largest news publications increased editorial and production workflow efficiency using WoodWing’s publishing software.

Read this case
Products

Take charge of your content

WoodWing Studio

Streamlined content creation and multichannel publishing solution

WoodWing Studio

Collaborative content creation and multichannel publishing solution that simplifies workflows and streamlines production processes.

Assets Logo (base)

Enterprise-grade digital asset management for streamlined workflows

WoodWing Assets

Enterprise-grade digital asset management solution that streamlines your creative workflow and simplifies collaboration among team members.

WoodWing Swivle

Cloud-based DAM for seamless file management and collaboration

WoodWing Swivle

Cloud-based DAM solution for managing, sharing, and collaborating on digital files from anywhere and on any device.

WoodWing Scienta

Simplified quality and process management for regulated industries

WoodWing Scienta

Quality management platform for regulated industries that simplifies compliance, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.

WoodWing Xtendis

Secure digital archiving and document management system

WoodWing Xtendis

Digital archiving and document management system that allows organizations to store, manage, and access their digital assets securely.

Connect Logo (base)

Powerful integration suite for seamless connectivity and automation

WoodWing Connect

Powerful integration suite, including APIs, webhooks, plugins, and the best-in-class iPaaS solution (powered by Workato).

WoodWing Smart Styles

Efficient plugin for enhanced Adobe InDesign design workflows

WoodWing Smart Styles

Plugin for Adobe InDesign that streamlines design workflows by allowing designers to apply predefined styles quickly.

Industries

We know your challenges

icon-woodwing-agencies

Agencies

Optimized workflow, improved collaboration, and brand consistency

icon-woodwing-finance

Finance

Modern document and quality management helps you manage risks and improve processes

icon-woodwing-franchise

Franchise

Ensure unity with document, quality, and knowledge management

icon-woodwing-healthcare

Healthcare

Always access the latest version of each process, protocol, guideline, or agreement

icon-logo-woodwing-housing-corporations

Housing Corporations

Document management from context, always up-to-date, complete and accurate documents

icon-woodwing-manufacturing

Manufacturing

Consistent branding, accelerated launches, and integrated content management

icon-woodwing-publishing

Publishing

Efficient content creation, collaboration, and multichannel publishing

icon-woodwing-retail-ecommerce

Retail & eCommerce

Streamlined catalog and marketing content production for faster time-to-market

icon-woodwing-transport-logistic

Trade & Logistics

Increase efficiency with process, document, and quality management

Featured content piece

Bavaria

How Bavaria significantly improved its global brand management.

Read this case
Inspiration

Learning centre

icon-woodwing-success-stories

Success Stories

Read success stories from trusted organizations that rely on WoodWing's solutions

icon-woodwing-ebooks-whitepapers

eBooks & Whitepapers

Dive into in-depth knowledge with our comprehensive digital publications

icon-logo-woodwing-videos

Videos

Lean back and enjoy one of our educational videos

icon-woodwing-events-and-webinars

Events & Webinars

Meet us in person or virtually at one of our events or webinars


Latest articles

'Zero Defects' Manufacturing: how the manufacturing industry aims for perfection

'Zero Defects' Manufacturing: how the manufacturing industry aims for perfection

What is document management? And why is it so important?

What is document management? And why is it so important?

Enhance team collaboration with WoodWing Studio Cloud's Commenting feature

Enhance team collaboration with WoodWing Studio Cloud's Commenting feature

View all blog articles

Featured content piece

Medium Rare

How Content Agency Medium Rare delivers better client experiences and outcomes with WoodWing.

Read this case
Company

About us

icon-woodwing-about-woodwing

About WoodWing

Discover our company's vision, mission, and innovative solutions

icon-woodwing-management-team

Management Team

Meet the leaders driving WoodWing's success and growth

icon-woodwing-contact

Contact

Reach out to us for inquiries, support, and collaboration


Jobs & Press

icon-woodwing-job-opportunities

Job opportunities

Explore exciting career opportunities and join our team

icon-woodwing-press-release

Press releases

Stay updated with our latest company news and announcements


Partners

icon-woodwing-partners

Partners

Explore our partners for local support and expanded capabilities

icon-woodwing-become-a-partner

Become a partner

Join our global partner network and grow with us


Want to work for us?

Developer

Would you like to further develop your development skills? As our developer you will learn all about new techniques and innovations.

Join our team
Contact us
Home Inspiration Blog | WoodWing

Business

Magazine Publishing

Newspaper Publishing

7 minutes of reading

Digital transformation in retail content creation

Customers demand a seamless experience in-store, online, and in-app. How can marketing and e-commerce teams keep up? Check out these retailers mastering their content creation.

Shape

Retail content needs to get to market fast, across multiple channels and different regions. But with products, information, and availability subject to rapid change, it’s hard to keep up.

Forward-thinking brands in the retail industry are tackling this problem head-on. They’re looking to technology and automation to take the strain - instead of throwing more cash, staff, and agencies at a broken system.

Here are three real-world examples of retailers flipping the script on content creation and realizing major productivity gains through digital transformation.

In this article:

 

What’s the problem in retail content creation?

The omnichannel retail landscape includes e-commerce sites, apps, customer communication, in-store promotion, and more. And many retailers are struggling to meet the content creation needs of these platforms.

  • Optimizing content for multiple platforms and technical specifications
  • Managing numerous editorial and production workflows
  • Keeping changing product specifications, imagery, and offers up to date
  • Receiving and distributing promotional content with third parties
  • Balancing digital retail needs with in-store collateral

This can lead to brands failing to realize the full potential of their channels and missing opportunities to be visible where their customers are.

blog-body-content-creation-img1

 

How digital transformation helps retail content creators

Digital transformation is essential if retailers want to overcome challenges in their content creation and optimize their processes for omnichannel customer engagement.

Fortunately, technology has kept pace with these challenges. Numerous software solutions exist to make content creation faster and easier to manage. And, in doing so, unlocking team capacity, streamlining workflows, and creating modern digital-first processes.

 

Transformative tech for retail content creators

personalization platforms

Customer engagement platforms let marketers scale personalized communication with customers across every touchpoint. They ingest/use data to build highly focused target audiences, allowing marketers to orchestrate hyper-relevant content delivery across web, email, messaging, in-app and more.

Digital Asset Management systems

A DAM provides a centralized place to access assets - like images, video, and artwork - so it is readily available to everyone involved in content creation. Integrated with other software, it removes friction and frustrations from the production process, increasing productivity and profitability. DAM can be combined with PIM - and used ‘headless’ to power e-commerce marketing at scale.

Editorial workflow systems

These take the pain out of collaborating on content by providing a single system where internal and external contributors can work together. Content progresses through an automated workflow, tagging in contributors when they’re needed. Users can create, amend, and sign-off content in real-time.

Multichannel publishing solutions

A multichannel publishing solution allows for channel-neutral content creation. Creators prepare content without being restricted by specific channel requirements. Content is then automatically optimized for publication and distribution across multiple print and digital channels, using templates and automatic file versioning.

Content orchestration

Content orchestration is an approach to content creation rather than an individual solution. It integrates various software to create a seamless end-to-end workflow for creating and disseminating content. This might include a DAM for easy access to assets, an editorial workflow tool for collaboration, and plug-ins to publishing software like CMS.

 

Three examples of digital transformation in retail content management

WoodWing has over 20 years of experience helping brands digitally transform their content creation processes - as well as their productivity and profitability. Here are examples of how three of WoodWing’s global retail customers have de-siloed, streamlined, and automated their way to content nirvana.

Creating digital-first workflows

How UK fashion brand Next redesigned their workflows from the ground up

One common problem in retail content management is unfit-for-purpose processes. Processes that have evolved and are just ‘good enough’ to get the job done. For many longer-standing brands, their content production has evolved from print-centric workflows to accommodate new digital needs too. This can seriously hamper productivity compared to digital-first e-retail brands that have built fit-for-purpose processes from the ground up.

That was certainly the case with one WoodWing customer, Next. Next is one of the most recognized names on the high street in the UK. Starting with physical stores in the 80s, the business went on to dominate the mail-order catalog market, before becoming the country’s largest online clothes retailer.

They struggled with historically print-centric workflows that weren’t suitable for e-retail marketing needs, plus undocumented processes that had grown organically rather than strategically.

They needed new processes and technology to allow the business to rapidly grow content creation, without an increase in resources. They wanted to transform their creative workflow into a digital-first approach, that was agile, scalable, and delivered faster time-to-market.

The retailer introduced a DAM system to become ‘the content factory for all channels and outputs’. Using WoodWing Assets, the creative operations team:

  • Redesigned workflows from the ground up
  • Increased automation and semi-automated workflows
  • Eliminated manual handling of imagery, video, and artwork
  • Streamlined creative workflows through best-in-class Adobe CS integrations
  • Harmonized systems across all creative departments, reducing friction

blog-body-content-creation-woodwing-assets-handbag

Automating e-commerce marketing images

How Finland’s S-Group effortlessly handle 45 million e-commerce image requests daily

Retailers with e-commerce sites and apps often need to handle 100,000s - even millions - of digital assets to populate their website and app.

Manual image handling and quality controls can be a huge time sink, requiring product managers to check supplier-uploaded images and cross-reference them to product data. Issues such as wrong file type or resolution can cause delays to images going online - or, if not addressed, slower page load speeds - which can decrease customer engagement and conversion.

Implementing a DAM and syncing it with other retail software allows retailers to receive, optimize and deploy images from suppliers using automated processes. Images are automatically synced with product information from the PIM, eradicating the need for cross-referencing. And files can be automatically rendered to the correct file type, resolution or crop, to deliver an optimal customer experience.

Finnish retailer S-Group has over 3 million customers, 1,800 outlets and a large e-commerce presence. They deployed DAM - combined with PIM and a custom Content Delivery Network - to process 45 million image requests every day.

Dutch online-only grocery brand, Picnic, has also slashed the time it takes to get product images online. They have integrated DAM with PIM and Adobe Creative Suite to create a series of semi-automated processes. This includes ingesting new photoshoots, editing images, attaching metadata, and optimizing images for load speed. In doing so, they reduced their image processing from 5 to 6 days of manual handling to just hours.

Managing millions of e-commerce marketing images with ease.

Read more about S-Group’s e-commerce content management solution.

blog-body-content-creation-woodwing-assets-s-group

Slashing catalog production time and cost

How Holland’s Hoogvliet cut catalog production time by 50%

Think omnichannel and we often imagine e-retail platforms first. But omnichannel also includes shopping in-store. And many in the retail industry - particularly in the supermarket and grocery sector - still rely heavily on printed materials to drive footfall and increase in-store sales.

Retail giants selling everyday essentials often produce POS and in-store collateral, as well as numerous catalogs localized to specific geographies. Given the fast-moving nature of consumer packaged goods, managing product information and content processes is a challenge. Especially when print is just one part of an omnichannel marketing strategy, which may also include e-commerce, app and social media.

Many retailers have mastered this problem by introducing DAM and integrating it with their Product Information Management (PIM) system and publishing software.

The integration of DAM and PIM allows product information and digital assets to be synced, meaning product images and information are always correct. When used alongside catalog automation software or Adobe InDesign, assets and information can be automatically pulled into templates, delivering considerable time and cost in the design process.

Hoogvliet is one of the top ten supermarket chains in Holland, boasting 71 stores, an e-commerce site and mobile app. Struggling to manage the content for these channels, they called in workflow consultants Qonqord for help to optimize and redesign their processes.

Qonqord immediately spotted Hoogvliet was hampered by manual processes for catalog production.

  • Manual data input
  • Fully outsourced layout and design
  • Poor asset management
  • Asynchronous approval processes via email and PDF

Supported by Qonqord, Hoogvliet integrated a number of publishing software solutions to create a seamless end-to-end workflow. These included:

  • WoodWing Assets for asset management integrated with PIM for product data
  • EasyCatalog and Adobe InDesign for automated catalog design creation
  • WoodWing Studio for real-time approval, amend and sign-off processes

They’re now able to create a master data source that contains product and promotion information, push a button and automatically populate an InDesign catalog template.

The process pulls in product images from WoodWing Assets as their single-source-of-truth for product imagery and creates proof that all collaborators can view and feedback on within WoodWing Studio. If product details change, Hoogvliet can amend the master data source and the catalog artwork is automatically updated with the changes. Once agreed, the artwork is shared with their design agency, who finalizes the design.

Qonqord estimates that this has cut catalog production times by 40-50%, whilst bringing the initial production stages in-house has reduced outsourcing and agency costs.

It isn’t just Hoogvliet enjoying faster content workflows with WoodWing.

Discover the benefits DAM unlocked for Argentinian supermarket giant La Anonima and Australian wellbeing retailer Wizard Pharmacy.

blog-body-content-creation-woodwing-assets-hoogvliet

Final word: scale your content, not your inefficiencies

In the retail industry, marketing content is commercially critical. But incremental changes to software and staffing can create systematic inefficiencies. These lead to lower productivity, slower time to market and more manual work than necessary. Scale these processes and you’re scaling up problems.

If you’re an ambitious retail brand looking for more effective workflows - or a solid foundation to scale your content creation efficiently - follow the lead of the savvy brands above. Investigate and invest in content orchestration for retail and eTail.

Time to unlock greater efficiency and productivity in your retail content creation? Contact us to create together the best solution for you.

Shape

Published on February 18, 2022

WoodWing

Back to the overview

Faster go-to-market for Retail with Content Orchestration

As a retail marketer, you know you need to be where your customers are - whether that’s the high street, online, in-app, or on socials. But how do you keep up with the content demand for so many channels - and keep it consistent, accurate, and on-brand?

Get your copy

23 pages of quality content

Placeholder