Streamlining the content creation process of Experience Manager Sites — unleashing efficiency with Adobe Workfront

Why content supply chain deserves your attention

In today’s fast-changing digital world, enterprises’ needs for content are increasing at an exponential pace — and that need is not going away. Companies must keep up with new technologies and reach consumers through different channels and devices.

However, creatives and marketers struggle to keep up. Teams and workflows are fragmented and siloed, making it difficult to scale effort. Additionally, budgets and resources are flat, even though greater demands are being placed on them.

• Pace of content is relentless. A Genero survey found that 40% of respondents say that the cost of content production has increased, and 76% of budgets haven’t been adjusted.
• Disconnected systems create hidden work. Manual ad hoc work tracking results in slower time to market and higher churn.
• Approval bottlenecks delay projects. 37% of marketers say approvals set back their projects three to four days on average.

Content supply chain is the end-to-end process enterprises use to plan, create, manage, and deploy content. Every company has one, although they may not use this exact terminology and it is an enterprise-level business challenge.

Boost operational efficiency with these strategies to drive organizational success

To optimize the end-to-end content supply chain and increase operational efficiency, organizations need to take the following steps:

1. Establish a centralized content repository. A centralized content repository enables organizations to store and manage all their content and assets in one place, making it easier to locate, update, and reuse content. This can increase operational efficiency by reducing the time and effort required to create content from scratch.
2. Implement content automation. Content automation involves using software tools to automate the creation, management, and delivery of content. This can help organizations streamline their content supply chain and increase operational efficiency by reducing the time and effort required to create and deliver content.
3. Adopt a collaborative workflow. A collaborative workflow involves bringing together content creators, editors, reviewers, and other stakeholders to work together on creating and delivering content. This can help organizations streamline their content supply chain and increase operational efficiency by reducing the time and effort required to create and review content.
4. Integrate technology platforms. Integrating different technology platforms, such as content management systems, digital asset management systems, and customer relationship management systems, can help organizations streamline their content supply chain and increase operational efficiency by improving data flow and reducing manual tasks.
5. Monitor and analyze content performance. Monitoring and analysing content performance enables organizations to identify areas for improvement and optimize their content supply chain. This can increase operational efficiency by ensuring that content is meeting customer needs and driving business outcomes.

Overall, enabling an organization to optimize the end-to-end content supply chain and increase operational efficiency requires a combination of technology, process, and people-related initiatives. By adopting these steps, organizations can improve their content supply chain and drive better business outcomes.

These steps can be implemented iteratively, and the rest of the article will focus on a use case covering steps 3 and 4 from the above list. We will show an example of how our solutions Adobe Workfront and Adobe Experience Manager Sites enable significant efficiencies in the content creation, approval, and publication workflow.

Unlocking potential — a compelling use case for Experience Manager-Workfront integration

A financial services institution was using workflow processes from two different streams to create and update pages on their retail website, covering the entire end-to-end campaign process for all channels (web, mobile, email).

To achieve this, they were using Adobe’s comprehensive content management application, Experience Manager, and an enterprise work management solution to prioritize, assign, and complete projects at speed, Workfront.

Content practitioners had to connect to these two separate systems (Experience Manager and Workfront) to perform their work and time was wasted on duplicate tasks.

Prior to implementing our integration, the process was disjointed, with individuals working independently and communication via external systems like email or chat during crucial stages of the approval workflow, resulting in delays and possible human errors.

Reaping the benefits — how our integration transforms businesses

Upon implementing the integration between Workfront and Experience Manager (highlighted by the green arrows in the below diagram), we have observed substantial benefits:

• Increased accuracy. Avoid human error where the wrong Workfront project might be completed or the right one might be closed too soon (for example, if it relates to several pages but only one was approved in Experience Manager).
• Enhanced velocity and reduced operational cost:
  • Instead of requiring the user to manually update the disjointed systems depending on the workflow approvals, these tasks are now automated.
  • The time required to fix errors is reduced.
  • Information can be found swiftly in Workfront as the link to the project is directly stored on the Experience Manager page version history.
• Simplified process. Experience Manager users won’t need to connect to Workfront, allowing them to work in the system they are most familiar with and rationalize license costs.
• Real-time traceability and audit conformance. System users and auditors can easily find a record of who approved a page, when, and why.

Overall, according to our estimates, the improved process below enables a reduction of the time spent ensuring the right data is updated between the systems by up to 70%.

Key takeaways — insights for maximizing operational efficiency

Optimizing the content supply chain can deliver huge efficiency gains, increased ROI, and revenue growth across all aspects of businesses. With this process we can:

• Better manage multiple work streams and automate and streamline internal operations and processes.
  • Workfront project managers and Experience Manager content approvers won’t need to send emails or instant messages through third-party systems to coordinate key activities.
  • Each user will continue to work in the system that they know best while benefiting from the other system’s information.
  • Auditors will be able to easily track information about the creation and publication workflow of a page.
• Improve go-to-market speed by using templates, workflow management, and approvals:
  • Workflows are progressed faster through automation, and the outcome is a quicker turnaround from creative idea to live page.
  • There is a significant reduction in human error (along with the time required to identify and resolve it).
  • There is better visibility of ongoing planned activities, and increased convenience of retrieving the status in both Experience Manager and Workfront.

Further to the existing out-of-the-box connectors, our solutions can also communicate seamlessly through APIs. This expands the range of possibilities and allows for customizing the workflow according to specific business requirements. It opens a world of opportunities for tailoring the workflow to meet the unique needs of the business.

Next steps — streamline your operations with Adobe

Through our robust solutions and integrations, Adobe is uniquely positioned to help throughout the entire content supply chain. If you require help to optimize your content supply chain, reach out to Adobe Professional Services.

Neha Bhagchandani also contributed to this article.

Irina is a highly skilled technical architect who has been with Adobe since 2015. She is a trusted advisor for customers, using her expertise to design customer-tailored solutions and lead agile teams that create exceptional user experiences aligned with strategic business objectives.

With over 11 years of consulting experience, Neha is dedicated to revolutionizing customer experiences. Her unwavering passion lies in assisting clients in transforming their approach to customer service, allowing them to envision new and innovative ways to cater to their customers’ needs.