Say hello to Artwork Flow’s latest update to make managing your creative projects much simpler — Flexi Flows!
Flexi Flows is a hyper flexible workflow builder that will help you create a packaging workflow that meets your business’ specific needs. Use our intuitive workflow builder to create your flow, start the project, and save loads of valuable time typically lost during project management.
Why Flexi Flows?
As a Project Manager, you are responsible for managing a team, assigning responsibilities, setting up deadlines, and constantly following up on assigned tasks. Like most of us, you probably follow a structured approach to manage all this information in one place.
This could be via Microsoft Project Planner, a Smartsheet, or even a modern day project management platform like Asana. These solutions would work perfectly if all you had was a list of independent tasks that need to be tracked, communicated about, and followed-up on.
However, most of these solutions don’t provide the flexibility of creating a specific type of flow which would allow you to define dependencies and automate the workflows based on the status of certain tasks or files.
Oftentimes, your internal SOPs require you to monitor certain tasks in parallel. Tasks, whose output would be required to launch even more tasks in series. Tracking this becomes difficult in the absence of a system that lets you create this flow, assign responsibilities, and automate timely follow-ups.
Using Flexi Flows, you can easily define a list of tasks that need to be completed for a project and then use a visual builder to create a flow by connecting these tasks in a logical way. The tasks could be connected in series or parallel to create the exact flow you need to execute the project.
Each of the tasks can also be mapped to a particular set of users along with a due date which means you no longer have to depend on manual follow-ups.
Contrary to traditional project management platforms which only offer To-do tasks, Flexi Flows also allows defining a task type for applications like uploading or reviewing a file. This means that your project could have tasks for a variety of stakeholders including:
- A Designer who is required to upload a label.
- A Brand Manager who is required to review that label.
- An Accountant who is required to generate a Purchase Order (PO).
- An external Manufacturer who is required to print and courier the physical samples.
- …and so much more.
With a tracker that gives you complete visibility into the status and progress of tasks and files alike, managing such complex projects is now seamless. In addition to this, you can also save templates of your projects for future use to avoid duplication of work.
What makes Flexi Flows different?
Currently, we allow users to create a flow which can follow a certain logical path only.
For example, a flow would always have to start with a file upload task and can only be followed by review tasks. The flow can also be cyclic, but would always be centered around an Artwork Upload task.
This rigidity could restrict users from creating any other flow which would require other types of tasks to be in the middle or the end of the flow. It would also restrict users from creating cyclic flows around any task type which is not an artwork upload. This is because the current workflow structure accommodates use cases specific to Label/Artwork Approvals.
However, Flexi Flows will allow users to do much more than just manage their label approvals. The use cases can now further extend to involving your other teams, including logistics, manufacturing, accounting, procurement, and more.
This is because unlike the old workflows, Flexi Flows allows assigning to-do tasks which previously couldn’t be classified as either upload file/review file. These to-do tasks can be used for assigning any responsibilities that you would’ve otherwise tracked offline/outside Artwork Flow
In addition to all this, Flexi Flows also allows users to visualize the flow that they are creating using a workflow builder, the experience for which would be similar to creating any standard flow chart. Tasks can be connected to each other using a logical condition which defines when the next task should be triggered. This can be done in a series or parallel fashion.
Tasks you can now create on the workflow builder:
- File upload
Upload files — including labels or any other file type — which can be accessed by other users in the flow. Common use cases include uploading reference files, an artwork/label, POs or invoices, and more.
- File review
Review files which were uploaded in the flow. Multiple reviewers can review the file and give feedback on what needs to be changed. Furthermore, a cyclic loop can be created to revise the file based on the review decision — which could be an approval or rejection.
- To-do
Assign responsibilities outside of uploading or reviewing files to members. This task also includes activities that might be getting tracked offline, including generating invoices, making payments, courier samples, and more.
Make your workflows flexible today
Log in to your Artwork Flow account today to start creating Flexi Flows that meet your SOPs.
Not an Artwork Flow user yet? See how this platform can make project management, label management and brand asset management easier for you. Talk to us today for a personalized demo!
