Argos

Selecting a digital asset management solution fundamental to digital transformation

Argos began its transformation by scrutinizing all existing systems and infrastructure to determine its suitability for future plans. The existing digital asset repository was labor intensive, highly repetitive in capturing and managing assets and focused on the traditional printed catalog. It was clear that a new agile and flexible DAM solution was needed to support the planned growth in the number of product lines and the ongoing transition to multiple digital channels.

Argos initiated a tendering process to evaluate several DAM solutions. Andrea Millers, digital asset manager at Argos explains further, “Our selection criteria included the ability to handle massive volumes of video, still images, artwork and more, plus many hundreds of thousands of assets. For our digital transformation strategy to be effective, we needed a single master asset from which to automatically generate other renditions depending on the channel, e.g., web, print, mobile, etc. Forrester and Gartner place OpenText as the clear leader in DAM. After evaluating a number of solutions, we selected OpenText Media Management as the best DAM solution overall, and by some distance.”

The DAM solution was just one of two new solutions supporting the Argos digital strategy, the other being its product information management (PIM) system. The two must work seamlessly together, sharing and synchronizing data frequently, for the project to be successful.

Core elements of Argos’ plans included automating processes wherever possible to improve efficiency and keep costs down. To compete in the market, being able to quickly add or amend products is critical. The number of products is growing from around 50,000 to more than 100,000, each with an average of six or seven assets. Governance and security of digital assets is also key, as is building a platform for the long term to open future roadmap possibilities. Argos decided that Media Management meets these requirements.

Collaboration helps build a solution that meets business needs

Following the solution selection, a project team came together to begin detailed design workshops and to document the scope of the solution. Representatives from a number of departments participated to ensure the design met all of their needs.

“We involved all stakeholders from the outset, including our IS team, architecture, catalog, marketing and product information teams. We worked with OpenText to develop and document our initial design, and create test scripts too,” adds Millers.

The scope of the project covered both the out-of-the-box functionality of OpenText and any necessary bespoke configuration to meet a variety of needs including task automation, repro order creation, order sequence swapping and reporting.

“For the first time, Argos controls its own digital library and is no longer reliant on external providers. However, we also wanted our suppliers to be able to submit assets to the library, reducing the time and cost of adding external assets,” says Millers.

Nearly 300,000 digital assets were migrated from the old system, reviewed and validated and made available for multichannel use. New assets are added daily including video, instruction manuals, cut-out images, 360-degree scene sets, “how to” guides and much more.

Single master asset drives consistency and saves time

Among the many problems with the old solution was the proliferation of different asset versions. Not only was the system designed with a main focus on the traditional catalog, the naming conventions, manual processing and repetitive tasks were increasingly labor intensive.

“With the new OpenText DAM, we have a single master asset, from which all others, for example, mobile, web, print, etc., are derived. They are consistently named, allow us to include additional metadata to help our PIM solution function better and also allow future search engine optimization (SEO) development,” adds Millers.

With more than 1,000 suppliers now able to upload assets directly into OpenText for review and approval, between 300 and 400 assets a day are consistently added this way, named and made available quickly to more than 250 internal users and external service providers.

“Managing video assets alongside all our other assets is a great improvement for us, saving time and driving consistency. Regardless of the format in which we receive the video asset, OpenText consistently renders a standard MP4 file that we know will work regardless of the channel,” explains Millers.

Minimizing manual tasks through automation

In the first few months following launch, system users began to appreciate the benefits of automation. Removing mundane and repetitive tasks has been well received. Media Management integrates with Adobe® Scene7® to provide all the final renditions in the proper formats for asset delivery to the customer’s chosen channel and device.

“When a new asset is approved in the DAM, following a number of preflight checks, the asset is ready for delivery, saving time, removing manual steps and reducing the chance of errors,” says Millers.

Assets now have optional text associated with them, in addition to standard product descriptions managed by the PIM. For example, an image or video may include a second product to illustrate the first product in use. The DAM solution ensures that text can be easily added (for example, “XYZ not included”) to make sure customers understand exactly what they will receive. OpenText enables Argos to overcome this frustrating shortcoming of the old system.

Solid platform for growth, emerging channels and competitive edge

Now that the new solution is in use, Argos is experiencing the benefits and suggestions, and ideas to expand the usage are coming forward. One suggestion is to provide suppliers with the ability to manage their own asset metadata and not just upload new assets. Argos for Business is now looking at how it might use the solution too.

“As OpenText continues to invest and develop the solution even further to support our digital transformation, we’re continuously looking at how we can maximize the benefit to Argos. Together with OpenText, we have an effective and long-lasting partnership, which will see our digital transformation vision become a reality, providing customers with more choice, available faster,” says Millers. “Indications are that the solution will provide a full return within two to three years.”