New version of Esko WebCenter

Packaging Solutions

Esko has announced a major new release of its packaging management solution, WebCenter. WebCenter 18 streamlines and speeds up the packaging development workflow by delivering extra features that give brand owners and converters more control and visibility over their packaging preproduction specification, approval and project life cycle.

When CMO Council asked packaging professionals how long it takes to make a packaging change, they reported that it takes an average of around 198 days. Marketing leaders think it takes 90 days or less, but consumers don’t understand why packaging changes and other physical media can’t be made in one day.

WebCenter 18 now helps its users to get much closer to that one day ideal.

Esko's WebCenter helps brand owners manage packaging pre-production specifications and project life cycles, enabling them to engage with the consumer by giving them more control and visibility over the entire packaging design project. The review and approval process with WebCenter has been improved, enabling more visibility into project status and reviewer input. With WebCenter 18, brand owners now understand the root causes of any bottlenecks, as it now captures the reasons for rejection and the number of approval iterations, allowing for on-going process improvement. It can also automatically involve the right stakeholder after a rejection, speeding up the revision process.

What is more, reviewers can now review the product exactly as it would be on the shelf. This improves the accuracy of the review feedback and so further reduces approval times and number of iterations. The 3D packaging models can then also be used to clearly communicate internally, but also to populate and market with retailers and consumers online.

WebCenter18.0 content management now includes built-in and custom templates, so users efficiently comply with regulations such as nutrition fact tables and over the counter drug facts. The Graphic Content Management functionality allows brand owners to centralise artwork data, and to merge it into templates, including the logging of symbols, logos and barcodes, as well as packaging copy and graphics. These elements must be perfect for branding and regulatory compliance, and this process completely removes manual processes that lead to mistakes. Translations within and outside of the system can be managed systematically as well.

The new WebCenter gives converters an edge by including exactly those new features that give them valuable insights into their processes. Capturing data around the number of approval iterations and the reasons for rejections are only two examples of how WebCenter 18 uncovers bottlenecks and root causes of delays in the process. These insights provide a basis for continuous improvement of the processes to further speed up turnaround times.

WebCenter 18 also comes with a social media like instant messaging function, which can be utilised inside the context of a specific project. All communication is therefore stored inside the project for full traceability and transparency. This further streamlines communication between stakeholders and results in a greater reduction of errors and increased efficiency.