Version 7 also offers an added measure of convenience when working with templates. Now automated routines can extract frequently reused content such as corporate design elements or even the structure of entire articles out of the template and embed this content in the workflow.
Decisions have to be made at key junctures in publishing workflows, for example, to grant approvals at short notice or make minor corrections. In many enterprises, says vjoon, such decisions are often made by people who otherwise rarely work with the publishing system. K4 Approval Manager and K4 Web Editor ICML Advanced were developed specifically to expedite this process. These modules enable executives, marketing directors, purchasers and the like to review layouts and content to determine if they meet specifications and their expectations. They can make their verdict known in a flash – a simple mouse-click is all it takes to give their go or no-go. According to vjoon, this makes it so much easier to coordinate with agencies and service providers and handle content across departmental and company lines. It accelerates approvals and gets feedback that much faster, thereby saving time and cutting costs.
K4 Approval Manager enables designated decision-makers to approve individual layouts and even entire layout sequences using an intuitive, browser-based interface. K4 Web Editor ICML Advanced adds another layer of simplified approval management on top of K4 Approval Manager. This separate and independent entity was designed specifically for approving individual text objects and images. However, the two modules interact. For example, a product manager can update prices and edit descriptions in K4 Web Editor ICML Advanced and then request approval from the given line manager, who then receives an email with a clickable URL that automatically opens this layout in the browser-based K4 Approval Manager. The line manager can view the entire layout at a glance and make the decision without further ado, say the company.
“Marketing and product managers often have to make quick decisions to determine if their promotional and marketing materials comply with specifications and contain the right product information, pictures or prices,” says vjoon GmbH CEO Andreas Schrader. “With the new approval management in vjoon K4, they can get the picture at a moment’s notice and make that decision with a single click.”
