In many, if not most enterprises, the inefficient approval process is one of the leading culprits hindering the business’s growth: frequent meetings without any clear agendas, endless phone conversations, siloed feedback spread over different email threads, and so on.
This is where online proofing comes in: you get the convenience and time-saving advantages of communicating and sharing everything online. At the same time, you also get the real-time, immediate interaction of physical proofing. In turn, this will result in more seamless approval processes and faster deliveries, ensuring customer satisfaction and higher-quality products.
What Is Online Proofing
Online proofing or soft proofing is the practice of securely digitizing all aspects of the review and approval process so every interaction related to the approval process can be performed in a single platform.
Online proofing is made possible with the help of online proofing software like Aproove, which makes it easier for management and team members to collaborate and assemble comments in real-time from stakeholders, clients, decision-makers, and team members.
For example, a graphic designer can upload a deliverable to Aproove as the online proofing platform, then gives a link to the client and the managers. Everyone involved in the project can click this link to access Aproove and view the deliverable and can leave feedback/comments in real-time on this single platform.
When performed correctly, the comments and feedback can be monitored in a single platform so that all actions can be tracked. This ensures a more effective and efficient approval process that saves everyone’s time, providing more transparency and accountability for the whole process.
An excellent online proofing system would also automatically notify those involved in the project when a deliverable is ready for review, ensuring a timely approval for every stage of the process.
Benefits of Enterprise Online Proofing
Enterprise online proofing, as discussed, can streamline the whole approval process, improving the efficiency of all workflows while improving transparency and accountability. In turn, enterprise online proofing can offer the following benefits:
1. Eliminating Redundancies In Your Enterprise
By implementing enterprise online proofing, everyone involved in the approval process can easily view each other’s feedback, and every stakeholder will be up-to-date with the whole approval process. In turn, everyone involved can stay up-to-date with the entire approval process and use the available information for a more accurate review process.
For example, when there are three reviewers in a project, and one of them has commented for the designer to change font size, the other two reviewers don’t need to check for this specific font anymore since they can view the other reviewer’s comment. This will result in a more transparent collaboration to eliminate redundancies in the approval process.
2. More Efficient Approval Process
With proper proofing software in place, every stakeholder and reviewer can leave feedback on the online proofing platform directly on the deliverable and use various markup tools to get their point across more efficiently. This can significantly reduce the effort required in each step of the approval process.
3. Easier Onboarding
With online proofing, it’s much easier to onboard new clients or new employees in the approval process. We can send an invite link or create a guest account, so they can access the platform right away to start collaborating in the review process.
In an in-person proofing process, we might need to print another document and send it to a new reviewer’s address before we can start involving this reviewer in the discussion. In short, online proofing is much more scalable.
4. Information Security
Online proofing would provide better security for your information and deliverables.
In email-based proofing, for example, we lose control of the file immediately after it’s sent. The recipient (your client or employee) might forward the file to an unauthorized right party, whether accidentally or deliberately, which might compromise your information’s integrity.
In an online proofing platform like Aproove, we can quickly check who has viewed and shared the file, and we can also implement policies on who can access and share the file when required.
5. Saves Money In The Long Run
With the transparency provided by online proofing, everyone involved in the project is also accountable for doing or not doing their responsibilities. Reviewers, for example, are also accountable when they aren’t reviewing on time, delaying the project.
This, in turn, will improve the overall collaboration process and improve everyone’s productivity to ensure the project stays on time and on budget, eliminating revision costs and increasing profitability.
6. Fewer Revisions
By using markup tools provided by the online proofing software and other real-time communication tools, both the reviewers and creative workers in the enterprise can more effectively communicate their points in each stage of the review process. A reviewer, for example, can easily highlight only certain sections of the file and put comments directly on it. At the same time, a graphic designer can also use the same feature to explain their decisions. In turn, this will result in a fewer number of revisions in the project.
7. A Centralized Source for Everything
With the online proofing software acting as a central hub where all the files and collaterals are being made available, we can eliminate the risks of overlooked feedback, which will decrease the chances of compliance issues. This can result in a higher-quality deliverable that better meets your client’s requirements.
Conclusion
Enterprise online proofing can provide a more efficient and transparent approval process by allowing all stakeholders and team members involved in the project to provide faster and more accurate feedback in real-time, resulting in a better product with a reduced risk for compliance issues. As a result, enterprise online proofing can allow projects to stay within deadlines while saving resources and money.