A key advantage of a workflow-based digital asset management (DAM) or asset management system (AMS) is the comprehensive traceability and control over all digital processes and assets. A system like PAS provide companies with full transparency over who did what and when, which helps to increase security, consistency and efficiency.
Seamless Audit Trails
Every action is recorded in the PAS system – from uploads to changes to approvals. These logs (audit trails) provide a complete history of all changes and activities related to an asset. This ensures that every event can be traced and responsibilities are clearly assigned.
The ability to access complete audit trails helps companies comply with legal requirements (e.g. data protection requirements or compliance) because it is always possible to trace who performed which action.
Example: If an asset is used for a marketing campaign and questions later arise about the version or approval, the audit trail can be used to track exactly who uploaded, edited and approved the asset.
Control Over the Approval Process
PAS provides complete control over the approval of assets. Teams can see exactly which assets are in which stage of the approval process and who needs to provide the next approval.
The approval process can be structured to run all assets through predefined review and approval stages. This ensures that only reviewed and approved content is used or published, guaranteeing compliance with brand standards, legal requirements or internal guidelines.
Example: A product image passes through several approval stages – from the design department to the legal department to the marketing department. The structured approval process ensures that the image has received all the necessary approvals before it is published.
Version Control and Recovery
The workflow-based PAS system enables automatic versioning of assets. Each change to an asset is saved as a new version, with previous versions still available. This prevents confusion about which file is the current version and allows teams to revert to earlier versions if needed.
Should errors occur in newer versions of an asset, teams can quickly revert to an earlier version and continue the work process smoothly, without losing data or wasting valuable time.
Example: A graphic designer revised a file several times, but the first version is ultimately considered the best. Thanks to version control, the team can easily revert to this first version without having to start the work over.
Access Control and User Roles
PAS allows companies to set access rights based on the roles of users within the organization. This ensures that only authorized individuals can access or make changes to certain assets. For example, you can specify that only the legal department is allowed to edit or approve certain legal content.
This strict role allocation protects confidential information and ensures that only authorized persons have access to sensitive data. It also reduces the risk of errors caused by unauthorized changes.
Example: An employee of the design team can upload and edit a file, but not send it to producers. Sending it is the responsibility of the head of marketing or legal, who has a higher level of access authorization.
Reports and Analytics
The workflow-based PAS system provides the ability to generate reports on the status of projects, the progress of assets, and the productivity of teams. Companies can easily see which processes are blocked, where delays occur, and how assets are used.
These detailed reports give companies insights into the effectiveness of their workflows, enabling them to optimize them in a targeted manner. They can identify bottlenecks and adjust processes to further increase efficiency.
Example: A company notices from the reports that approvals in the legal department often take longer than planned. This insight enables the workflow to be adjusted to speed up approvals.
Legal Certainty and Compliance
In regulated industries, where companies must comply with strict regulations (e.g. data protection or copyright), PAS provides full transparency regarding the handling of assets. All changes, approvals and access are logged so that companies can prove compliance in the event of an audit.
The controlled and documented process ensures that all published content complies with brand guidelines and that only approved, verified assets are used.
Example: A bank must be able to prove that all marketing materials it uses comply with legal requirements. With PAS, it can seamlessly prove which department has approved which content.
Summary of Traceability and Control
A workflow-based AMS like PAS offers full transparency and control over the entire digital asset lifecycle. From seamless audit trails and version controls to reporting and tightly regulated access controls, organizations have full visibility into all processes and can ensure compliance with all internal and external guidelines. This leads to greater security, better decision-making, and better process optimization.
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