How Skeleton Key Helped a Creative Team Maximize Productivity
At Skeleton Key, we help organizations overcome operational inefficiencies by leveraging the power of the Claris FileMaker platform. If you’re looking to gain a clearer understanding of how we accomplish this goal, these are the problems we solved for the Creative Department at Bass Pro Shops.
The Creative Department at Bass Pro Shops
The Creative Department at Bass Pro Shops designs and curates all online content for the brand. In-house designers use vendor samples to develop product images while writers create copy, including product descriptions and web posts, for the site. The department also oversees supplemental tasks like proofing content and shipping notifications before they go live. As a result, the creative team at Bass Pro Shops handles substantial amounts of information on any given day, and the amount of data they manage only increases over time.
The Problem
The Creative Department had been using spreadsheets shared on a network and via email to track projects, photographs, content, and editing, which significantly constricted productivity. For management, the inability to track information and generate accurate reports on demand made it difficult to reliably discern project timelines. Since the systems they were using did not communicate with each other, management struggled to differentiate between projects in progress, items that were stalled, and completed work. Thus, managers had to investigate each project’s status and manually update their systems every step of the way. This approach made it impossible to clarify project timelines at a glance, and managing project spreadsheets became a full-time job in itself.
With only disparate spreadsheets to go off of, employees struggled with knowing whether or not a vendor sample had been photographed. This information was critical when it came time to store, return, or dispose of a sample. At the same time, each item often had multiple SKUs based on variations in sizes and colors. Ensuring that all of these variables had been accounted for became needlessly complex within their tangle of spreadsheets. The systems they used to track website changes, special events, sales, image production, and copy creation were all disconnected, so critical tasks were often delayed or forgotten altogether.
Before long, their spreadsheets started crashing almost daily, resulting in lost time, data, and reduced productivity. Management realized they did not have a consolidated platform or the reporting tools they needed to continue growing. Simply put, the Creative Department at Bass Pro Shops found themselves stuck in a work rut. That’s when they reached out to the experts Skeleton Key.
The Solution
After researching the power of the Claris FileMaker platform and the capabilities of our team, the Creative Department at Bass Pro Shops contacted Skeleton Key. Their primary goal was to unify the disparate system they’d been using to track projects, photographs, content, and editing. They also wanted to be able to create powerful reports, so management could quickly survey project status and confirm deadlines were being met.
Our experts took the time to understand their unique challenges, day-to-day workflows, and broader organizational goals. With in-depth insights into how Claris FileMaker could streamline routine tasks and maximize productivity, we created a customized Claris FileMaker solution using our five-step development process.
The Result
With their new application, the Creative Department now has an intuitive portal for entering and tracking projects, images, SKUs, and all of the other data on which they depend. When managers need to assess progress reports quickly, their database communicates with the requisite systems to deliver real-time reporting.
Having access to a concurrent platform means every stakeholder and participant in every affected department can be confident that work is done once, tracked effectively, and promptly reported to management. As a result of how easily key stakeholders can find the information they need, the turnaround time for projects has decreased significantly, making it simpler to keep website content up-to-date and relevant.
Overall, with their new Claris FileMaker solution, the Creative Department at Bass Pro Shops can accurately track and complete projects more efficiently and effectively. More importantly, they now have the tools to further optimize processes, continue growing, and they’re no longer stuck in a work rut.
