Success Story - Argyle

Challenge

The need for strict compliance with regulatory requirements - as well as the evergreen importance of creating visually engaging stakeholder communication - Argyle projects typically go through several stages of writing, consultation, editing, and amends.

With a large team of in-house experts, all contributing to each project - as well as multiple stakeholders on the client side - this process can become complicated and time-consuming.

This was exacerbated by the fact that - like many marketing agencies - Argyle relied on traditional channels to share documents and receive amends.

Typically, Argyle would create a PDF of client work and share it with the client via email (if the file size was small enough) or an FTP site (if the file size was larger).

Clients would then mark up the PDF in a separate software - or even print out the PDF, mark it up by hand, then scan it in - before returning it by email or FTP.

This resulted in:

• amends being scattered across different channels
• risk of amends being missed / risk to data accuracy in financial reporting
  no clear audit trail of amends - why and when they were made
• exposure to risk from using third-party transfer methods
• excessive manual burden on clients to complete amends

Argyle is committed to excellent customer service and to using the latest digital technology to deliver it.

So the Argyle team began looking for document collaboration software that would let them collaborate internally and with clients to create regulatory reports.

"Before WoodWing Studio, the main issue was managing our client edits on their financial reports. We’d layout the report using on-premise design software then send a PDF output to clients. They’d review it and email us amends. We then had to compile and make the amends, create a revised PDF, and send it back to the client.

Now, with the help of WoodWing Studio, time applying changes and sending revised PDFs is cut down. Clients can make their own edits to the report and return them to use within the system. We can make those amends immediately and clients can download a new PDF instantly with no need to use email or FTP to transfer files".

 

Ronnel San Gabriel, Tech Product Manager at Argyle

Evaluation

Argyle reviewed a number of different solutions for creating shareholder reports before choosing WoodWing Studio. They were assisted by IT consultants Serioustec in the process.

‘Studio’s features were the best fit for our needs and processes’ explains Ronnel San Gabriel from Argyle. ‘The WoodWing team was able to come up with different solutions to accommodate all of our requirements. We particularly liked how easy and intuitive the Studio portal is to use for collaboration with clients.’

They selected cloud hosting because it offered the most flexible and accessible way for staff and clients to access and edit reports. Registered users can log into the web-based portal from any device with internet access and securely access and work on the documents they need.

Implementation

The implementation team comprised the Argyle Product Manager, Argyle Composition Team, WoodWing, and WoodWing's partner Serioustec.

Serioustec helped manage system customization, working with WoodWing to develop the functionality and third-party integrations that Argyle required.

This was tested by the Argyle composition team before being rolled out to all creative staff at Argyle.

The company has 10 Studio licenses for their baseline in-house needs. WoodWing’s flexible license structure then allows them to add additional licenses for clients when actively working on projects.

Results and benefits

• Effortless collaboration with clients in a single, accessible system
• Enhanced ability to collaborate and create accurate financial reports
• Clearer and faster client amends process
• Automatic and transparent audit trail of amends and who made them
• Reduced exposure to risk by eradicating the need for third-party file transfer
• Faster turnaround times and time-to-market for client deliverables
• Reduced burden of clients and improved client experience