BLUE™ Enables Industry Leader H.J. Heinz to Accelerate Its Artwork Process

Challenge

The H.J. Heinz Company is known for its iconic household-name brands built on innovation and quality. Even a company that many consider one of the best can have a hunger to do better.

Solution

Heinz wanted to reduce the number of artwork revisions in its packaging graphic development process, increase its speed to market, track all artwork changes, and decrease its package approval cycle time. That’s when Heinz chose BLUE™.

To accomplish all of these goals, Heinz selected three BLUE modules: Project Management, Online Proofing and Digital Asset Library.

Results

In the first three years after implementing BLUE’s Digital Asset Library alone, Heinz reported savings of over $1.6 million. Add to that the speed to market squeezed out through workflow efficiencies, which has continued to improve year over year, and Heinz found BLUE’s ROI, well, appetizing.

Today, Heinz manages 235 brands within the BLUE environment, routing over 1300 SKUs per year and over 1100 projects through 72 Printers, 16 Design Agencies, 9 Photographers and 59 Corrugators. Based on the success in the US, the company’s nearly 1700 users have expanded to include Canada and beyond traditional packaging approvals into marketing communication materials.

And how do they know they are achieving their goals? They measure it. With BLUE Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reporting, Heinz has access to the metrics they need to measure project performance, identify bottlenecks and monitor site usage.

“BLUE demystified the graphics process for our organization and allowed us to have meaningful, real-time discussions around artwork, leading to faster execution to the marketplace. Our BLUE implementations were well thought out and executed according to published and agreed timelines. Our users received great support and training throughout the process.”

- Carrie Golvash, Sr. Manager, Brand Design & Packaging, H.J. Heinz Company