In Brief
Managing creative operations for a company with five distinct business lines is no small feat — especially when outdated systems create bottlenecks and inefficiencies at every turn. These challenges once threatened to slow the rapid growth of VSP Vision™, a global leader in vision care and eyewear manufacturing.
Recognizing the need for transformation, VSP® turned to Lytho Workflow, a creative operations platform designed to streamline processes, centralize collaboration, and provide actionable insights. By implementing Lytho, the team replaced inefficient processes and gained the agility needed to support their expanding operations.
20/20 Vision Stats
0
Distinct business lines
0%
Reduction in rush projects
0K +
Deliverables created in 2024
0.6
Review versions (vs. 3-4 industry standard)
Challenges in Creative Operations: Navigating Complexity and Bottlenecks
Before implementing Lytho Workflow, VSP’s creative operations relied on inefficient, manual processes that stifled productivity. “We were using a spreadsheet-based workflow software, but we had challenges getting the correct project information for designers,” said Amber Wong, business analyst for VSP. The review process often included printing hard copies, physically marking up edits, and walking them back to requesters — a time-consuming approach that created bottlenecks.
“The lack of standardized processes impacted everything from efficiency to accountability,” Amber explained.
These inefficiencies slowed production and made it difficult for VSP to track key metrics like project volume, time spent on deliverables, and resource utilization — metrics essential for advocating for additional resources or demonstrating the ROI of their in-house model.
The Prescription for Success: Streamlining With Lytho Workflow
Implementing Lytho Workflow became a game-changer for VSP. By consolidating project requests through a universal intake form, the team ensured consistency while improving clarity for stakeholders and designers. “With Lytho, we have one universal form that asks the right questions and routes requests to the appropriate acceptors. Even though each workflow is slightly different, the foundation is the same,” Amber shared.
With Lytho, VSP achieved:
- Centralized Operations: All creative requests and processes now live in one place, streamlining collaboration across teams and business units.
- Efficient Workflows: Service level agreements (SLAs) and templates established consistent processes and expectations for stakeholders and designers.
- Improved Collaboration: Custom views and shared reports kept everyone aligned, reducing miscommunication and improving transparency.
- Actionable Time Insights: Tracking designer hours and utilization provided visibility into productivity, enabling data-backed decisions that supported team growth.
- Robust Reporting: Detailed metrics like project volume, level of effort, rush requests, and review cycles allowed teams to make data-driven decisions.
“I was doing reports manually with Excel and pivot tables. Now, Lytho saves us so much time by letting us upload reports directly into dashboards,” Amber explained.
Fostering Strong Stakeholder Relationships: Balancing Support and Structure
Efficient tools and processes are only part of the equation for success — building strong stakeholder relationships is equally critical. “We act as experts and trainers for our stakeholders to ensure that they can count on us to get the work they need done on time,” Amber explained.
By centralizing project requests and implementing structured workflows with Lytho, VSP has also created a protective barrier for their creative team. “We’re trying to gatekeep our designers from getting inundated with ad hoc requests that haven’t gone through the process,” Amber noted. This ensures that the creative team can focus on high-priority work without unnecessary interruptions, improving speed and quality.
“Having that relationship with stakeholders is so beneficial, because when they need something, they know they can count on us. And when we need to push back, they understand.”
Seeing the ROI: Data-Driven Insights Drive Efficiency
Lytho’s robust reporting capabilities enable VSP to track key metrics like project volume, review cycles, and resource allocation. “Leadership can now see year-over-year trends and quarter-over-quarter performance at a glance, thanks to Power BI dashboards powered by Lytho data,” shared Amber.
The results are significant: Actionable insights into project delays and resource allocation allowed VSP to reduce rush projects for the eyewear team by 70%. “We can quickly pull reports and identify why certain projects took more time — whether it was stuck in review or required multiple edits,” Amber explained.
A key aspect of this success lies in how VSP tracks and reports on creative hours through Lytho. “We can show leadership exactly how much time our designers are spending — 500 hours in a quarter, for example—at the rates we charge internally,” Amber said.
These insights not only support operational efficiency but also demonstrate substantial cost savings. “As an in-house agency, we’ve been able to save our corporation millions of dollars that they would have spent with an outside agency,” she added.
Partnership in Focus: Empowering Creative Success
The relationship with Lytho has been one of true partnership. “We truly weren’t able to be successful without Lytho and the ideas and benefits you’ve brought to the table. You’re honestly one of our favorite vendors to work with,” Amber emphasized.
Today, VSP epitomizes operational efficiency, using Lytho Workflow to turn marketing challenges into opportunities and deliver high-quality content across all business lines. “Efficiency starts upfront. You can’t just willy-nilly it. Lytho gives you the tools to set expectations and create those efficiencies within your workflow,” Amber concluded.
Do you want to give yourself and your creative team more room for creative stimulation by automating the boring stuff? Lytho helps you streamline your entire workflow and harmonize all brand collateral under a single, uniform platform. Feel free to reach out to us by scheduling a demo and learning how our creative solutions can boost the effectiveness of your creative projects. We look forward to speaking with you!
Ready to simplify your creative operations and start having a little fun at work again? Schedule time to talk with us.
Let us show you how Lytho’s Creative Operations Platform helps in-house creative and marketing teams do better work, ease the stakeholder experience, and stay on brand.
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