When most organizations think about digital transformation, they focus on ERP systems, e-commerce platforms, or supply chain visibility. But there’s another, often-overlooked area that can unlock enormous value: labeling and artwork management.
Across industries, labeling plays a critical part in regulatory compliance, marketing, and operations. It’s how brands communicate essential information to consumers and regulators alike. Yet in many enterprises, the labeling process remains surprisingly fragmented and manual. For Digital Transformation Directors, this is a missed opportunity hiding in plain sight.
The Hidden Complexity of Labeling
Labeling might not seem like a digital transformation priority, but peel back the layers and it is clear just how critical it is. Labels are data-rich assets that pull information from multiple systems: ingredients, product specifications, safety data sheets, and regulatory requirements — all of which can vary by market.
In legacy environments, these processes are often disconnected. Teams work from shared drives and spreadsheets, retyping data between systems and recreating designs manually. The result? Inconsistent information, long approval cycles, and high rework rates.
As Joseph Konopka, Director of Digital Acceleration at Kenvue, described during Gartner’s Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo, “Information was often hard to find, and processes were complicated and manual, leading to long durations and many rework cycles – up to eight to ten on a regular basis.”
Why Labeling Belongs in Your Digital Transformation Strategy
For transformation leaders, labeling is no longer a back-office operational concern, but a strategic enabler of agility. By digitizing and automating labeling, organizations can:
Accelerate time to market: Reduce artwork cycle times from months to days by automating content reuse and eliminating manual steps.
Enhance compliance: Maintain a “single source of truth” that ensures every regional variant stays consistent with the latest regulatory data.
Reduce operational costs: Lower rework rates and resource requirements across design, review, and approval processes.
Enable omnichannel readiness: Synchronize physical packaging with digital product content for e-commerce and electronic leaflets.
It’s a transformation that touches every product line and every market.
The Kenvue Transformation: From Fragmentation to Automation
When Kenvue, a leading consumer health company, separated from Johnson & Johnson, it inherited a fragmented labeling environment with thousands of artworks and disparate data sources. Every change — such as updating manufacturer details across 20,000 labels — required significant manual effort.
“Nobody wanted to change anything because of how hard it was,” Konopka admitted. “So many times people have come to me and said, ‘I can’t find this piece of art,’ or, ‘Why does it take so long?’”
Recognizing that a modern, automated system could deliver lasting value, Kenvue partnered with Kallik to implement an end-to-end digital labeling solution powered by Veraciti and its AI-driven migration tool, AToM. This partnership allowed Kenvue to transition seamlessly from legacy systems while retaining full control over its data.
The first step was creating a digital twin of every label; a complete, structured replica that could be used to automate change management and impact analysis. By analyzing their Listerine UK portfolio, Kenvue discovered that 80% of label content was shared across SKUs. With automation, they could now update shared content once and instantly cascade changes across all related products.
Driving Smarter Automation Through Data and AI
With Veraciti, Kenvue integrated its core data sources directly into the labeling workflow. This ensured consistency across every label, leaflet, and digital asset.
Automation also extended to regulatory responsiveness. Through event-based triggers, label updates could be initiated automatically when new regulations or market changes occurred, removing the need for manual initiation and dramatically reducing risk.
As Beth Peckover, Chief Delivery Officer at Kallik, explained: “Achieving a true labeling and artwork digital transformation starts with a seamless and intelligent migration. Our AI migration tool, AToM, extracts label data efficiently and accurately to establish a single source of truth. This ‘right first time’ methodology not only maximizes efficiency but provides complete regulatory confidence.”
Quantifiable Results: The ROI of Automation
The results speak for themselves. Kenvue achieved 95% faster packaging changes by reusing existing content, transforming what was once a complex revision process into a “copy, paste” operation. This shift not only improved operational efficiency but also reduced compliance risk and freed up teams to focus on innovation.
For Gurdip Singh, CEO of Kallik, the broader message is clear: “It’s crucial that we think about labeling very differently to it just being a back-end process that underpins the business. It's an absolutely invaluable asset to accelerate your business.”
The Takeaway for Digital Transformation Leaders
Labeling automation may not be the flashiest part of a digital transformation program, but its impact is profound. It creates the foundation for accurate, compliant, and agile product information across every channel. It bridges the physical and digital worlds. And with the right partner, it’s a transformation that delivers measurable ROI from day one.
If you’re ready to unlock this often-overlooked area of digital potential, explore how Kallik’s Veraciti platform can help you achieve the same results Kenvue did. Call +44 (0) 1827 318100 or email enquiries@kallik.com to start your labeling transformation today.