Transforming PMI’s Content Supply Chain

01 Client Context and Needs

Philip Morris International (PMI), a global leader in the FMCG and Consumer Goods sector, operates across multiple markets with a diverse product portfolio. PMI is proud to create and maintain iconic brands and has over 7,000 people involved in the global marketing efforts. As PMI’s brand and marketing functions grew, they faced natural challenges in managing and optimising their global content supply chain. The existing processes weren’t as joined up as they could have been, leading to some inefficiencies, increased costs, slower speed to market and reduced content effectiveness. Additionally, there was some inconsistency within their brand execution, leading to varied messaging and brand identity across different regions. They needed to revolutionise their approach to how they created, produced, published and optimised their content.

02 Challenges and Transformation Goals

PMI’s content supply chain has grown over time and includes 195 different steps in its process. Increased complexity in their end-to-end marketing efforts has led to duplication of effort and cost inefficiencies. Despite large investments going into creating master and visual assets, some markets were creating assets from scratch, as they couldn’t find what they needed from the DAM or assets provided were not fit for purpose. This led to some duplicated effort, inconsistent brand messaging and high production costs. Additionally, the absence of a centralised measurement system made tracking content performance and campaign effectiveness challenging.

To solve these issues, we helped PMI to set the following objectives:

> Establish a centralised, streamlined content workflow.

> Implement a templated approach to content creation for cost and time efficiency.

> Enhance content taxonomy and asset tracking for optimised measurement.

03 Strategic Framework and Execution Plan

Brightful collaborated closely with PMI to transform its content supply chain through a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach, which included

1. The creation of a Centralised Brand Portal – Developed a unified digital hub housing all brand guidelines, templates, and assets to ensure consistency across global markets.

2. Embedding Templated Ways of Working – Implemented modular content frameworks allowing teams to efficiently customise assets for different regions without reinventing the wheel.

3. Transforming PMI’s Digital Channel Asset Production – Introduced a templated digital asset creation process, reducing the need for external agencies and significantly cutting costs for the creation of market and channel assets.

4. Delivering process Optimisation & Efficiency Gains – Streamlined workflows using automation and AI, reducing manual content creation time and improving faster-time-to-market execution.

5. Supporting a new approach to Taxonomy & Content Stitching – Established a structured taxonomy system, ensuring assets are effectively categorised, stitched together, and seamlessly repurposed.

6. Encouraging better Measurement and performance Tracking – This encouraged the adoption of a data-driven approach, enabling PMI to track content effectiveness and ROI more accurately.

Change Management: The emphasis was on change management throughout the transformation process, ensuring that all stakeholders were engaged and aligned with the new systems and processes. This approach facilitated a smoother transition and fostered a culture of continuous improvement.

04 Results and Measurable Impact

Our strategic approach plans to deliver the following measurable results:

50% Reduction of cost and time for channel assets creation

50% Savings on tasks for transcreating assets for markets

20% Reduction in billable work by agencies, due to reduction in asset duplications

Reduce 100% of transcreation tasks for assets, allowing internal Operations teams to use available assets simply

60% Reduction of the brief to publication process and costs by 30%

Established a scalable, templated, and automated framework for global roll-out.

Improved brand consistency across 40+ global markets.

What’s next? Providing tailored training in Adobe Express with Firefly (Adobe’s GenAI functionality), this will reduce transcreation tasks of Express assets by > 30%.

05 Testimonial

“Working with Brightful has transformed our content supply chain. The efficiency, cost savings, and ability to scale content globally have had a game-changing effect on our business. We’ve never had such a seamless process before. Thanks to all the team at Brightful that supported us on our journey.”

Chris Muscutt, Head of Martech - PMI

06 Conclusion

Our Collaborative success

By implementing a structured, efficient, and technology-driven content supply chain programme, Brightful helped PMI achieve faster, smarter, and more cost-effective content production. The success of this programme highlights the power of rock-solid programme management, strategic design, and experienced product management, supported by change management, to deliver meaningful change and business transformation for this fast-growing global business.

PMI’s Content Supply Chain transformation journey has just begun. As the consumer goods and manufacturing industry evolves at pace, embracing digital transformation remains a critical focus for companies looking to optimise their end-to-end content supply chains.

Are you ready to revolutionise your global content operations? Get in touch with our team to start your transformation.