Media workflow analysis
Content supply chain and workflow review
A forensic look at how content actually moves, from acquisition to delivery. Findings are specific, attributable and costed, so you can act on them in a quarter rather than a strategy cycle.

Content supply chain and workflow review
What the review covers
Content supply chains grow by accretion. A new platform arrives, a new rights deal, a new access-services requirement, and each is solved where it lands. A few years later the same asset is checked three times, metadata is keyed in twice, and a handful of spreadsheets are quietly holding the whole thing together.
I map the workflow as it actually runs rather than as it is documented, by walking it with the people who operate it: every handoff, every workaround and every manual check. That covers media, metadata and rights, QC and compliance, access services, media asset management, and the systems that feed playout and on-demand platforms.
Then I cost it. Each finding comes with where the effort or risk sits, who owns it, and what fixing it is worth, so the recommendations can be prioritised against real numbers rather than opinion.
When clients call
Where this makes the difference
The cost line has to come down without breaking output
A target has landed from the board, and the easy savings went two budget rounds ago.
A platform or MAM replacement is coming
A clear picture of the current workflow before you specify the next system, so you replace the process as well as the software.
Two supply chains now have to become one
After a merger or reorganisation, a single view of both workflows and the target that combines them.
Automation and AI need a baseline
Where automation or AI would genuinely remove effort, and where it would only move it somewhere else.
Typical output
What you get
- Current-state workflow map
- Prioritised findings with cost impact
- Target workflow design
- Quick-win backlog
- Recommendations on automation and AI in media operations
How it runs
Senior, hands-on, start to finish
- MapWalk the workflow end to end with the people who run it.
- CostLocate the effort, cost, risk and friction at each step.
- DesignA target workflow and the changes that get you there.
- PrioritiseQuick wins first, larger changes sequenced and costed.
Relevant experience
Done it, not studied it
A group content supply chain and operating model for Sky
Strategy for a next-generation content supply chain across Sky UK, Sky Italia, Sky Deutschland and NOW, and the group operating model for content operations.
Read the case studyITVContent Supply Simplification at ITV
Programme leadership for ITV’s Content Supply Simplification: a capability-led transformation of the content supply chain, run from the TMO.
Read the case studySkySky Production Services and the Sky News move
Leading Sky Production Services, a 760-strong department spanning studios, post and content services, and helping move Sky News to new infrastructure.
Read the case studyQuestions
What clients usually ask first
How long does a workflow review take?
It depends on scope. A single workflow is a short diagnostic; a group-wide content supply chain takes longer. After a first call I will propose a fixed scope and timescale.
Will you recommend new technology?
Only where the workflow needs it. Many findings are about process, roles and handoffs. Where technology is the answer, the recommendation is independent of any vendor.
Can you then deliver the changes?
Yes. The review can lead straight into a delivery programme that I lead, so the people who found the problems are accountable for fixing them.
Other services
More ways in
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How it worksTechnical due diligence
Technical and operational due diligence on media acquisitions: what the asset really is, integration cost and risk, a red-flag register and a post-deal plan.
How it worksLet’s talk about what needs to change
Tell me the problem in a paragraph. I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it. The first 30-minute call is at no charge, and under NDA if you need one.
Start a conversationOr email darren.long@sasolo.uk