What are Workspaces?
Workspaces from TraceGains Gather® are designed to help you collect and organize any content related to the world of food, beverage, dietary supplements, and beyond. A Workspace is your space; what you do with it is up to you. One Workspace might serve as a dumping ground for interesting suppliers you spot on the Marketplace; while another Workspace may be a polished, single-source repository meant to be shared externally with your most valued stakeholders.
Because Workspaces are so versatile for managing information, and because we consistently enhance the tool based on your feedback, there’s likely a new way to use Workspaces that you haven’t thought of yet. The possibilities are endless! Don't get overwhelmed- we’ve put together real use cases that can build more efficient practices, speed up the NPD process, encourage internal and external communications, and indicate risk.
Which scenario best relates to you?
- Scenario 1: "I need to share specs and other requirements with a few of my co-manufacturers to determine the best fit for my new product."
- Scenario 2: "I am a consultant and/or service provider who needs help managing all my projects."
- Scenario 3: "I want to support my suppliers that are onboarding into the TraceGains system."
- Scenario 4: "My R&D team is working on a new product! We need to manage all of our notes and share with relevant individuals."
- Scenario 5: "I want to research a new, trending ingredient and research risk factors."
- Scenario 6: "My team works on a lot of projects at once because we’re constantly trying to improve our quality in line with current guidelines."
- Scenario 7: "My organization is working on a dietary supplement that requires claims substantiation."
- Scenario 8: "My company is growing and I need to organize all of my co-manufacturers' specific requirements."
Scenario 1
"I need to share specs and other requirements with a few of my co-manufacturers to determine the best fit for my new product. Can I copy and share a Workspace where I’ve been collecting this information?"
Yes, you can! Here’s a suggested course of action from TraceGains:
- Create a Workspace for a new product you want to develop including all product specs, order quantity, branding requirements, packaging specs, expected lead time etc.
- Copy the Workspace and then share with 3-4 potential co-man partners to find the best fit.
- Continue to use the Workspace to collaborate on product updates, suggest possible items and suppliers, stay on top of potential supply chain disruptions and exchange comments with key stakeholders.
Scenario 2
"I am a consultant and/or service provider who needs help managing all my projects."
Solutions using Workspaces:
- Create Workspaces for each client or project. Store notes, upload existing files, create layered folders, and organize projects individually.
- Share the Workspace with your external partners to collaborate on ingredient discovery, product development, risk management, and other logistics.
Scenario 3
"I want to support my suppliers that are onboarding into the TraceGains system."
Solutions using Workspaces:
- Create a Workspace to share with new (and existing) suppliers to help them successfully create a TraceGains Gather Group and get started with fulfilling your document requests.
- Add available links to articles, help videos, or pdfs from the TraceGains Help Center and customize it according to your specific needs.
- Duplicate a Workspace multiple times and then share with a supplier or external company to support their TraceGains Gather® experience.
Scenario 4
"My R&D team is working on a new product! We need to keep track of our existing notes and research on specifications and ingredients, and avoid risk as we go."
Solutions using Workspaces:
- Create a Workspace dedicated to early new product development research.
- Use advanced filters in Marketplace search to find innovative ingredients and potential suppliers or co-manufacturing partners – add those items and suppliers directly to your Workspace!
- Add a Watchlist to your Workspace so you’ll be alerted to any risk associated with the ingredients and suppliers being considered for this new product (see image below for example Watchlist)
- Add a Citations Watchlist to collect studies supporting market claims related to ingredients or health topics for your new product.
- Share the Workspace with co-manufacturing or formulation partners.
Scenario 5
"I want to research a new trending ingredient. How do I manage my substantiation and claims files and keep up-to-date with risk factors?"
Solutions using Workspaces:
- Add an ingredient Watchlist from Intelligence to keep tabs on potential risk associated with that ingredient in its various forms.
- Create a Citations Watchlist for dietary supplements or health topics to track the latest scientific articles and citations (Requires the Networked Intelligence: Claims Management add-on package).
- Upload other supporting files and content
- Search the TraceGains Gather® Marketplace and add real-life versions of this trending ingredient to your Workspace.
Scenario 6
"My team works on a lot of projects at once because we’re constantly trying to improve our quality in line with current guidelines. We need something that helps with task management and collaboration."
Solutions using Workspaces:
- Organize with layered folders and different views.
- Invite users to join your Workspace as contributors or read-only viewers.
- Leave comments to alert colleagues in your TraceGains Gather® group of updates or requests.
Scenario 7
"My organization is working on a dietary supplement promoting healthy liver function. Will Workspaces support sourcing scientific substantiation for product claims?"
Solutions using Workspaces:
- Search and filter among a database of PubMed articles to find scientific substantiation to support product claims. (Requires the Networked Intelligence: Claims Management add-on package).
- Add dietary supplement ingredients, health topics or articles directly into a Workspace to quickly organize content and access direct feeds of new relevant claims management information.
- Add these items to your Workspace and share with your procurement and quality teams to investigate further.
Scenario 8
"My company is growing and I need to organize all of my co-manufacturers' specific requirements. Can I use Workspaces to link documentation, notes, and contacts in an actionable format?"
Solutions using Workspaces:
- Create a Workspace for each co-manufacture to use as a repository for critical information about those partners. Ex: key contacts, special requirements, custom documentation
- Share the individual Workspaces internally to keep your colleagues up-to-date about a particular co-manufacturer's current requirements, while also keeping them equipped with direct links to learn more and contact individuals.