What are upstream and downstream DAM workflows?

Upstream workflows are everything that happens to assets before they enter the DAM: creation, collection, approval, and enrichment. Downstream workflows are everything after they leave the DAM to be used or archived. In-storage workflows sit between, covering permissions, sharing, and integration.

What happens in the upstream workflow?

Asset creation, collection from creators into a central repository, approval against brand and copyright guidelines, and enrichment with metadata before ingestion into the DAM. Each step needs an assigned owner to keep assets moving.

What happens while assets are in storage?

Permission management so the right users can find and use the right assets, secure sharing inside and outside the organization, and integration with other systems like a CMS, PIM, or CRM.

What happens in the downstream workflow?

Asset use, where value is realized by deploying assets in the market, and asset retirement or archiving, where assets that are no longer relevant are separated from current ones to keep the library clean.

Why map these workflows?

Because the success of downstream activities depends on strong upstream and in-storage workflows. Mapping how assets move now, and how you want them to move, is how you build an efficient, scalable program end-users will adopt.

Upstream and downstream DAM workflows, mapped

Assets move in three phases: into the system, inside it, and out of it. Map yours and the whole program gets clearer.

Many DAM terms describe how assets move through an organization over their lifecycle. To build a scalable program that end-users buy into, it helps to map that movement. It divides into three phases: upstream (before the DAM), in storage (inside it), and downstream (out of it).

Upstream workflows

Everything that happens to assets before they enter the DAM.

Creation. Assets must be made. Ask why people create them (are they recreating lost ones?), where new assets go, and how the creator is tracked. Too often new assets sit on individual hard drives.
Collection. Regularly gather assets from creators into a central repository. An "Incoming" folder with a sub-folder per creator keeps track of who made what.
Approval. Managers approve new assets against brand guidelines and copyright before use.
Enrichment and ingestion. Enrich approved assets with metadata from your taxonomy and upload them. Assign owners to each step, and make sure metadata stays embedded.

In-storage workflows

Permission management. Manage access rights so users at each level find what they need, and track expiring copyright on assets that are not yours.
Sharing. With assets protected, share them securely inside and outside the organization, tracking who requests what.
Integration. Connect the DAM to your CMS, PIM, or CRM so assets move without downloading or version-control worries.

Downstream workflows

Use. Assets have value only when used to grow the organization. If they are approved, enriched, organized, and permissioned, your team can pull the perfect asset at the optimal moment, ahead of competitors.
Retirement and archiving. When an asset is no longer relevant or on-brand, archive it or remove it, keeping historic assets separate from current ones.

The success of downstream activities depends on strong upstream and in-storage workflows. This article adapts a piece from the Stacks blog.

Key takeaways

Assets move in three phases: upstream, in storage, downstream.
Upstream is creation, collection, approval, and enrichment, each with an owner.
In storage is permissions, sharing, and integration.
Downstream is use and archiving, and it depends on the earlier phases being solid.