Starting a project

This is what the IP Provider manager does when first creating a project. It only needs to be done once before the Partner uploads products. It takes about 10 minutes.

Before you begin#

When you create a project, six stages that Products will go through and nine approval types are already included. You can use them as they are. Only change the settings below if you want to adapt them to your company's workflow.

When creating a project, you choose a Product stages template and an Approval types template. If you leave the default selections as they are, the following items will be included. If you have modified the presets in your Workspace, the modified contents will be included instead.

• Stages: Concepts → Design draft → Sample production → Mass production → Launched (and On hold)
• Approvals: Product planning, Product design (ai), Package (ai), Mockup, Product sample, Finished product, Promotional materials, Overseas manufacturing, Import license

1. Modifying stage names#

Change them to the terms you use. For example, changing Design draft to 1st Draft.

1. In the project, click Product stages in the left menu.
2. Click the name field of the stage you want to modify and type the new name.
3. To add a stage, click Add stage, or click Delete on that row to remove it.
4. Click Save. Additions, edits, and deletions are applied all at once when you click save.

Each stage has one of Start, In progress, Completed, or On hold attached next to it. This is not a name, but a property. New Products start in the Start stage, and when they reach the Completed stage, the Products are finalized. Since Start, In progress, and Completed must each have at least one, the delete button is disabled for the last row of each of those categories. On hold does not have this restriction.

If there are Products in the stage you are trying to delete, a confirmation screen will appear upon saving, and those Products will be moved to the immediately preceding stage before deletion. The very first stage, which has no preceding stage to move to, cannot be deleted.

2. Deciding What to Get Approved at Which Stage#

This is the core of this setup. For example, it is about deciding that "to move past the Design draft stage, you must get a product design approval."

1. Click Approval types in the left menu.
2. The screen is divided into two sections:
   • Stage approval: What must be approved before moving to the next stage
   • Ad-hoc approval: What is requested when needed, regardless of the stage
3. In the stage approval section, find the Product design (ai) row.
4. Select Design draft in the Default applied stage column of that row.
5. Select the person who will review this approval in the Approver column of the same row.
6. Click Save.

By setting it this way, the product design approval item for the Design draft stage is attached to all Products in this project, and the Partner must receive that approval to move to the next stage. It applies not only to newly registered Products but also to already registered ones. If you remove it from the stage again, only items that have not yet been requested will disappear, while requested items will remain as review history.

If there are Products currently in that stage, a Confirm before saving screen will appear once before saving. It shows how many items will have approval items attached and how many will be blocked immediately, so you must read it and click Confirmed. Save for it to take effect.

Assign stages for the remaining approvals in the same way. Approvals without a designated stage do not block any stage. Product concepts is the only exception, as it is fixed to the first stage, meaning there is no box to select and it is simply displayed as Fixed to first stage.

If you designate multiple approvers, they approve in the order they were set, and only the person whose turn it has come can process it. If you designate only one person, that person approves independently. If you designate no one, it goes to the Workspace owner.

3. Check#

You can tell if the settings have been applied by simply opening a Products.

1. Click on any Product in Products on the left menu.
2. If the approval you just specified appears in the Current stage approval section below, it is done.

While approvals are still pending, the next stage appears disabled in the stage movement list on the Partner screen, accompanied by Current stage approval needed. Because IP Provider approvers can bypass this condition and move forward, they will not see this indicator; therefore, make sure to check whether the setting has been applied by using the Current stage approval list in step 2 above.

When You Want to Customize a Specific Product#

If a product does not have a package, you can simply remove the Package (ai) approval for that specific product.

1. Open the details screen for that product.
2. Click Settings in the Stage-by-stage approval settings section.
3. Approval types are provided as checkboxes for each stage. Uncheck to remove or check to add.
4. Click Save.

Items with pending applications have a lock icon attached and cannot be unchecked because review records must be retained. Applications that ended in cancellation or rejection are not locked and can be unchecked again. Stages with mandatory approvals must retain at least one, so the last item cannot be unchecked either.

This card is visible only to the IP Provider approver.

Troubleshooting#

The next stage is disabled and cannot be clicked. There are unfinished approvals in the current stage. The Approvals for this stage area above shows which approvals are remaining. The roles subject to this condition are the Partner and the Project operator — IP Provider approvers can move forward even if current stage approvals remain.

Cannot move to Launched only. There are unfinished approvals in previous stages. Intermediate stages can be skipped, but for the completion stage, all preceding approvals must be finished — IP Provider approvers are also subject to this condition. If that approval is not needed for this Product, remove it in Stage-specific approval settings.

Approval item cannot be deleted. The request is still active, or that is the only approval remaining in that stage. If it is the latter, add another approval first, or remove the stage designation first from the Default application stage on the Approval types screen.

There is no delete button for the approval type. The four types — Product concepts, Promotional materials₂, Overseas manufacturing, and Import permit — cannot be deleted. Product concepts is a mandatory approval for the first stage, and the remaining three are used by the Promotional materials screen and other approvals screen to generate lists. Other types will not show the button while they are used as a mandatory approval for any stage — you can delete them by first removing that stage from Default application stage and saving. You cannot remove and delete them in the same save action.

Stage-specific approval settings are not visible in Product details. This card appears only to IP Provider approvers. Those designated as Project operators can modify Product stages and Approval types, but cannot modify the approval items for a single Product.

Next Steps#

• Invite members and assign roles
• Register and finalize contracts
• Submit and review approval requests