From weeks to days

Manual workloads and scalability limits

The Julius Kühn-Institut organises ~10 scientific conferences every year. The largest of these, the biennial Plant Protection Conference, attracts over 1,000 participants and more than 500 written contributions.

Previously, the workflow was entirely manual. Authors submitted unformatted Word files, requiring staff to manually format the abstracts, merge them into a single file, and then re-split them into PDFs. Additionally, staff had to create individual records for every single abstract in the repository by hand. This process took several people three to four weeks to complete, creating high stress levels and tight deadlines. The heavy administrative burden meant staff focused on repetitive tasks rather than value-added work.

Automation, bulk editing and API integration

JKI wanted a solution that could streamline this workflow while adhering to strict European data protection policies. They selected SciFlow because it offers a combined authoring and publishing platform with seamless integration for literature management software like Zotero and Citavi.

The implementation focused on three key capabilities:

• Automatic conversion of unformatted Word documents to structured data: Authors were offered the option of submitting a light formatted Word file to JKI’s conference website. These files were then bulk uploaded to SciFlow, where AI tools processed the full text, extracted metadata, and sorted all contributions into the correct order in SciFlow’s project view.
• Bulk metadata management: SciFlow's project view lets staff edit metadata like author IDs and affiliations for hundreds of abstracts at once. Instead of opening files one by one, they can now update everything in a single interface.
• Repository integration: The API connection transfers files and metadata directly from SciFlow to JKI's repository with one click, eliminating weeks of manual data entry.

From weeks to days

The rollout started with a pilot project for the German Plant Protection Conference. While the transition involved a learning curve for staff used to Word, specifically around figure and table calibration, the onboarding was smooth thanks to support and collaboration with the SciFlow team. SciFlow’s responsiveness stood out, often resolving queries via chat within half an hour.

The impact on efficiency was immediate. Total processing time for conference proceedings dropped from four weeks to just five to six days, a reduction of more than 70%.

But the benefits went beyond time savings. The new workflow broke down silos between the team collecting abstracts and the library staff managing publication. Instead of passing files back and forth, everyone now works collaboratively within SciFlow, increasing transparency and reducing miscommunication.

With the workflow established and refined through their pilot, JKI is now equipped to handle future conferences largely independently. They're already preparing for their February conference using the same streamlined process.

Key takeaways for other institutions

For other organisations considering a similar transition, JKI recommends:

• Start with your priorities: Create a detailed list of “must-have" versus "nice-to-have" features before you change publishing workflows. This helps you to tackle actual challenges in the workflow, evaluate solutions effectively and communicate your needs clearly.
• Work close with your vendor: Engage with the development team early and often. The gap between user needs and technical implementation is much easier to bridge when you are talking regularly. Working with SciFlow was a good collaboration, we were able to easily share feedback and suggestions which they readily took on board and actioned.
• Trust the automation: Moving from manual entry to API automation provides the single biggest return on investment. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but the time savings can be transformational.