Efficient Technologies: Our Favorite Aries Innovations

Aries Systems is committed to continued innovation and process improvements in order to maintain our standard of delivering excellence. Our workflow management systems, Editorial Manager® (EM) and ProduXion Manager® (PM), are frequently enhanced with numerous new software releases each year. To ensure our solutions meet customer needs, incorporate industry trends, adhere to technical standards, and serve the wider community – Aries invests more than $6 million in new technology each year. Here are six of our favorite Aries innovations that promote more efficient workflows:

XTRACT

Submitting Authors often spend valuable time entering information into the publication’s editorial system that is already included in their manuscript documents. Behind the scenes, Editorial Manager’s Xtract feature automatically extracts manuscript metadata and pre-populates corresponding system fields upon submission. This reduces the need for Authors to manually enter data, streamlining the submission process and improving the Author experience.

Task Manager

Task Manager, an exciting Editorial Manager feature, enables the assignment and completion of important editorial activities prior to production and at any time in the editorial workflow. Such editorial tasks include language edits, artwork quality check, copyright check, conflict of interest form deposit, preprint server deposit, and more. Task Manager decreases time to publication by allowing more tasks to be completed upstream, rather than waiting until production is initiated.

LiXuid Manuscript

Currently under development, our LiXuid Manuscript™ initiative embodies Aries’ strategic vision for the future of scholarly publishing in which XML is leveraged to streamline the entire publishing workflow. An Editorial Manager and ProduXion Manager feature, LiXuid Manuscript will include a suite of XML workflow tools that support the transition from unstructured representations of journal articles (Word or PDF files) to structured representations (JATS XML). Once completed, this multi-year, multi-phase initiative will enable XML-first workflows to offer publishers a true end-to-end solution that reduces costs, errors, and time to publication while improving accuracy and user satisfaction.

Automated Quality Check Toolkit

Aries’ strategic partnerships and integrations with third-party technology allows Editors access to numerous automated quality check tools and services within EM for additional decision support. Such tools can save Editors time by undertaking preliminary, automated checking of manuscript documents for things like plagiarism, artwork quality, reference validation, duplicate submissions, language quality, researcher identity confirmation, and more! As part of our ever-evolving ecosystem of applications, these manuscript analysis tools work to improve the quality of published research.

ORCID Integrations: from SSO to Reviewer Recognition

Aries is proud to partner with ORCID to provide EM and PM users several integrations that enhance multiple facets of workflow. With ORCID, Aries offers a Single Sign On option, allowing EM/PM users to access their account for any publication with their ORCID credentials. If enabled by the publication, this feature eliminates the need for users to manage multiple sets of logins for each journal site. Additionally, Aries has integrated with ORCID to offer publications the option to acknowledge their Reviewers via a regular deposit of peer review activity to the Reviewer’s ORCID record. This offers journals a visible and verifiable way to publicly credit Reviewers for their contributions, without compromising confidentially, if the Reviewer consents.

Transfer Solutions

After rejection from a publication, researchers often repeat the submission and review process for subsequent journals. To save time and reduce duplicated efforts, Aries offers the option of seamless transfer of manuscript metadata and Reviewer comments (with Author and Reviewer consent) between journals upon rejection from the Editor. Aries is also an active participant in the Manuscript Exchange Common Approach (MECA), to accommodate transfers between differing peer review systems. EM’s new import and export method that conforms to MECA standards allows transfer of data among various peer review systems.

 

Want to know more about Aries innovations and how they can streamline your workflow? Check out the Aries video library, contact your Aries Account Coordinator, or request a free demonstration.