Ingram and Macmillan Rethink Traditional Distribution Model
(Press Release) NASHVILLE, TN—Ingram Content Group Inc. and Macmillan today announced a new distribution services model that will integrate Ingram's print on demand (POD) and fulfillment capability with Macmillan's publishing program.
Macmillan will use Ingram's print on demand and physical distribution infrastructure to manage traditional inventory and POD for "long tail" titles. Macmillan will continue to fully service its customer relationships from its primary warehouse in Virginia.
"Macmillan recognizes that during these times of change in the publishing industry, the traditional methods of solving the logistics and print business challenges cannot remain the same," said Peter Garabedian, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Macmillan. "Ingram's unique and fully integrated solution, offering physical fulfillment combined with a print on demand solution for titles that no longer make sense to print and hold, helps us reduce our overall inventory commitment and frees up capacity in our distribution center as well as resources to invest in the future success of our company.
Mr. Garabedian continued, "We have strategically positioned our physical and digital operations to help our content reach more readers in more formats. With Ingram's power of physical warehousing and print through Lightning Source combined with CoreSource, their digital asset management, we can take advantage of Ingram's complementary services to grow our business."
"As a premier and forward-looking publisher, Macmillan recognized that the future of publishing requires rethinking the business model" said David "Skip" Prichard, President and CEO, Ingram Content Group. "At Ingram we are uniquely positioned to offer solutions that help publishers focus on content development while we focus on print on demand, physical fulfillment, and digital distribution."
"Ingram is the only place publishers can go for end-to-end content management. Other providers can only offer limited solutions or access to third-party partners, which still leaves much of the backend work on publishers," said Mr. Prichard. "By skillfully combining traditionally separate content products and services, both physical and digital, into a seamless comprehensive strategy, Ingram is creating new business models, and we are thrilled to be doing so with a prominent publisher such as Macmillan."
