Solutions Showcase: Fulfilling Your Core Competencies
With the U.S. economy on shaky ground, book publishers, like so many others, are honing in on ways to cut costs while growing their businesses. This often means tapping the resources of thirdparty partners to manage the aspects of the publishing business that fall outside the publisher’s core competencies (creating and marketing great content)—things like physically managing inventory and fulfilling orders from retail partners and consumers. For fulfillment help, publishers may turn to their book printers, which often have warehousing and fulfillment operations to complement their manufacturing services, or to a third-party fulfillment specialist.
Location, Location, Location
Direct-mailers will tell you that minimizing mail costs has a lot to do with location, and the same can be said for book distribution. Having to truck shipments long distances to get them into the USPS or other shipping stream can be rather expensive—particularly with gas prices now hovering around the $3 to $4/gallon mark. Finding a fulfillment specialist that can `minimize these transportation costs is a priority for many publishers.
Maple-Vail Distribution Services, part of the Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group, for example, has three distribution centers in Pennsylvania, strategically located near major trucking routes and USPS bulk mail centers. Publishers do not have to be manufacturing customers of Maple- Vail Book Manufacturing in order to take advantage of the Distribution Services, although, notes Bill Long, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, “having us handle both has significant cost advantages.”
Outsourcing, But Retaining Control
More than just bricks and mortar, a warehouse is only as effective as its fulfillment staff and the systems they employ for managing operations and communicating with customers.
“As a company, we are consistently hearing from the publishing community their desire to outsource the non-core supply-chain activities—like product sourcing, warehousing and fulfillment services— with the caveat that they can still have intimate knowledge and visibility of their inventory and shipments,” explains Jeremy Doak, director of marketing, New Territories in North Kingstown, R.I.
New Territories, for example, has developed a proprietary, Web-enabled solution called nt360, an online tool that provides publishers with real-time inventory updates. Publishers can check order status, review stock levels and receive shipment confirmations.
Other suppliers, like Berkshire Information Systems Inc. in Lenox, Mass., also have invested in Web-enabled inventory management solutions for real-time communication with fulfillment customers, including automated messaging when an item has been shipped and tracking information.
Beyond Pick, Pack and Ship
While plenty of suppliers and book printers offer reliable storage complemented by simplistic pick, pack and ship services, many fulfillment service providers offer a diverse menu of services to meet publishers’ growing needs.
“As part of our proposal process, ABDI invests considerable effort to understand the e-commerce and fulfillment requirements of prospective clients,” notes Michael Cheteyan, CEO for ABDI Inc. in Leetsdale, Pa.
Approximately 98 percent of ABDI’s fulfillment customers are book publishers, many of which are “specialty publishers” catering to industries such as healthcare, education, leisure, engineering and children’s publishing. “ABDI caters to book publishers who print with other companies and have their products shipped to ABDI for storage and distribution,” Cheteyan clarifies.
An advantage a business-process outsourcing (BPO) firm offers over a printer that lacks a fully integrated solution, says Doak, “is the ability to choose a warehousing and fulfillment solution that meets the client’s needs. Some warehouses are suited only to bulk shipments to the channel, while others excel at direct- to-consumer shipments. A BPO [may] provide a more tailored, client-centric solution.”
Conversely, a book printer may be better equipped to help publishers achieve the utopian “just-in-time inventory.” Book- Masters Inc., for example, has a digital print division that’s enabled its fulfillment customers to replenish stock in small quantities, avoiding larger, more costly offset runs.
“Just-in-time inventory is a great strategy for publishers, particularly when you have an economic downturn like we’re currently experiencing,” suggests David Wurster, BookMasters’ COO. “With our digital print capabilities, we can actually run 10 or 20 copies of a title, enabling publishers to better manage their backlists with very small replacement runs on a digital press.
“Are you paying a little more per unit with digital printing? Of course you are,” says Wurster. “But you don’t have the huge capital outlay of a full offset run and storing those excess copies. Quite frankly, if you’re a struggling publishing house these days, cash is a very valuable resource that you’d like to smartly tap into.”
Though BookMasters’ roots are in offset printing and book binding, the Ashland, Ohio-based company also has offered fulfillment services (for both its print and nonprint customers) for more than two decades.
“In the mid ’80s, we started our fulfillment operations, which started out as most book printers start, with a focus on pick, pack and ship services,” Wurster recalls. “Very quickly, we began to develop more of a full-service program—meaning we’d take over customer service and accounts receivable functions for the publisher. With a full-service approach, we are able to take and process orders directly from our publishers’ customers, the book buyers, who could be from institutions, retailers or wholesalers. And for publishers who’d like us to deal directly with consumers, we also host AtlasBooks.com, our online store that’s backed by a 24/7 callcenter.”
Wurster notes that there remains a market for simple pick, pack and ship services, but he’s seeing a trend among book publishers toward richer outsourcing relationships. “The excitement I hear from publishers is this: ‘You have allowed us, as a publishing company, to focus on the things that are necessary to grow my business, such as acquiring new titles, marketing and publicity.’ It’s all about core competencies.”
Warehousing and Fulfillment Solutions
Here are some of the warehousing and fulfillment options available to publishers:
ABDI Inc.
Services: Provides fully integrated fulfillment services, including customer service, e-commerce, warehousing, order entry, kitting and assembly, packaging and shipping, management reporting, bulk mailing services and on-demand printing. ABDI also offers Web-store development and management, and CD/DVD/video/audio on-demand duplication.
Pricing: Not provided. Offers an a-lacarte pricing model, allowing publishers to pay only for services used.
Book publishing customers include: Not available for publication.
Contact: (800) 796-6471, www.ABDIntl.com
Aero Fulfillment Services
Services: With 700,000 square feet of warehousing space, Aero Fulfillment Services supports trade publication distribution and has in-house capabilities designed to handle ordering and delivery to large retailers. The company also supports distribution for book-of-the-month programs and pre-order fulfillment, and manages returns, back-end invoicing and payment processing.
Pricing: Not provided.
Book publishing customers include: Not available for publication.
Contact: (800) 225-7145, www.AeroFulfillmentServicesCorp.com
Amazon.com Inc.
Services: “Fulfillment by Amazon” is a new service that enables book publishers to send inventory directly to Amazon, where it is stored and managed in a secure, climate-controlled facility. When orders are received, Amazon picks, packs and ships the products direct to the publishers’ customers. Fulfillment by Amazon is available to any merchant, whether they sell on Amazon or not. “Basic Fulfillment” is Amazon’s service that enables merchants to fulfill orders from sales channels other than Amazon. com using inventory they have stored in the Amazon Fulfillment Center.
Pricing: There are no setup or subscription fees when enrolling in Fulfillment by Amazon. Publishers pay only when a sale is transacted. Prices for Basic Fulfillment vary depending on the item and the ship method used.
Book publishing customers include: Not available for publication.
Contact: www.Amazon.com
aNETorder Inc.
Services: aNetorder’s facilities are strategically located in Louisville, Ky., and Naperville, Ill., near Chicago to enable aNetorder to offer lower transport costs and expedited delivery. The distribution centers introduce mailed products directly into the USPS Bulk, Sectional and Destination Delivery units. aNet’s Oracle-based warehouse-management system moves product through the operation—from receipt of goods to final delivery—and an inventory and order-processing module enables customers secure access to their inventory and transactional data 24/7.
Pricing: Not provided.
Book publishing customers include: Not available for publication.
Contact: (502) 995-2000 (Louisville), (630) 579-8800 (Naperville), www.aNetorder.com
Berkshire Information Systems Inc.
Services: The 60,000-square-foot warehouse offers fulfillment services including consumer and bulk distribution. Order shipments are complete with online verification, tracking and proof of delivery. Standard online inventory and activity reporting includes automatic inventory low-stock notification.
Pricing: Not provided.
Book publishing customers include: Not available for publication.
Contact: (800) 232-3240, www.Berkshire-IS.com
BookMasters Inc.
Services: Offers both trade and direct-to-consumer (through AtlasBooks.com) fulfillment services, including order processing, inventory control and customer service support. An online accountmanagement system enables publishers to access order, sales and inventory information in real-time via a secure Internet connection.
Pricing: Not provided. Pricing structure is dependent upon the services publishers choose and may be based upon a pertransaction or percentage-of-sales rates.
Book publishing customers include: University of Pittsburgh; Carnegie Learning; Kent State University; Purdue University
Contact: (800) 537-6727, www.Book-Masters.com
Books International Inc.
Services: Shipping programs provide pick, pack and ship services along with carrier-compliant labeling. The programs enable clients to send electronic shipping files from their chosen software programs, and electronic confirmations are returned to them, along with various inventory reports.
Pricing: Not provided. Publishers are charged an inclusive fee based on a percentage of monthly gross sales.
Book publishing customers include: Capital Books; Kumon Publishing; Potomac Books; University Science Books; World Book Inc.
Contact: (703) 661-1500, www.BooksIntl.com
Fairrington Transportation Corp.
Services: Operates warehouses in Bolingbrook, Ill., and Cranbury, N.J., and provides a range of inventory and fulfillment services, including pick, pack and kitting; and inventory reporting and management control.A
Pricing: Not provided.
Book publishing customers include: Not available for publication.
Contact: (800) 323-5935, (630) 783-9200, www.Fairrington.com
Fulfillment America Inc.
Services: Its fulfillment and logistics services include: low-stock item alert, maintained print-on-demand items for low stock, online reporting, advance receipt notifications, bar-coding, picking, packing, assembly and labeling, kitting (including client custom kitting online), shipping via all common carriers with real-time update of tracking information for Web reporting, shipment consolidation, route optimization and cost analysis for all outbound shipping activity.
Pricing: Not available.
Book publishing customers include: CollegeBoard
Contact: (978) 988-7576, www.FulfillmentAmerica.com
Karol Media
Services: Provides fulfillment services to publishers, associations and public relations firms, including e-commerce and customer service support; and pick-andpack, inventory management, returns and reporting management. Also offers media services like video, CD or DVD duplication, media packaging, literature printing and ad specialties.
Pricing: Not provided. Offers several fee structures based on a publisher’s service requirements and volume activity.
Book publishing customers include: Not available for publication.
Contact: (800) 526-4773, www.Karol-Media.com
The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group
Services: Provides warehousing and fulfillment services at three distribution centers located in Pennsylvania. The centers comprise more than 410,000 square feet and are strategically located near main trucking routes and bulk mail centers, designed to enable customers to minimize transportation and mailing costs. Services include receiving, racked storage, pick-and-pack, drop and bulk shipping, individual cartoning, lettershop capabilities and returns processing.
Pricing: Not provided. Pricing is based on services rendered and specific needs.
Book publishing customers include: Facts-on-File; Johns Hopkins University Press; Longleaf Services; Guilford Publishing
Contact: (717) 764-5911, www.Maple-Vail.com
New Territories
Services: New Territories, a businessprocess outsourcing firm, offers warehousing solutions for components and finished goods, and provides tools to manage inventory with nt-360, an online tool for real-time inventory updates. It also provides supply-chain solutions including order management, component sourcing, finished kit assembly, inventory management and distribution.
Pricing: Not provided. Prices vary based on customized solutions per client.
Book publishing customers include: Rosen Classroom Books & Materials; The Crossroad Publishing Co.; O’Reilly Media
Contact: (401) 583-0226, www.New-Territories.net
ViaTech Publishing Solutions
Services: The company was created as a publishing solution that combines advanced just-in-time manufacturing concepts with emerging print-ondemand technologies. It offers an automated fulfillment system that provides turnkey, Web-enabled fulfillment and delivery, including assembly, pick-andpack, distribution and tracking services. Users can design, develop and proof projects locally, and then distribute and print at the ViaTech facilities closest to delivery points.
Pricing: Not provided.
Book publishing customers include: Not available for publication.
Contact: (800) 645-8558, (631) 968-8500, www.ViaTechPub.com
Ware-Pak Inc.
Services: Ware-Pak provides product warehousing and storage, book fulfillment and distribution, customized packaging, pick and pack, kitting, assembly and returns processing, among others. Its warehouse management system, IRMS, automates inventory management and returns processing.
Pricing: Not provided.
Book publishing customers include: Ideals Publications
Contact: (708) 534-2600, www.Ware-Pak.com
Whitehurst & Clark Book Fulfillment Inc.
Services: Provides fulfillment services to associations and publishers, and can manage all facets of the fulfillment workflow—from order processing (including invoicing to reporting, credit-card clearing to customer service) to pick, pack and shipping, invoicing, inventory reporting and returns processing.
Pricing: Not provided.
Book publishing customers include: Associated Press; Nikon; Insurance Information Institute; Camino Book Publishers
Contact: (800) 488-8040, (908) 782-2323, www.WCBks.com
Gretchen A. Peck is a freelance author who writes about the international printing and publishing industries.
- Companies:
- Aero Fulfillment Services
- Amazon.com
- Berkshire Information Systems Inc.
- BookMasters Inc.
- Books Intl. Inc.
- Fairrington Transportation Corp.
- Fulfillment America Inc.
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Karol Media
- New Territories Inc.
- Oracle
- The Associated Press
- The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group
- Ware-Pak Inc.
- World Book