Deconstructing Distribution
To keep costs down to this percentage, the publisher needs to be doing enough business to afford the basic overhead of leasing or owning the warehouse space even when there is no activity. The alternative is to engage a warehousing and fulfillment service, of which there are a number serving the publishing industry (for a starter list see www.BookPublishingSoftware.com/book-fulfillment.htm).
Eugene G. Schwartz is editor at large for ForeWord Reviews, an industry observer and an occasional columnist for Book Business magazine. In an earlier career, he was in the printing business and held production management positions at Random House, Prentice-Hall/Goodyear and CRM Books/Psychology Today. A former PMA (IBPA) board member, he has headed his own publishing consultancy, Consortium House. He is also Co-Founder of Worthy Shorts Inc., a development stage online private press and publication service for professionals as well as an online back office publication service for publishers and associations. He is on the Publishing Business Conference and Expo Advisory Board.