Peter Perine Peter Perine

We are in a time when book publishers are being squeezed from nearly every direction. The rising costs of paper, printing, shipping and warehousing are driving up manufacturing costs, which the already-compressed bottom line cannot absorb. Beyond this, an increasingly inefficient traditional supply chain that accounts for most of the industry's revenue is gradually becoming its Achilles' heel. Given these circumstances, and without a best-selling title or two, a publisher's only real option for handling profit pressures is to wring out costs. Opportunities exist, but it is challenging to change the processes that are so entrenched in how the publishing business is run.