| Should a publisher handle their
own order fulfillment (ie storage, pick, pack
and ship) or out source order fulfillment?
There is no one correct answer. If you are
a publisher based in NYC you probably want
to hire a fulfillment service due to the high
cost of rent and labor. If you located in
New Hampshire you might want to do it yourself
due to the lower cost of land and labor and
the greater control that this offers the publisher.
Quite often a publisher will start with their
own warehouse in a garage, hire a fulfillment
service as they grow, and then return to running
their own warehouse operation when they grow
large enough to see significant cost savings.
If their growth continues they may once again
return to using an outside fulfillment service
or start a joint fulfillment operation in
conjunction with other publishers.
What are the Pros and Cons
With an outside fulfillment service you can
avoid the headaches and overhead associated
with running a storage and shipping operation.
At the same time you do not have the same
control over your inventory operations and
if you run into financial squeeze you might
find that your outside fulfillment service
stops shipping stock until payment in received.
Fulfillment Services
A fullfillment service will pick, pack and
ship orders that a publisher sends them. Many
software packages can send an electronic file
to these services and recieve a shipping confirmation
file back. Fulfillment services that we recommend
include;
- Biblio Distribution
- Bookmasters
- Maple Vail
- Publishers Shipping and Storage Corporation
- Ware-Pak
A more complete list can be found in the
current edition of the Literary Market Place,
at www.literarymarketplace.com,
or at bookpublishingsoftware.com.
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