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WEBINARPrint on Demand (POD)Society of Scholarly Publishing
Troy OtsDirector, Production SystemsSAGE PublicationsMarch 11, 2014
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Print on Demand vs. Traditional Inventory
POD made perfect sense when we thought journals print subs were on their way out
Does it still make sense?
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Traditional journals inventory
● Inexpensive to overprint● For us, warehouse space is fairly inexpensive● Copies on hand ● Flexibility and control over inventory● Reasonably easy to manage
Why it works
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Series1
What is the cost of POD?Printing extras = less than $1.00/copy
Printing POD = more than $4.00/copy
At 4 times the cost, why bother
with a POD model?● Free up warehouse space
• Warehouse space costs money
● Eliminate shipping costs• Copies mail directly from the printer
● Reduce waste• Waste reduces or even eliminates savings
● Possibly more control
Quantity
Unit Cost
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So, what did we do?
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We moved…
from this to this
SAGE Printer
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Our goal: Get the best of everything!
● Eliminate the warehouse requirement● Always have inventory● Eliminate (or significantly reduce) waste ● Get the lowest possible unit rate● Make it as invisible as possible
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How did we do it?
Cherry picked all the best parts!
● Completely eliminated our SAGE journals warehouse● Moved inventory management to our printers● Limited a journals inventory life to 1 year● Moved to zero overs for all digitally printed titles● Reduced all other standard titles to “micro” inventory● Backed everything up with a robust POD program
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Hybrid POD
Micro inventory backed by a POD program● Not “zero” inventory but
“invisible” inventory• Invisible to external
and internal customersPOD
Inventory12 copies in printer’s inventory
Order for 15 copies12 from inventory + 3 POD = 15 bulk
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How does it add up?
Back issue orders = 28 copies
Traditional inventory model
150 copies in stock – 28 copies ordered = 150 @ $1 = $150
POD model
0 copies in stock – 28 copies ordered = 28 @ $4 = $112
Micro inventory (hybrid) model
20 copies in stock – 28 copies ordered = (20 @ $1) + (8 @ $4) = $20 + $32 = $52
Micro Inventory65% savings over traditional inventory
53% savings over straight POD
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Impact on inventory and cost
20102013
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
InventoryPOD
2010 2011 2012 2013
0.78
0.79
0.8
0.81
0.82
0.83
0.84
0.85
0.86
0.87
Cost per copy
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Challenges to be aware of
● It is more work than traditional inventory● It is more work than straight POD● ROI● No physical copies to grab● Requires monitoring and adjustments● Requires reporting● POD covers will not match your PMS covers
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Finding the right solution
● Work with your printers● Develop a model that works for your business● Report, track, adjust, repeat● Be flexible and make sure your printer is flexible● It does not have to be an “all or nothing” approach● “One size fits all” solutions do not work
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Thank you