Sheridan Provides POD Solution to Northwestern University Press via Chicago Distribution Center

HUNT VALLEY, MD—January 16, 2014—Northwestern University Press (NUP) has commissioned a print on demand (POD) solution that pairs Sheridan’s Select POD technology with the services of the Chicago Distribution Center (CDC) at the University of Chicago Press. The CDC provides warehousing, fulfillment, and reporting services to many of the world’s finest academic and scholarly publishers. CDC also offers a digital asset management solution called BiblioVault, which is a repository for digital book files.

The process for fulfilling Northwestern University Press titles is straightforward. Print-ready files for NUP’s hardcover case bound books are sent once from BiblioVault to Sheridan’s ElectronicWarehouse where the files are retained for future POD orders. As the Northwestern books are sold, primarily through major third-party retailers, the CDC receives and routes those orders automatically to Sheridan. The Select system receives the orders and automatically pulls the required print files from the Electronic Warehouse sending it into production. Once the books are manufactured and shipped to their destination, Sheridan automatically notifies CDC with order, shipment, and tracking information for their reporting.

Northwestern University Press has managed the back-issue/fulfillment of many of their books through the CDC since 1993. Bringing Sheridan into the workflow represents another dimension in the program that not only enhances customer service but further streamlines the efficiency of the program. Specifically, NUP wanted to reduce its inventory burden while keeping books in print longer, and continuing to offer academic libraries the durable bindings they expect. Additional goals were to eliminate two-time shipments by fulfilling orders directly from production and to maintain or reduce delivery times.

AC Racette, Production Manager at NUP, reflected, “We are impressed with the quality of Sheridan’s work. The bindings and print image are impeccable. Equally important, communications with Sheridan, CDC, and Bibliovault have been collegial as we work through this new system together. Thanks to Sheridan’s professionalism, the system—now in place—has not added to our in-house workload. This new workflow is an example of all parties doing what they do best, for a seamless customer experience. With an increasing portion of readers moving toward digital, we wanted to apply those advantages gleaned from e-distribution to the print version for those who favor it.”

Eric Biggins, Sheridan technology manager, also commented, “It’s exciting to see yet another example of how publishers are leveraging the power and flexibility of Sheridan Select’s automated POD solution. Northwestern is now able to provide beautiful hardcover books to their consumers while at the same time eliminating both physical warehouse inventory, as well as upfront printing costs.”

About Northwestern University Press
Founded in 1893, Northwestern University Press is committed to the widest dissemination of scholarship as possible and, as such, continues to look at new media and other alternatives to the traditional book as it strives to promote the finest works of scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. The Press is known for publishing important works in continental philosophy, Slavic studies, literary criticism, European and world classics, as well as prize-winning fiction, poetry, drama, and books of regional interest. The Press publishes in a wide variety of disciplines and has made one of its publishing strategies the alignment of the Press with Northwestern University’s strengths and priorities.

About Sheridan
Sheridan is a leading provider of print, publishing services and technology solutions to publishers, associations, university presses, and catalogers. Comprised of The Sheridan Press, Dartmouth Printing Company, Dartmouth Journal Services, and Sheridan Books, each company within The Sheridan Group has a market specialty that supports scholarly journals, magazines, catalogs, or books.

Source: Sheridan.