HarperCollins has turned over its U.S. distribution to RR Donnelley. By next summer, a RR Donnelley distribution facility will warehouse and “pick, pack, and ship” all U.S. HarperCollins titles.
UPDATE: According to the Associated Press, 192 jobs will be lost as the publisher closes warehouse in Pennsylvania.
Under the terms of the expanded partnership, all HarperCollins U.S. books will be available to ship from one central facility. The idea is to make it easier to distribute titles to booksellers across the country with more efficiency.
Here’s more from the release: “With this combination, booksellers will be able to order, track, and receive books through a common system; save time and money receiving fewer consignments from HarperCollins divisions; minimize freight costs; and benefit from increased fill rates through on-site manufacturing capabilities. RR Donnelley will balance print runs across offset and digital presses to provide fast delivery of hot titles, thus getting authors’ books into stores faster.”
Globally speaking, RR Donnelley’s partner HCUK’s Glasgow facility will be a resource for HarperCollins to digitally print and distribute books in Europe. RR Donnelley will also support HarperCollins’s print-on-demand needs in Australia.
(AP link via Publishers Lunch)