BTPS: Full-Service Book Distribution--And Much More

Formed two years ago, Baker & Taylor Publisher Services (BTPS) offers an impressive, complete range of services for its publisher clients, including sales and distribution to both domestic and/or global markets; warehousing and fulfillment; digital and offset printing and 3PL (third-party logistics) services.

BTPS sells to the specialty retail and wholesale markets, libraries and institutions, mass market accounts and gift stores, and altogether  has more than 110 sales reps in various markets. Internationally, the company has dedicated sales reps around the world that represent its clients to retailers and wholesalers.

Most important in the industry, even though B&T itself no longer sells on a wholesale basis to independent book retailers, BTPS does sell to the general book trade--and that business has actually increased considerably recently. As BTPS senior v-p Mark Suchomel emphasizes: "We sell to all retailers and wholesalers."

In terms of marketing, titles distributed by BTPS have the advantage of integration throughout Follett, which is the leader in the K-12 school library and higher education retail markets, and B&T, which services the public library market. As a result, Suchomel notes, "They help us reach these markets at a level no one else can reach."

Likewise, BTPS specializes in book manufacturing, allowing it to offer print on demand and offset printing for its client publishers through its state of the art digital printing presses and its offset equipment. The company offers inventory solutions for its full-service and 3PL clients, and it handles just fulfillment for some client publishers. "We manufacture for major publishers and small presses," Suchomel says. "We also work with a good number of publishers doing just their fulfillment, and that has grown over the last couple of years as well."

For all its clients, BTPS "continues to expand our reach and is always exploring new ways we can help our clients grow sales and reduce their risk," Suchomel adds. "We are excited at the opportunities to gain market share domestically and internationally."

BTPS's clients represent a wide range of independent publishing in many areas and categories, among them McSweeney's, ECW, Flowerpot and Arcturus Publishing. For more on them and others, see below.

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