Independent Publishers Group has reorganized United Independent Distributors, the U.K. distribution company it purchased a year ago and which has received criticism from U.K. publishers because of ongoing problems with UID's Orca Book Services. Orca was owned by Marston Book Services before Marston was acquired by UID in 2019.
Under the reorganization, the Eurospan unit is being consolidated with Marston Book Services's systems in UID's Biggleswade Distribution Centre. The U.K. management team is being reorganized into a single "shared services model." The Turpin Distribution unit is being closed, and there will be a one-time reduction in staff across the companies.
IPG said its U.K. distribution operations had been hurt in part by "major structural changes" in scholarly publishing, including "a move to Open Access publishing, a decline in journal subscriptions, and a move toward lower-priced digital journals. The Turpin board has worked hard with its professional advisors to find a solvent solution to preserve the company or a going concern sale of the company's business, but regrettably this has proven impossible."
The company added that "the reorganization to shared services departments offers a tremendous opportunity to eliminate duplication of effort, close redundant positions, and bring best-practice workflows and systems used by the various entities into one streamlined operation. The reduction in overheads through consolidation to shared services will achieve profitability while preserving a high-quality service for publisher satisfaction. There are no further layoffs planned. We hope employees see a bright future in the company with greater ability for upward mobility, deeper departments that offer increased business continuity, and better systems and services to support our publishers."
As of October 1, all orders for publishers distributed by Eurospan are being processed by the customer service team at Marston. Trade customers have been informed. This will, IPG said, "increase efficiency for Eurospan and their customers through consolidation of deliveries and simplified accounting through Marston's credit control team."
Under the management reorganization, Joe Matthews, global CEO, will spend equal time with the U.K. and U.S. domestic territories. Frank Autunnale will become global CFO, overseeing finance and accounting teams in the U.S. and the U.K. He will also continue to oversee the HR departments, with Julie Barnes named U.K. director of HR.
Imogen Adams, managing director of Eurospan, remains responsible for the health of Eurospan publishers but will join the global business development team, which will allow her to offer services in both the U.K. and U.S. domestic markets along with the global network of sub-distributors and agents. Eurospan's Andrew Boughton becomes director of operations.
Joe Matthews commented: "This restructuring of the U.K. has long been anticipated and the leadership team is excited to execute our plans to build a strong and enduring future for the business."