Candlewick Press selected Virtusales’ Bibliographic and Rights modules to unify its departments and workflow, and provide a future-proofed system that would reduce errors and duplications.
The Challenge To support growth, Candlewick Press identified the requirement for a single unified publishing system that would incorporate the management of bibliographic, production, head contracts and rights data. The company wanted to remove offline, disparate systems including Word documents and spreadsheets in order to improve workflow between departments and enhance decision-making capabilities through the provision of accurate and up to date information. Other key goals of the project included increased automation of processes in order to reduce errors and data duplication. The Solution Biblio3: Bibliographic, Production, Contracts, Rights and Royalties Selection Process The solution had to be future-proof and allow Candlewick to always be on the latest version of the software. David Bremser, IT Director at Candlewick Press comments, “We reviewed a number of options for achieving our goals, including redeveloping existing systems and purchasing an off-the-shelf solution. Virtusales provided us with more benefits along with a much greater depth in functionality, configurability, and it was the only system that provided us with internationalisation.” "We have been working with Virtusales for a number of years now and our relationship is very much a partnership. Virtusales is available to help and work with us. I would definitely recommend them." David Bremser, IT Director, Candlewick Press Why Virtusales
Commitment to continual development, supporting Candlewick's expansion into the digital publishing arena
Free software upgrade every six to eight weeks, incorporating enhancements driven by customers
Fully internationalised, single unifying publishing system
Greater depth in functionality and configurability
Smooth Workflow
Prior to implementing Biblio3, all Candlewick’s processes were offline and involved numerous Excel documents and duplicate data entry. Biblio3’s Digital Workflow module has eradicated the need for these disparate systems and processes, with various forms, requests and procedures being set up in the system automatically. With Biblio3’s workflow system, these documents can travel electronically between departments, eliminating paper waste and the risk of important documentation being lost.
Instant Product Data
The main benefit for production has been the creation of one central database for all printings belonging to Candlewick or its sister company, Walker Books. With the introduction of Biblio3, both publishers now have easy access to correct data such as royalty information for cost estimates, bibliographic information or images.
One-Stop-Shop for All Contracts, Rights and Royalties Information
Becky Hemperly, Director of Contracts, Rights and Royalties, discusses her experience of Biblio3, “Prior to Biblio3, many processes were managed with paper or in spreadsheets. Now our publishing process is online and centralised, providing coordinated access to documents and royalty and rights information. The self-service capability has been amazing, with approximately 60-70% reduction in some areas in time spent with people asking for information on contracts, rights and other administrative data.” "Biblio3 has completely revolutionised our business." Becky Hemperly, Director of Contracts, Rights and Royalties, Candlewick Press
Sales and Marketing Documents in Minutes
Candlewick’s marketing team has been able to take full advantage of accurate and up-to-date information stored in Biblio3. Marketing Manager, Laura Rivas, explains, “Prior to Biblio3 we stored information in separate files and much of it was manually updated in the main system and then again in our marketing databases. Now, we keep our reviews, awards and publicity within Biblio3. When we need to create TIP sheets all we have to do is click a button. Previously, it was a matter of copying and pasting information from various locations into a Word document, which was a laborious, time-consuming activity.”
Automated Catalogue Creation Saves Time and Energy
David Bremser, IT Director at Candlewick Press, explains, “Biblio3’s capability to support catalogue creation has been a huge benefit for us. On average we have saved around 12 weeks a year to produce our frontlist, backlist and gift catalogues. Prior to Biblio3 this was an entirely manual process.”
Unique Software Development and Upgrade Path
David adds, “With Virtusales you have access to new software developments every six weeks, which means we are always on the latest version of the software. This also means we don’t have to worry about costly upgrades every one to two years as is typical with most software systems.”
Flexible Reporting Options
Sally Bratcher, Executive Managing Editor explains, “I love the reporting functions in Biblio3. Previously, reporting was time consuming, lacking depth and detail. With Biblio3 I can report on any field in the system using simple but very effective and detailed processes. I apply filters such as publication date or title format over the data. I can then select the format for the report (e.g. interactive, PDF, HTML, Excel) and can also select a group of people I want the report to be emailed to and when. Biblio3 looks after the rest, running the report and emailing it to the people in the list.”
David talks about the future, “One of the main reasons for selecting Virtusales was their commitment to continually developing the software product suite. Without the Biblio3 foundation, our efforts to expand into the digital publishing arena would be considerably less efficient.”
"One of the main reasons for selecting Virtusales was their commitment to continually developing the software product suite. Without the Biblio3 foundation, our efforts to expand into the digital publishing arena would be considerably less efficient."
David Bremster, IT Director, Candlewick Press
Benefits of Biblio3
TIME SAVINGS
12 weeks per year saved preparing catalogues
80% less time spent preparing rights guides
80% less time spent updating publishing schedules
60% less time spent chasing contract and rights information
INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATION
Ability to benefit from sharing titles and information between global business units
Brought separate divisions and departments closer together
Reduced risk from offline systems
Improved capability to sell and market product with information readily available
Provided critical foundation for new publishing areas (eBooks, audio, etc.)
STREAMLINED WORKFLOW
Reduction in duplication of work between departments
All information captured and stored centrally
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