Capstone Unites Product Management with ONIX in a Single System

Capstone Publishing selected BiblioSuite to centralize and seamlessly manage their products, including series and packs, in one unified system. This set-up allows them to efficiently handle product metadata and deliver tailored ONIX feeds to distributors and retailers from a single centralized hub—ensuring accuracy, real-time updates across their publishing processes, and improved data visibility across teams to boost operational efficiency.

"Switching to BiblioSuite has transformed how we manage our publishing operations. We've eliminated data inconsistencies and reduced manual tasks, which saves us time and resources. Centralizing everything in one place has not only streamlined our workflow but also significantly improved our ability to deliver accurate, real-time updates. BiblioSuite has become essential to our commitment to efficiency and excellence in product management." - Beth Brezenoff, Vice President of Publishing, Capstone

The Challenge

Previously, Capstone relied on multiple, disparate systems to manage their publishing workflows, including an industry-leading ONIX system separate from their project management software. This meant exporting data from their title management system into their ONIX system, and manually re-keying book titles and product data when changes occurred. This process was time-consuming, led to data inconsistencies between systems, and was expensive due to the per-title pricing of their former ONIX software. By choosing BiblioSuite, Capstone has cost-effectively combined title information, product management and ONIX distribution, enabling their teams to manage multiple formats (including packs and series) cohesively and eliminate manual data handling with a single, comprehensive system.

The Solution

Capstone replaced their disparate systems with BiblioSuite’s centralized publishing management software that integrates all their bibliographic, editorial, marketing, sales, and contact information.

“On Day One, BiblioSuite immediately streamlined our data entry, saving staff time and improving workflows. Plus, we now have accurate and reportable data—all in one place.” - Lacy Hilterbrand, Metadata Director, Capstone Publishing

Why Virtusales?

BiblioSuite, our industry-leading publishing software, provides a fully integrated solution that eliminates the need for data transfers between systems. It provides a range of wizards and templates, as well as powerful tools for synchronizing metadata between related products and carrying out batch updates. These features are especially useful for publishers handling high volumes of titles, and were specifically appealing to Capstone as they produce diverse groups of products in a variety of formats.

Benefits of BiblioSuite

Improved Product Management for Series and Multiple Formats

As a series publisher, Capstone maintains brand standards for page count, trim size, jacket and cover specs, price, Series name, BISAC subject codes, and more. In Biblio, specs are templated so new products can be quickly and easily set up, ensuring strong and consistent brand standards without the need to re-key information.

Templates allow for all product types and formats to be easily defaulted in, providing Capstone with a quick way to produce a group of products for a new Series title that will include the correct mix of print, ebook and digital interactive products required. Synchronization allows for copy text to be copied from Hardback to Paperback and eBook, for example, and can be used to sync any future changes and updates, improving data consistency and reducing the time needed to keep title records accurate and up-to-date.

BiblioSuite can also store multiple Children’s Levels complexity codes, including ‘from’ and ‘to’ age range values, and feed them out in ONIX, helping Capstone to ensure product discoverability online, and correct placement of their titles in bookstores and online platforms.

Effortless Images Creation Tailored to Partners’ Requirements

BiblioSuite enables Capstone to generate cover images and other assets in various sizes and formats at the click of a button. Held centrally alongside their product information, digital assets and files, this improves the visibility of their marketing materials internally and enriches their ONIX feeds, enabling them to meet the individual requirements of their distributors and retailers.

Greater Visibility of Key Information Through Personalized Dashboards

Dashboards provide custom views of title and production data to the editorial, metadata, marketing, and creative teams. In particular, they provide quick links to production schedules, contracts, ISBN allocation, subject codes, and other areas of the system, without having to navigate through a series of menus and screens—accelerating Capstone’s day-to-day workflows.

Custom copy types allow Capstone to manage and access acquisitions information, rights, positioning and series concepts as distinct data points that are fully reportable, increasing visibility across departments and helping the publisher to effortlessly monitor their data. Previously this information was held in notes fields and was not reportable as a result.

Cost-Effective ONIX Management and Distribution

Capstone's previous ONIX system required title data to be exported from their bibliographic system and imported into the ONIX software. Title data and updates were not synchronized in real-time and incurred per-title costs. As a volume publisher, Capstone found this prohibitive so not all available title records were included in the ONIX system; impacting their overall discoverability and sales potential.

"BiblioSuite has been a game changer for Capstone. The ONIX Wizard and user-friendly features like the 'run now' button have empowered our team to manage metadata with ease and precision, without needing to dive into complex XML files. This level of accessibility and ease-of-use means we can better serve our distributors and focus on our core mission of creating great content." - Lacy Hilterbrand, Metadata Director, Capstone Publishing

BiblioSuite gives Capstone complete control over the scheduling and distribution of ONIX files to recipients. The ‘run now’ button allows for a single title to be sent at any time, Biblio’s ONIX Wizard displays metadata in an easily readable format, and ONIX feed tracking allows them to report on which titles were sent and when.

Time Savings and Business Efficiencies

• Streamlined data entry with consolidated workflows ensures real-time updates.

• Manual re-keying of data across systems is eliminated, improving accuracy.

• Default templates and synchronization accelerate set-up and enable consistent product management.

• Easy cover image generation saves time, streamlining marketing and enhancing assets visibility.

• Customized dashboards accelerate workflows, providing quick access to key information.

• Enhanced transparency of who is working on what across teams.

• Reduced ONIX management and troubleshooting costs boost product discoverability and sales opportunities.