The State of Sourcing

Margin pressures are a sign of maturity (and commoditization) in any services industry. Publishing outsourcing is no different. Low entry barriers have kept the wannabes pouring in, relentlessly setting up shop, offering ridiculously low prices … to a point where it won’t work any further. However, that hasn’t stopped any more wannabes from joining the game.

While this phenomenon on one side of the industry spectrum has led to rapid commoditization of services, it has also galvanized creativity amongst players on the other side. Innovations in productivity enhancements, process refinement and proprietary product development has become the new mantra for industry leaders, in order to stay in a profitable game. Today, prices have dropped to levels that have pushed struggling players out of business, while the larger players are desperately seeking opportunities to grow.

Continue reading ‘The yin-yang of publishing outsourcing’ »

The publishing industry has been undergoing a transition. Starting with increasing costs of production and print, the industry is struggling to address the increasing demand of digital content as opposed to print. In the midst of this transition, the global economic slowdown prompted lesser spending by consumers and corporate spenders.  Over the past few months, we have seen publishers try a variety of approaches – going digital, reducing print publishing, and cutting costs.

In spite of these measures, one thing comes across very strongly – the industry is yet to find that one formula/method that addresses all their problems. The lack of such a formula forced us to ask the question – will publishers outsource? Sure, some publishers already outsource certain aspects of their operations. But will they outsource more? Will they end up offshoring? And if they do want to outsource/offshore, what are the primary reasons for doing so? Are they hoping outsourcing will  be the ‘X’ factor while re-defining their business model?

Continue reading ‘Will publishers outsource?’ »

A lot has been said and written about ebooks, ebook readers and the stimulus that the publishing industry has been giving to anything and everything digital. The arrival of a technology behemoth such as Google just goes to validate that the market is in fact, worth it.

What about Google?

For starters, Google stunned the publishing industry, with the launch of Google Editions at the recently concluded Frankfurt Book Fair. The company is launching an online service for booksellers and will let readers buy books and read them on a range of devices – from computers to cell phones. Continue reading ‘Don’t be e-vil’ »

It’s easy to dismiss technological alternatives to established time-tested tools as fads… And easier still, to get carried away by the sweeping power of technological innovation!  Well, in this case I am referring to the Kindle, Sony reader and the ever-evolving e-reader clan and the writing off of paper and print. Critics across generational divides have strong opinions supporting both sides. Technology drove the music industry’s evolution and the fade-out of non-adapters. Will this be replicated in the publishing industry, evolving rapidly in a digital era?

Almost everyone in the industry is trying to make sense of what lies ahead… Which technology will emerge stronger and which one will bite the dust?  Will e-readers replace print books entirely? Where will the industry head to if it doesn’t toe the line?

Continue reading ‘The content-technology tussle’ »

Over the last few years, there has been a trend among Indian service providers to build complementary capabilities by acquiring smaller publishing service companies in the US. Naturally, the all-time-low valuations have helped seal deals faster for service providers, who are looking to complete the missing piece of ‘high-value content’ in the end-to-end service provider puzzle.

Some of the recent acquisitions include: Continue reading ‘Small and niche – make a good fit’ »

The outbreak of swine flu has sent countries, cities, people, media, the bureaucracy and governments across the world in a frenzy. In the context of publishing, the swine flu threatens to disrupt sourcing to countries such as India and Philippines.

So what can publishers do to counter potential disruptions in their sourcing?

Starting with in-house resources, the management has to draw contingency plans and preventive measures to ensure that workflows don’t get disrupted at any point. A few contingent plans include enabling employees to work from home, ensuring adequate cover in the form of temporary hires, or shifting workload to other offices.

Continue reading ‘When pigs fly…’ »

Getting up at 3.30 AM is not a good way for me to start my day… especially if I need to dress up in formals. But one flight to Chennai and twelve hours later, I can safely say it was worth it!

We, at ValueNotes Outsourcing Practice, arranged an executive briefing for our report “Offshoring in the Publishing Vertical: 2009” at the GRT Radisson, Chennai on the 26^th of June ’09.  What’s an executive briefing, you ask? Well, we start off with a presentation by one of our analysts on the major findings from the latest report (hence the need for formal attire). This is followed by a panel discussion where industry members discuss, dissect and evaluate certain prominent issues relating to the industry.  The topic we presented before the panel ( Prema from TexTech, Neeraj from PreMedia Global and Nanda from S4Carlisle) was themed around the future outlook of the publishing industry, specifically in terms of challenges and issues.

Vendor consolidation seems to be something that is playing on every publisher’s (and consequently every service provider’s) mind. Publishers are consolidating their respective offshore/onshore service provider base – Continue reading ‘Of executives, formals and publishing…’ »

Recently I had discussions with managers at some leading publishing companies to assess why there is hesitance to offshore some creative services – especially book cover design, illustrations, image design etc. in a big way. I find that most responses are ‘colored’ … with their perceptions about outsourcing and that too ‘outsourcing high-end’ work … Until … I spoke to a small UK-based publisher who was sold out on the concept of outsourcing and has over the last two years managed to offshore his entire production, design and even sub-editing! And is happy being an almost ‘one-man show’ at his UK office.

A book cover design may cost anywhere from $100/hr upwards in the US, vis-à-vis half the cost of doing it in India. Sounds attractive? Definitely… Costs have always made sense for even non-believers of offshoring. However, that alone does not build the case for offshoring…!

Continue reading ‘Offshoring Creative Services – The Fitment Factor’ »

I have access to the internet almost all my waking hours. I read a lot of news and articles online, yet I subscribe to a newspaper. I have thought to myself – I just need to go online and I have access to all the news as they come in, I can forward it to whom I want, set up RSS feeds, yet I buy the newspaper?

Well I guess that reading the newspaper with my first cup in the morning has become a habit. And this is what newspaper publishers hope for – that free content translates to subscribers and subscribers translate to  ad revenues. Most of the costs of a newspaper are recovered from ad revenues. And that is the primary reason for the dilemma newspapers are in – reduction in ad spending and dwindling subscribers.

Continue reading ‘Of newsprint and magazine gloss…’ »