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Chair: Kaveh Bazargan , River Valley

Overview : The publishing industry is increasingly reliant on expert outsourced partners for many activities, such as customer services, editorial office management, technology, hosting, sales and marketing, but as a subject it is rarely discussed in depth.  Expert speakers will discuss the benefits and opportunities of outsourcing but also the issues and challenges that publishers can face. 

This seminar aims to uncover the "why", the "how" and some best practices for outsourcing initiatives.  The speakers will also share experiences of outsourcing projects, both good and bad, and what they have learned from them.

Who should attend : Senior managers with strategic and/or decision making responsibilities who wish to gain a greater understanding of opportunities and best practices around outsourcing.

PROGRAMME

0945 Coffee & Registration

1000 Introduction from the Chair
Kaveh Bazargan

1015 The reasons for outsourcing : balancing cost, convenience and quality
Edward Wates, Wiley-Blackwell
In common with many global publishers, Wiley is facing the challenges posed by pressures on library funding, the political lobby for a move to Open Access and the digital transformation of our business. Publishers have been outsourcing to third-party suppliers over many years, and this has gradually extended to include not only traditional production functions, but other types of activity such as customer services, editorial office management, creation of marketing material, invoice processing, etc. Additional emphasis has been given to this program by the need to reduce cost and thereby release funds to invest in new, digital products. In this talk I will explore how Wiley has approached this challenge and the measures we have taken to establish both robust processes and quality measures. I will also focus on a case study relating to the closure of one of our Production locations, and how Wiley managed both the personnel issues and the business objectives in order to achieve success.

1045 It's changing roles, not losing staff .
Richard Fidczuk, SAGE Publications
One major concern that companies have when outsourcing/offshoring is what happens to their existing UK-based staff. This presentation discusses how one company, SAGE Publications, has managed to retain their UK-based staff while expanding their offshore operations. It will also discuss the impact on onshore suppliers when a significant amount of their work moves offshore.

1115 Coffee

1145 Selecting your suppliers.
Helen Whitehorn, Path Projects Ltd.
In this session we will cover the stages involved in developing successful and sustainable partnerships with outsource suppliers to support your business objectives. Beginning with the establishment of a working framework to guide the process we will explore key criteria that need to be considered, examine the tendering process including testing and move on to discuss the steps involved in delivering an effective service.

1215 Outsourcing your sales and marketing - consider this!
Lorraine Ellery, Information Professional
Opportunity or issue? This presentation aims to raise awareness of opportunities and issues that should be discussed between publishers who are considering outsourcing their sales and marketing activities and the sales agents that wish to serve them. We will also consider when and why we need a contract and the advantages and disadvantages of key clauses i.e. exclusive v’s non-exclusive sales representation. From both a publisher and sales agent perspective managing expectations both internally and externally is the most important element of any agreement reached. We will take a look at the best practice you can expect from a good sales agent and what the sales agent requires from you in return.

1245 Lunch

1330 Case Study Panel discussion - the good, the bad and the ugly
Kaveh Bazargan, River Valley
Tasha Mellins-Cohen, IOP Publishing
Kathy Law, HighWire Press

1430 Coffee

1445 Relationship management when you’re half a world away
Chris McKeown, Aptara
This presentation will discuss the importance and benefits of establishing a good relationship with your suppliers. What are the first steps after the initial decision has been made to ensure that both vendor and customer achieve their goals? How should you the customer communicate with your chosen vendor? How can you develop the relationship so that the vendor works with you as a partner and becomes an extension of your organization?

1515 Communication – “the glue” in business and what are the challenges of working across cultures
Laxmi Chaudhry, 1 Stop HR
Effective Communication is the “glue” when doing international business. Differences in communication styles across cultures present many challenges. Identifying these and some core cultural differences, including  the “yes” culture” and “local” English, will not only enhance communication with international counterparts but build better long-term business relationships.

1545 Final discussion and close with drinks

Registration Fees (including lunch)
ALPSP Member: £200.00 excl VAT (£240.00 incl VAT @ 20%);
Academic: £220.00 excl VAT (£264.00 incl VAT @ 20%);
Non-Member: £335.00 excl VAT (£402.00 incl VAT @ 20%)

Online booking and further information: