The actual distribution, given close cooperation with local postal authorities either directly or through mailing houses, is not one of the greatest problems for the smaller company. There are lots of commercial companies that provide consolidation services that can save a lot of money on postage. These services operate by gaining lower prices from the postal authorities as a reward for grouping together items intended for the same destination. Subscriptions to journals from libraries are usually mediated through subscription agents, and most of the business goes through a small number of really big companies that are very professional at working with publishers in whatever country. Libraries prefer to work with agents that save them money by presenting them with a single invoice rather than their getting one for each publisher and also providing whole rage of services, traditionally claiming missing issues but now also comprising even core library functions such as cataloguing.
Books often present more of a problem.
It is traditional to arrange for representation to bookshops in the main markets where it is hoped the publication concerned will be bought. Sales managers often set up a network of agents to accomplish this purpose. It is not at all clear that it is cost-effective to spend much time and money, particularly on international travel, to establish and maintain these sorts of arrangements. Unfortunately in spite of the existence of some really international wholesalers, in key markets such as North America, libraries characteristically work through book vendors which are reluctant to buy from outside a small number of countries not including some major publishing nations. Usually however a distribution deal is the answer, but the arrangement does not need to cover much more than stocking, handling orders and, above all, providing a local address, though it can if required include local marketing.