Having a captive source means 3M can control expenses, avoid scheduling conflicts and let another company worry about keeping up with technology. As the program expanded, however, a new facility was necessary, so Banta leased additional space close to the division's headquarters. Banta Book Group offers a wide range of fulfillment possibilities for Workman Publishing. The program is elegantly simple. All of Workman's inventory, whether printed by Banta or not, is maintained at a single Banta facility and tracked electronically.
Orders come in as electronic files and are immediately picked, packed and shipped.
Shipping documents are generated from electronic files, which are automatically updated to reflect the order's shipped status. Compared to working with the industry's typical huge fulfillment houses, the custom-designed Banta electronic approach is faster, more flexible and more cost effective for Workman. Plus, employees at Workman can see their inventories, follow up on orders and tell curious customers when to expect delivery.