A Glitch and New Faces at PGW

by Judith Rosen & Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 5/17/2004

Publishers Group West experienced the first hiccup in moving its inventory from its Reno, Nev., warehouse to parent company Advanced Marketing Services' warehouse in Indianapolis. The Reno facility is scheduled to be close later this year.

"We transitioned to our new computer system in January; the conversion went flawlessly," PGW president Rich Freese told PW. "We should have expected some glitch would appear." The glitch, a problem with conveyors, has been slowing shipments out of the warehouse. Freese expects the problem to be remedied quickly, and PGW has vowed to work round the clock to speed shipments.

Several PGW clients contacted by PW said problems at the Indianapolis facility have caused only minor problems to date. They all agreed that the transition from Reno to Indianapolis had been moving "pretty darn smooth," as one publisher put it. And all publishers we spoke to agreed that PGW has been very open about the problem and what they are doing to correct the situation. Nevertheless, one publisher told PW he moved last week "from mildly concerned to officially concerned," but added he was encouraged late last week by "the movement of inventory" that began to clear up back orders.

In other PGW news, marketing head Mark Ouimet has resigned for personal reasons; he has been with the company for 14 years. Karen Cross, Ouimet's number two for 11 of those years, is stepping in as executive v-p. Freese said, "AMS has been extremely supportive," and added that PGW will be adding several sales and marketing people in the coming months. The first new hire is senior marketing director Tracy Fortini, who has held a variety of positions in the book business, including buyer with Waldenbooks and product manager at Discovery Channel Stores.