At the London Book Fair on April 11, HP introduced its Piazza book printing service, which the company describes as a set of independent and interlocking cloud-based book manufacturing and distribution services for publishers. HP explains Piazza allows publishers to build a virtual warehouse for the management, automation, distribution, print, and direct fulfillment of book orders, while holding zero inventory.
“Pearson is undergoing a digital transformation to become a simpler, more efficient business and our UK book supply chain is a key part of this,” said Stephen Jones, Pearson Director of Global Direct Procurement. “We are moving from a ‘print to warehouse’ to a ‘print to order, direct to consumer’ model. Partnering with our print providers, HP Piazza will support us in managing our print workflow and optimizing our book supply chain to help reduce costs and better serve our customers.”
HP explains the Piazza platform focuses on the needs of publishers in a world where short-run digital production is an everyday reality. Designed to connect through its PrintOS SiteFlow technology, HP explains Piazza provides accurate, transparent SLA management, quick time to market and reduced waste.
“HP Piazza has enabled us to change the conversation and to offer solutions that have a direct impact on the publisher’s bottom line, improving their profitability and efficiency.” said Rob Hutcheson, Managing Director of Ashford Colour Press, “Piazza is a gamechanger for Ashford in that we can expand our focus on supply chain initiatives and now offer true print-to-order, and book of one manufacturing.
“For the publishers, this means titles are always available, never out of print and, for us, exciting new opportunities to further strengthen our client relationships,” continued Hutcheson. “Today, we are receiving hundreds of direct orders for titles stored in the Piazza repository, producing thousands of books – all printed to fulfil orders that the publisher has received, rather than to meet forecast sales.”
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