Industry Canada Publications: How-to Guide for
Distribution, Warehousing and Inventory
Contents:
Additional information:
When producing an Industry Canada publication, it may seem enough to focus only on getting the publication produced. But the work doesn't stop there. Once the publication is in your hands, you've got to get it out there (distribution), store the extras (warehousing), and keep track of it along the way and in the future (inventory). And this will go smoothly only if you do the necessary prep work before you even begin production.
This how-to guide offers tips and checklists to help you deal with the details of distribution, warehousing and inventory — before, during and after production.
Before You Begin Production
There are several specific things you need to do in advance so that your distribution, warehousing and inventory activities go smoothly.
Make sure that you:
- consult with your designated advisor in Communications
and Marketing Branch (CMB) to assess how your publication
fits within your overall communications activities
- to find out who your CMB communications
advisor is, see the CMB
intranet site (link available to Industry
Canada employees only)
- prepare a distribution plan in consultation with
your designated communications advisor
- a cost-effective alternative
to traditional mass mailing is to announce your
publication electronically by linking your stakeholders
to the Industry
Canada - specific section on the Public Works
and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) publications.gc.ca
website, so that orders can be fulfilled by PWGSC
- determine the shelf life of your publication; this
will help with determining quantities, budgeting for
warehousing and managing your inventory
- budget for distribution, warehousing and inventory
activities; if you plan to contract these activities
out, you will need to contact suppliers to obtain
estimates
- obtain an Industry Canada Registration Number from
CMB; this is so that your publication can be entered
into Industry
Canada's Catalogue of Published Materials in accordance
with the Communications
Policy of the Government of Canada
- obtain an International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
and Government of Canada Catalogue Number for your
publication from the Depository Services Program (DSP);
this is to ensure that Canadians have ready and equal
access to Government of Canada information through
this program
- to obtain an ISBN or Catalogue
Number, see the Government
of Canada Publications website, email dsp-psd@pwgsc.gc.ca
or call (613) 996-7754. Once you have obtained
your numbers, the Depository Services Program
requires these mandatory quantities:
- from a limited print run (less than 150 copies)
the minimum distribution (full Depository Libraries):
55B, 54E, 21F; Archives Canada is included is
this distribution.
- distribution to DSP libraries across Canada
and foreign: minimum 300B, 250E, 150F. For more
information on the program, visit the Depository
Services Program website
- It should be noted that ISBNs
and catalogue numbers are only provided for publications
that are in a stable format, such as hard copy
or PDF. As well, each stable format of a publication
must have a discrete ISBN and catalogue number.
ISBNs and catalogue numbers are not provided for
publications in HTML, as it is not considered
a stable format.
- if your publication is a serial, instead of an ISBN,
obtain an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
from Library and Archives Canada
If you need help managing the production of your publication, consult the Industry Canada Production Guide.
Publications for Sale
Although the vast majority of Government of Canada publications are distributed free of charge, in some situations, publications may be produced for sale.
If you are considering producing a publication for sale, you must notify PWGSC. You must ensure that publications for sale do not contain primarily information that otherwise must be provided free of charge (see the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada for more information).
PWGSC generally handles most aspects of production and distribution for federal government publications that are offered for sale to the public. For more information, see the procedures in the Communications Policy. |
Distribution
Once your publication is produced, there are three distribution stages to keep in mind:
- delivery from the printer
- initial distribution
- ongoing order fulfillment
Delivery from the Printer
The printer will need instructions on how and where to deliver your publication and the number of copies in each official language to be delivered to each location.
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Delivery Instructions
The delivery instructions (see sample) you prepare for the printer explain how and where to deliver the publication. Include the number of copies — in each official language — to be delivered to each location.
Ask the printer to affix a label to each box, with the following information:
- title of publication
- number of copies in each official language in the box (avoid mixing different language versions in one box)
- name and telephone number of receiver
- delivery address
- Government of Canada Catalogue Number
- ISBN or ISSN
- Industry Canada Registration Number
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Don't forget to have the printer:
- deliver to project-specific recipients:
- send about 30 copies directly to you so that you can assess the quality of the finished product before its release
- if you are distributing copies by traditional mail, have the printer send the required number for your initial distribution to you or to the firm you have hired to do the mailing
- send the balance to your warehousing location
- deliver to mandatory recipients, including Industry Canada Order Fulfillment, the Depository Services Program, Legal Deposit, the Industry Canada Library, and the Communications and Marketing Branch. For information on quantities and how to ship to these recipients, please see New Publications: Mandatory Recipients
To verify that the printer has delivered the publications according to your instructions, ask the printer for a copy of the signed delivery slips.
Distribution and Delivery to Parliament Hill
If you are delivering materials (such as bill kits) to Parliament Hill for distribution to MPs and senators, there are specific packaging and distribution requirements to follow. See Distribution and Delivery to Parliament Hill for more information. |
Initial Distribution
You can handle the initial distribution of your publication in-house or contract it out to the printer, the company that warehouses your publication, or to a specialized mailing company.
A cost-effective alternative to a traditional mass
mailing is to announce your publication electronically
and provide your recipients with a link to order the
publication. Under Industry Canada's arrangement with
PWGSC for order fulfillment, you can provide your recipients
with a link to Industry
Canada - specific section on the PWGSC
website. For information on how to arrange for this,
please contact your designated
CMB communications advisor (link available to Industry
Canada employees only).
Don't forget:
- follow the distribution plan that you established in consultation with your designated CMB communications advisor (link available to Industry Canada employees only)
- make sure that you use an up-to-date mailing list
- if you are producing an HTML version (and PDF, if applicable) of your publication, make it available online by the time your initial distribution takes place
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Mailing List Tips
Mailing lists are your basic distribution tool. Here are a few tips for making most efficient use of them.
Sources for Mailing Lists
- You can compile customized mailing lists in-house using the Internet as a resource (good sources for Members of Parliament, senators and senior civil servants include the Parliament of Canada website and Government Electronic Directory Services.
- If you don't have the resources to maintain
customized mailing lists in-house, you can contract
this task out to a list broker (look in the
Yellow Pages or the Web under ''Mailing Lists
and Services'').
Mailing List Maintenance
- Update your mailing lists whenever you receive changes of address or returns, so that you always have up-to-date lists on hand.
- Choose one standard format (for titles, names, punctuation, etc.) and stick to it in order to avoid lengthy — and costly — reformatting exercises.
- Avoid any duplicate entries.
- Correct all spelling errors.
- Make sure people's names are properly capitalized.
- Make sure no data is missing.
- You can purchase software to help maintain your mailing list.
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Ongoing Order Fulfillment
CMB has an agreement with PWGSC for fulfilling individual orders from the public of available Industry Canada publications.
As part of this agreement, there is an
Industry Canada - specific section of the PWGSC
electronic bookstore at publications.gc.ca
that lists publications available for order. To ensure
that your publication is included, please inform CMB
at multimedia.production@ic.gc.ca
or (613) 948-1554 before the initial
public distribution of your publication.
Don't forget:
- to have the printer send a minimum of 2 percent of the quantity (you will need significantly more if you plan on announcing your publication electronically instead of by traditional mass mailing) of your print run to PWGSC so that it is prepared to receive orders from the public (see “Delivery from the Printer” above)
- to be prepared for CMB to contact you from time to time to replenish stock
- to inform CMB when it can instruct PWGSC to recycle your obsolete publications to save space and prevent outdated publications from being sent to the public
Warehousing
If you want to make the most efficient use of space and public funds, you'll want to warehouse your publications with an outside firm and not on-site at Industry Canada.
Don't forget:
- to budget for warehousing costs
- to maintain a list of all publications and where they are warehoused
- to make sure publications are stored for easy retrieval
- to store confidential or secret documents in a secure area
- to recycle your obsolete publications regularly to save warehouse costs
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Tracking and Reporting Tips
Tracking certain data about your publications and producing regular reports can help in many ways — most importantly, for planning and budgeting for future publications.
Here are a few things to keep track of:
Distribution
- initial distribution costs (including postage, courier fees, etc.)
- quantity initially printed
- quantity initially distributed
- recipient sectors, organizations and individuals
Warehousing
- warehousing costs
- publication locations
- quantity stored
Inventory
- inventory costs (including generating reports, ongoing order fulfillment, etc.)
- balance of publications on hand
- publications ordered (dates and quantities)
- recipient sectors, organizations and individuals
- reprints (dates and quantities)
- publications recycled
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Inventory
If you maintain an inventory of your publications, you'll always know where they are, how many you have on hand and even how many you may need in the future. Solid inventory practices can contribute greatly to effective planning for future publications and to cost savings.
Don't forget:
- to keep a regular inventory of all of your publications (you could include this in your contract with the firm where you warehouse your publications)
- to reprint publications as needed when stocks are diminished
- to assess your publications based on their shelf life to determine if they should be recycled, or updated and reprinted
For More Information
If you need further information or assistance with
distribution, warehousing and inventory, contact Multimedia
Services Section, CMB, at multimedia.production@ic.gc.ca
or (613) 948-1554.
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