Editorial Planning and Project Management

Cost estimation / final calculation / gross-profit

Task and project scheduling

Specification and supplier purchase orders

Budget and task monitoring and reporting

The PPM product planning and production system carries out all the title planning and production processes in a publishing house. Product planning and production can rely on preconfigured standard processes or you can configure the system entirely according to in-house workflows. Task and milestone planning, communication with internal and external business partners, break-even analyses, ensuring the flow of metadata, requesting quotations, placing orders, managing suppliers: with the PPM product planning and production system, editorial and production departments ensure the transparent planning and successful production of their books, e-books, printed and electronic journals, articles, loose-leaf works, databases, services, audio, video, apps and merchandise in a unified system.

PPM – Editorial & Production

In addition to creating information in the Product Pool, a new Production Project is created automatically and data which is also relevant for production is transferred to and shown in the Production Project. This data can be enhanced with relevant editorial and production data and forms the basis for multiple calculations. The production schedule tracks the entire editorial and production process.

Addresses of all vendors are maintained centrally within the Address Pool and can be referenced to several projects. Supplier addresses are usually stored as institutions but can also contain individual contacts. The publisher can choose from multiple classifications to further specify the supplier in terms of their core competence and services.

The acquisition and production editors can reflect their workflow using existing tasks from the integrated Editorial and Production Schedule. These tasks can be dependent upon each other and you can establish further dependencies. The duration of tasks leads to a calculated project end date. The actual date entries on a task level can lead to an automatic recalculation of the project end date. Furthermore it is possible to attach a responsible department and corresponding staff member to a task.

The system offers three different calcu-lation types to be applied in a logical Editorial and Production sequence. The initial one is a preliminary calculation which can be used by the publisher to get a rough overview of expected costs in relation to print run and page count and is based on input by various departments such as Editorial, Production, Sales and Marketing. It is possible to compare different scenarios such as different print runs and lifecycle calculation including reprints. Based on the preliminary calculation the decision is taken whether or not the project will be approved. The production calculation is the step in which the values of the preliminary calculation are reviewed, updated and corrected with regard to print runs, prices, product specifications as well as more realistic figures for cost projections. For the purpose of a supported cost price calculation the publisher can set up vendor price list structures and enter prices to reflect individual demands. In addition, the publisher can determine the general cost structure of a calculation by defining the elements to be incorporated in a calculation.

Title Profitability calculations can be derived from multiple technical cost estimates and show an overview of projected costs, forecasted sales, and average costs per distribution channel which then calculate figures for (net) revenue, gross / net margin, costs of sales etc. as well as identifying the break-even point.

Depending on which calculation the Title Profitability is based on the publisher can adjust related values like retail price, print run, estimated sales, average costs etc. in order to simulate various scenarios. This is then used as the basis to decide on starting the project based on these values. Thus, the publisher gains a comprehensive idea of the ROI of the project.

A final calculation is available so that the publisher can compare the projected (budgeted) versus the actual figures. The actual costs for the project are entered manually with the receipt of invoices from suppliers and internal cost allocation. The Cost Overview function can then be used to dimensionally display the costs variance throughout current calculation stages. If the publisher chooses not to enter the actual figures manually within a final calculation, these costs can also be imported via a standard interface from a financial system.

The Production Cockpit is used as a monitoring system for Editorial- and Production-related processes. Within departmental or personalized views the publisher can supervise scheduling dates to coordinate related processes as well as observe cost developments to check the compliance with planned figures in regards to actual costs and cost drivers. Thus, the publisher can quickly and proactively identify critical situations early and detect any deviations from the plan.

PPM – Editorial & Production

Copyright © Klopotek 2013 Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, Parsippany info@klopotek.com

Central and fully integrated title repository

Complete set of industry compliant meta data

XML exports and automated ONIX messages

Creation of catalogs, tip sheets, website feeds

Product reporting and stock management

PPM – Title Management & Product Marketing

For publishers, the PPM Title Management system ensures the successful planning and marketing of their digital and physical products. Whether trade, educational, specialist or academic publishing house: PPM Title Management helps to develop prod-ucts and to turn content into business. The publisher enriches books, e-books, printed and electronic journals, articles, loose-leaf works, databases, services, audio, video, apps, and merchandise with standard ONIX metadata. Publishers manage their relationships with authors and service providers in a unified system.

With PPM Product Marketing, publishers automate the creation of flyers, brochures, catalogs, newsletters and webpages in dif-ferent technical formats to serve every marketing channel. Standardized output forms ensure timely connections to web shops and aggregators.

The Klopotek software incorporates a central Product Pool which provides a central source of all bibliographical metadata to support title management and product marketing functions. The Klopotek Product Pool can also be used simply as a data repository where the publisher can store and manage all kinds of products such as monographs, sets, series, multi-media products, and marketing material etc. in flexible product structures such as versions, editions, reprints, and translations. The Product Pool also underpins and manages the entire editorial process from the original product idea to the handover to production. Typically the Product Pool provides the authoritative source for all product data in the company and is used as the data source for any internal or external applications.

The Klopotek solution also incorporates a central Address Pool which includes all the demographic metadata relevant to any business relationship with a ‘business partner’. Business partners can include for example, authors, agents, illustrators, suppliers, customers, and prospects. The addresses are linked to products in order to use the Product Pool to support various functions in editorial, title management and product marketing. Addresses are maintained centrally within the Address Pool and can be referenced to several products. It is possible to store addresses for individuals or institutions as well as to define the relationships between them. Hence an author can be stored with his affiliation and/or contact information which can be classified according to customer’s needs.

A Reminder tool is integrated in the application which provides automated alerts and reminders. A note can be added describing what is expected and you can also define deadlines. Reminders can be sent to anyone using the application.

Using the Editorial Scheduling function the publisher can reflect all the process steps from product concept to production. The editorial scheduling also allows you to enter planned and actual start and end dates for each task and attach a responsible department and corresponding staff member. The tasks can also be included in the reminder functionality and communicated to colleagues.

Templates can be built from existing tasks to satisfy the user’s requirements and facilitate the scheduling.

The Klopotek system offers an XML export of title and series data with comprehensive information relevant to the marketing / sales process. These exports can be done on-demand (by end-users using product selections), or they can be implemented as regular and automated data feeds.

Both export processes use an identical XML source data structure and the standard configuration (XSLT style sheets). On-demand exports via product selections are often preferred for initial testing as well as for data interfaces, as the publisher can flexibly define a selection of products based on selection parameters. The regular and automated data feeds are managed by the system and have additional options, such as full or delta export with file names that include the date stamp of the export.

The XML export format and requirements can be configured depending on the target format of the receiving application, such as the publisher’s web site. It is also possible to activate or de-activate optional parts of the XML data source in order to configure the data for the export.

The Klopotek solution offers several Standard ONIX Exports to provide product data to most of the major online resellers. The ONIX exports are aligned to individual data recipients in different markets. A standard selection of ONIX exports is available on-demand (using product selections) but can also be implemented as regular and automated data feeds; predefined ONIX exports are available for most of the common recipients such as Amazon, Nielsen, Bowker, Barnes & Noble, and Baker & Taylor without any additional effort.

The Klopotek database contains rich title series information along with a variety of descriptive texts, classifications, and links to product web sites or external material such as cover images and example chapters. The publisher can create an individual selection of existing titles as a basis to create promotion material on-demand, such as catalogs and flyers. The central component for this is the Product Selection Tool and its XML export. The export component also takes the status of marketing texts into consideration and ensures that only released texts are made public.

Data can then be fed to various desktop publishing tools such as QuarkXPress, InDesign or MS Word.

PPM – Title Management & Product Marketing

Copyright © Klopotek 2013 Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, Parsippany info@klopotek.com

RoyaltyAccounting

Online author relationship management

Rights acquisition and management

Royalty calculation and accounting

Rights sales and licensee management

Forecasting and management reporting

PPM – Contracts, Rights & Royalties

PPM CR&R enables publishers to secure, manage and exploit their usage rights efficiently. With PPM CR&R, product manag-ers create contracts with authors, publishers, illustrators, translators, musicians and other rights holders. Royalty payments are made in accordance with international evaluation standards. Rights departments optimize the acquisition of rights and increase revenues from conventional and electronic rights – whether for series, single works or fragments. With PPM CR&R, you can man-age all your contracts, royalties and exploitation rights for books, e-books, journals, articles, audio books, tracks and apps in an integrated system.

Digital business models place demanding requirements on contract, rights and royalties management. CR&R supports your tran-sition from traditional to digital business models in an unrivaled and comprehensive fashion. With PPM CR&R, author relation-ships are the center of your operations.

Klopotek provides 3 packages:

1. A contracts package which includesthe contract drafting, updating and editing process.

2. A rights package which includesthe contract drafting, updating and editing process as well as the rights marketing and sales functionality.

3. A royalties package which includesthe contract drafting and updating process as well as the rights revenue process. It does not include the rights marketing and sales functionality or the contract editing process.

Only basic information is needed when using the Product Pool as part of the contracts, rights and royalties functionality. Information about hierarchy (publisher/division/subject group), Version type (hardcover, paperback, e-book), ISBN, list price or product number is required.

The Address Pool for royalty recipients is based on the standard Address Pool. The full functionality of the Address Pool plus the tax / tax exemption and VAT details, the creditor number and bank details of the royalty recipient are available. For the licensees a licensee number as well as a bad payer flag and the preferred rights combination (e.g. only buying e-books for France) for use as the default are also available.

The contract component is used to register all necessary data for author contracts from contract validity to pubrights, subrights, royalty rules, advances or flat fees and royalty terms like statement frequency. Various contract types (contributor, author, and translator) are available. Also templates can be created to support quicker contract entry.

The contracts contain a link to the Address Pool as well as a link to the Product Pool. Contracts for multi-book deals (multi-contracts) are also available. Amending the contract (creating addendums and addendum documents and following up using the workflow in the system) is also part of this process.

Once the data is available in the database, a contract document can be produced merging data from the database and legal text. The document can be attached to the entry in the database.

Before creating a contract, the system supports the contract request process – the rights acquisition from pre-submission interest recording to negotiation and contract request.

Once the contract is signed the advance process is supported including determining payable advances, advance forecasting, authorizing advances, paying and posting advances, and interfacing advance payment to and from the financial system.

As soon as sales data is available, the royalty calculation can be started, which will use the information from the contracts. Sales are interfaced, royalties and/or accruals are calculated, the offsetting of the advance is calculated, reserves for returns are calculated, and all this information can be interfaced to your financial systems. Once the royalty calculation is authorized, a final royalty statement is produced. A draft of the statement can be produced at any given moment.

Once the royalty calculation is final, payments to the authors is the next step. The system functionality includes the ability to offset charges, calculate

payments, deduct taxes, interface royalty payments and 1099 data to the financial system, produce a remittance advice, and interface payment information back from the financial system. We recommend that you do a parallel test at this time by entering the data for a past period, running the royalty calculation and comparing the results in your new system with the results in your old system. Check the differences, correct the data.

The rights department is supported with planning and processing of rights sales. The system functionality supports registration of proof material and negotiation history. The rights selling process contains features for rights marketing of titles to defined groups of licensees with custom letters, pre-submission interest recording, ranking, and negotiation of a contract request.

Once the deal is negotiated, a rights sale contract or permission can be created with the full functionality described above, including printing and editing it.

The chasing of revenue from rights deals (advances and royalty statements) is also supported. A list of overdue payments / statements is available and chasing letters in various forms can be sent out.

Incoming rights payments can be re-corded, costs are deducted, the payment is allocated to expected payments and it is then interfaced to the financial system.

As the final part of the process, the income is automatically split with the author, rights postings are interfaced to the financial system. The rights revenue is offset against the advance, and the author will either be paid or the publisher will wait until the next royalty statement.

PPM – Contracts, Rights & Royalties

Copyright © Klopotek 2013 Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, Parsippany info@klopotek.com