Normally when a printer announces a new innovation, it means they’ve bought a new machine. Here at Rapido we have a different view. There’s a difference between buying innovation and actually innovating. Innovating means creating value for clients by inventing hitherto unseen solutions that help to save them time or to increase their sales—or both.
It’s with this view in mind that we launched our own IT development service, six years ago. And that has led to Rapido’s success today, thanks to the creation and implementation of ergonomic IT solutions that challenge the print trade’s conventional practices.
Rethinking advance reader copies: Archery
Because our model emphasizes short runs and fast turnaround time, we often work with publishers for their Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs). We’re often told that the management and shipment of ARCs is a huge resource guzzler for their teams. The time and energy spent delivering ARCs incurs many hidden costs which, although rarely tallied, lead to real losses in time and money for publishers.
We’ve listened to our clients, we’ve conducted tests, and these efforts have led to an innovative solution to simplify the distribution of advance reader copies: Archery. The goal of Archery is to eliminate superfluous and redundant tasks involved in advance reader copy distribution to help publishers save time and money.
How does Archery work?
The process is simple:
1. Request a quote using your client portal the same way as usual. Once the request is done, download and fill out the Excel spreadsheet that you’ll find in the Resources section of your portal.
2. Shipping costs are automatically calculated based on the list of addresses you provide in your spreadsheet. An updated print quote with shipping costs for ARC deliveries is then added to your client portal.
3. Accept the quote, submit your print files and we’ll take care of the rest: production, quality control, packaging, press release insert, shipment and tracking.
The 8 benefits of using Archery
Save time
Your advance reader copies are shipped to all your addresses the day they’re finished printing.
Track your expenses more efficiently
Our system allows you to view all production and delivery costs for your ARCs in a single quote.
Save money
Shipping costs from the printer to the publisher are eliminated.
Focus on what you do best
Freed from having to manage ARC deliveries, your team can focus on what they do best: publishing great books.
Avoid shipping errors
Our professional shipping software double-checks shipping information and corrects it if needed.
Track deliveries online
No need to visit the shipper’s website and manually enter tracking numbers to see the status of your shipments. You’ll find all tracking numbers listed neatly on your order’s progress page, in your client portal.
Save on administrative duties
We take care of customs declarations for shipments to the US.
Make a great first impression by sending high quality advance reader copies to your press release recipients. Archery works throughout North America and boasts highly competitive shipping rates.
Our clients say it best. Here’s what Rudi Garcia of Dundurn Press has to say about our new Archery service:
“Dundurn is one of Canada’s largest independent publishers, and represents a substantial fiction list. We need to produce Advance Reading Copies of our new titles and distribute them to key contacts, influencers, and sales reps. With a long address list and multiple ARCs in progress at any one time, managing shipping and mailing in-house has been challenging.
I was excited to discover that Rapido Books could not only print our ARCs faster than other short-run printers, but also handle our mailing. Working with Yann and Henri on this has been a pleasure: the process is simple and only requires that I supply a spreadsheet with mailing addresses and quantities. They take care of everything. I only need to approve the ARC job and verify the shipping details through Rapido’s online system.
The shipping costs are very competitive. Rapido’s new address management and shipping system really delivers! It’s effective and easy to use, and Dundurn saves on time and resources.
Plus Rapido continues to lead in turnaround times, while maintaining a consistently high quality. I know our books will be ready within one to three business days, on schedule, and with excellent production values.”
Making life easier for our clients
When we set up shop in Montreal in 2013, quotes were still requested by email and an order confirmation had to be sent by fax. It typically took two to three days just to confirm a print order.
We saw an opportunity for innovation and digitized the entire process. This reduced turnaround time from two to three days to… mere seconds. That was five years ago. Since then our clients can obtain quotes instantly via their client portal. Print orders are confirmed online with a single click, and invoicing has been automated. What’s more, invoices are identical to the print quote. No need to review and justify differences between quote and invoice. We’ve removed unnecessary steps from the ordering process, eliminated the write-offs and everything that once cost our clients time that could be better spent practicing their trade of publishers.
At Rapido, we’re merciless when it comes to things that waste time, energy, money and paper. We’re constantly looking for ways to automate and optimize our processes, all so our clients can benefit from a more reliable and cost-effective printing service.
Here at Rapido, we live to innovate.