A glimpse into the distribution center

Greetings from the distribution office at Broadview Press! As our busy season comes to a close, we would like to give you a glimpse behind the doors of our warehouse and a brief description of what went into fulfilling orders, both small and large. We’ll let you know about some of the tools we use and the perils we face as we work to make sure your books get out on time.

An order is received—over the phone, email or fax—in one of the grey cubicles inside our office. The office staff then convert the order information to packing slips and invoices while facing the dangers of paper cuts, coffee stains, toner spills, stapler jams, and the general chaos of Broadview’s busy season. While it may not sound entirely hazardous, a well-placed paper cut could be moderately painful and could possibly lead to a slight infection if not treated properly. Luckily, our staff is fully trained to deal with these minor emergencies and are resilient enough to work through any such injuries, no matter how moderately painful.

Once the invoices are sent to the adjoining warehouse, our warehouse staff pick the orders and pack the boxes using recycled packing material whenever possible. More exciting and dangerous tools are utilized at this time including an electric forklift; a shrinkwrap machine (which could possibly double as a pizza oven, not that it’s ever been tried before); a warehouse floor sweeper; a poster of Johnny Cash performing at Folsom Prison; and various sharp and pointed tools used for building and destroying cardboard boxes.

Once the orders are packed, our shipments are picked up by various courier companies for delivery across Canada and the U.S.A. At peak season, an average of 200 orders per day are processed and over 8 thousand books per week are shipped out to over a thousand colleges and universities in North America.

If you find yourself in Peterborough, Ontario, please come by for a visit! We’ll provide free coffee, a tour of the warehouse, and a long, boring lecture on the intricacies of textbook order logistics.

Ross McCallum, Distribution Manager