John Cox & Nawin Gupta launch the "Company Health Check"

["John Cox" <John.E.Cox@btinternet.com>]

Experienced publishing professionals John Cox and Nawin Gupta 
have joined forces to offer scholarly and academic publishers a 
"health check" to ensure that their publishing business can cope 
with the recession.

The problem with recession is that there is always a time lag 
before its impact on public spending is felt.  It will take ten 
years or more to bring the budget deficit back to normal, so the 
pressure on the public sector generally, and library budgets in 
particular, is likely to persist for some years.  Libraries are 
already cutting back; book buying is being cut, and journals are 
being scrutinized for cancellation in 2010.  Nobody expects 
library budgets to return to normal in the next three years.

At times like these, it is vital that the organization is fully 
and sustainably equipped to weather the economic crisis affecting 
the publishing business.  John Cox, Managing Director of John Cox 
Associates, and Nawin Gupta of Informed Publishing Solutions Inc, 
the Chicago-based consultancy, are offering a "health check" to 
focus on the preparedness of the business to grow through these 
challenging times by concentrating on:

*A realistic assessment of sales and cash flow forecasts

*The scope for reducing the cost base of publishing through 
concentrating expenditure on activities that are critical to the 
publishing mission and business.

*Practicable operational efficiencies, including efficient and 
effective use of marketing, purchasing of manufacturing and 
services, outsourcing, and the organization of the publishing 
business.

Both consultants have decades of experience in academic and 
scholarly publishing - including the recessions of 1973-74 and 
the early 1990s and know how to manage publishing operations 
through challenging times. The standardized review is available 
for a package price, concentrating on sales and cash flow 
forecasts, the scope for reducing the costs of publishing by 
concentrating expenditure on mission-critical activities, and 
practical operational efficiencies, including outsourcing if it 
is appropriate.

The extent of the health check is dependent on the type of 
publishing involved - books, journals or both - and can be 
tailored to the publisher's requirements.  The standard review 
can cost as little as US$5,000, or GBP 33,250.  It will be 
undertaken by John Cox in Europe, and by Nawin Gupta in North 
America.  They are confident that they can add value and 
recommend savings worth more than the cost of the review.  If a 
publisher implements their recommendations and can demonstrate 
that the savings yield less than the cost of the review, they 
will refund the difference.

Further information:

John Cox
John Cox Associates Ltd
Rookwood, Bradden
Towcester  NN12 8ED
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1327 861184
E-mail: John.E.Cox@btinternet.com
Web: www.johncoxassociates.co.uk

Nawin Gupta
Informed Publishing Solutions Inc
6285 North Kolmar Avenue
Chicago IL 60646
U S A
Tel: +1 773 623 9199
E-mail: Nawin@nawingupta.com
Web: www.nawingupta.com