Texas A&M seeks to engage a qualified and experienced Vendor to provide comprehensive distribution and fulfillment services for its print, electronic, and audio book titles. The selected Vendor will serve as Texas A&M’s primary distribution partner and will be responsible for warehousing, inventory management, order processing and fulfillment, customer service support, accounts receivable management, reporting, digital sales processing, and annual royalty processing. These services support a publishing program consisting of the below: FY25 Texas A&M University Press Title and Sales data: • 3661 Active Titles • 1398 Active eBooks • FY25 Sales $1,912,584.66 • FY25 Returns <$127,026.05> • FY25 Net eSales $129,169.19 (included in FY25 Sales total) • FY25 116619 Net Units Sold • FY25 8950 Net Comp Units (Includes stock transfers and pulping) Inventory must be stored in a secure, well-maintained, climate-controlled environment. Upon receipt, incoming stock will be inspected, recorded, and made available for order fulfillment. Ongoing responsibilities include real-time inventory visibility for Texas A&M, release of stock for new and reprinted titles, monitoring of stock levels, and management of backorders, excess inventory, and write-down or pulping decisions when authorized. Support for title-specific handling—such as affixing stickers, inserting errata sheets, replacing dust jackets, and other customization—shall also be available. Order processing and fulfillment will encompass all customer channels, including retail and wholesale partners, direct-toconsumer orders, library and institutional purchasing, and orders placed by internal and external sales representatives. The Vendor must be capable of supporting electronic order exchange and advance shipment notifications in accordance with major trading partner requirements. Customer service assistance will be available to address order inquiries, account questions, returns, and issue resolution. Additionally, examination, review, author, and gratis copy programs, as well as promotional and freefreight campaigns authorized by Texas A&M, will be administered in accordance with agreed policies. Returns processing will be handled under a mutually defined returns policy, including inspection and credit reconciliation. Accounts receivable management includes invoicing, credit evaluation, payment processing, and collection activity. Collaboration with Texas A&M will be required to establish credit terms, manage credit holds, and determine responsibility for any bad debt write-offs. Standard monthly reporting must provide detail on sales, returns, inventory levels, and accounts receivable aging; annual and custom reporting will be prepared as requested, including reports organized by fund where applicable. Integration with Texas A&M’s eCommerce presence is required. The Vendor shall work with the existing online shopping cart (currently FoxyCart) or provide a compatible and secure alternative. All web-based transactions must comply with PCI requirements. Digital sales processing and metadata management—including ingestion, updating, and distribution of title, pricing, and availability data—will be supported for bibliographic databases, retailers, wholesalers, and eBook platforms. Royalty accounting shall be completed annually in alignment with Texas A&M’s fiscal year ending August 31, with customizable statements and accurate royalty disbursement records maintained.
