Further steps in gradual integration - Penguin Random House US

Publishers Lunch

Penguin Random House US announced internally "the first steps in the gradual integration of the company’s Credit and Customer Service departments," an evolutionary process that will consolidate Penguin Group's separate credit and customer service functions into the company's Westminster, MD facility. By the end of that process, functions outsourced by Pearson to India will be relinquished and they will "bring both of these activities for the combined Penguin Random House entirely back to the US."

In the short term, by the end of the first quarter of 2014 Pearson will relinquish their transition services related to credit for Penguin, and an outsourcing arrangement with IBM that had some of that work done in India will terminate. But the company underscores that Penguin's existing, separate credit system will be maintained separately throughout next year, with the aim of going live with a consolidated Penguin Random House system in early 2015. (Similarly, the Random House credit system will continue to operate as is until that planned merging in 2015.)

A unified companywide customer service team is expected to be ready at the same time. At that point, in 2015, Penguin's customer service operation in Old Tappan, NJ "will be discontinued" and a separate services arrangement with IBM will end. The company's "goal [is] to transition as many of our Old Tappan colleagues to Westminster as possible as we work to expand the team there."

Spokesperson Stuart Applebaum declined to indicate the current staffing count at Old Tappan but noted "as said in the memo, we sincerely hope that as many of our Old Tappan colleagues as possible will continue as members of the expanded team come 2015." He added, "As we are just in first days for the Customer Service transition evolution it is way premature for speculation about specific relocations."

Separately, at Penguin Random House UK, Random group finance director Mark Gardiner becomes chief financial director of Penguin Random House UK, reporting to Ian Hudson. Random's Graham Buckel takes an expanded role as well, and Penguin UK finance director Suzi Brennan has elected to leave after six months