Automating the Data Conversion Process for Books on Demand

Headquartered in Norderstedt, Germany, Books on Demand GmbH is a publication service company focusing on self-publishing platforms. This European market leader offers its services to Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland. With this presence comes the need to cater to audiences in multiple European languages. Books on Demand approached Newgen to partner with them in converting more than 1000 books every month into different European languages.

The Challenge

With a large number of books being converted every month, Books on Demand was faced with coordinating with authors across multiple locations, managing transactions of files in different formats and accessing quality certifications and difficulty in the distribution of the final conversion. Crunching the manual effort involved in this data conversion process was the challenge that Newgen took upon on this project.

The Solution Delivered

With automation as its primary goal, Newgen enabled a custom-developed, web-based online platform called Checkboard for Books on Demand. This comprehensive system facilitates complete tracking and certification of the product before launching it into the market. The platform supports speedy delivery, quick quality checks, and annotation of the revision points within the portal, enabling control of the end-to-end publishing solution for each book being converted. Armed with easy ways to communicate with authors via email configuration, allocating files and tracking progress became quicker and effortless. With an inbuilt process to review, reject or approve any book, books got published sooner.

• Tracking
  Starting from Login to final delivery of the product, every process can be tracked on a single page, and the live status can be reviewed at any time.
• Workflow Management
  Depending on the role and deliverables, the workflow can be customized. With options to assign access to stakeholders at every stage of the workflow, it is possible to have complete control at each stage of the process.
• File Transfer
  A system without any FTP requirement. Source files and the status of required files can be in transit within the system until the project is published/archived.
• Communication
  Title-level communications, consolidation of status and tracking queries can be carried out in the portal. With an email system configuration, communication with internal team members, publishers and authors, and allocation of files, regardless of location, become easier.
• Quality Review
  The final EPUB can be viewed along with the source material within the system on the same page. With a side-by-side view of the input and output, QA members are able to operate faster. Also, page navigation between the eBook and PDF is enabled within the system which in turn enables the user to switch between pages when needed. Any corrections with a screenshot can be marked within the system and the revision cycle process becomes quick and easy.

The Impact Created

Automating the process of review with such a robust system optimized the complete process of translation. By enabling speedy deliveries and quicker quality checks, Checkboard has been a comprehensive system that has been successfully operating for the past five years.