Distribution Agreement

For the services it provides its client publishers, IPG charges a fee based on the net billing generated by the shipment of each publisher's titles. The "net billing" is the amount invoiced to customers (not including freight charges) less amounts credited for any returned books.

This fee varies depending on each publisher's volume of sales and number of titles. There are no guaranteed minimum fees, storage fees, in-out fees, or the like. This fee structure ensures that IPG's incentives are in harmony with the aims of the publishers it represents: neither the publisher nor IPG benefits from books that are merely handled rather than sold.

Since its sales force covers the United States and Canada, IPG requires the exclusive right to sell its distributed publishers' books in all formats to the North American book trade, which includes national and regional book wholesalers (including book wholesalers who supply nontraditional markets) and library wholesalers as well as independent retailers, chain stores, libraries, college stores, and electronic booksellers.

Many of IPG's client publishers, however, have active direct-to-consumer programs and means of selling their titles to organizations that do not deal primarily in books. IPG strongly encourages this activity and is willing, to the extent that its facilities are needed, to handle fulfillment for such sales at a reduced rate.

IPG also has arrangements with subdistributors in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India (for computer titles only), and Great Britain who have facilities to warehouse, ship, and bill, who create catalogs, and who send reps into the stores and wholesalers in each country.

All publishers' book inventory in IPG's distribution center is insured at the cost of its production.

Teresa Gamboa

Chief Financial Officer

Teresa started working for IPG in 1989 as a part-time accountant. At that time she personally handled all the bookkeeping needs of the company. She now manages a staff of seven extremely capable people and is an expert user of the Great Plains accounting software.

Teresa performs the duties of any CFO at a large corporation, keeping an eye on cash flows, taxes, and payroll. She and her staff interact with the IPG publishers in a number of important ways. They process return credits and other billing adjustments that need to be finalized in time for the monthly publisher statements. Collections have to be consistent in order to get timely payments, based on terms that allow for prompt payments to publishers.