GIVEN THE CONSTANT CHOPPING AND CHANGES in recent times, it would be easy to get confused over what’s what and who goes where at Kingsway, but fear not: in the words of Mother Julian of Norwich, “All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”
In short, the Kingsway brand is no more: pffft! It’s gone, swallowed up by Integrity, like Jonah in his big fish adventure; but the new all-inclusive Integrity label will be deposited on the beaches and thence find its way onto bookshop shelves here in the UK and Europe by Kingsway Distribution; and Kingsway Distribution are once again refocusing on their warehouse systems to ensure that all shall be well in time for Christmas. In particular, as from today, September 10th, the warehouse will be operating on a 3-shift, 24-hour basis, which should bring order fulfilment back up to speed.
Here are the official announcements, both issued last week by Greg Tombs, David C. Cook/Kingsway/Integrity Exec. VP Global Distribution:
1. The Rebranding: Goodbye Kingsway, Hello Integrity
Integrity Music Trade Announcement, 3/9/2012 (pdf, 291kb)
[Eastbourne, 3rd September 2012] with effect from 1st October Kingsway will be known as Integrity Music. Following the acquisition of Integrity Music by our parent company David C Cook in June 2011, both labels have been operating as one unified team. We have spent these months sharing experience and expertise with a common goal to serve the local church through songs of substance. We now feel that it is time to unite and work in the future as one global music label.
The rebranding is the result of a period of careful global research, which revealed that Integrity Music had stronger recognition within the international worship community. The decision to move away from the much-loved Kingsway name was not taken lightly but necessary in bringing clarity and focus to those we serve.
By fully unifying the two labels we now have the opportunity to steward the ministries of songwriters including Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Israel Houghton, Paul Baloche, Stuart Townend, Brenton Brown, Kathryn Scott, Graham Kendrick, Desperation Band, All Sons And Daughters, Lou Fellingham, ALM UK, Ben Cantelon and Rend Collective Experiment.
Says Jonathan Brown (Managing Director) ‘Kingsway has always been about songs of substance that strengthen faith, serve the local church and see lives transformed. We continue to stay committed to this calling.’
The newly rebranded Integrity Music will continue to be distributed in the UK and mainland Europe by Kingsway Distribution in Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK. Contact Kingsway Distribution Customer Service for assistance on 01323- 437757 or email tradeorders#kingsway.co.uk. *
* anti-spam measure: replace # with @
2. The Refocus: Goodbye Inefficiency, Hello Kingsway
September 7th 2012
Dear UK Christian Bookshops:
This summer we have undergone a significant warehouse consolidation in Eastbourne which has caused many of you to experience some very lengthy delays in receiving shipments from Kingsway. Our goal is to ship the majority of our orders within 48 hours and I know that many of you experienced delivery times well outside of this window. I do apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.
We have taken the following actions at Kingsway Distribution to restore our service level to our promised 24-48 hour turnaround time on an indefinite basis:
- We have hired additional warehouse staff to handle the extra workload.
- As of Monday September 10th our warehouse will be operating on 3 shift – 24 hour basis.
- We are having daily operational status meetings to review the daily productivity and address any specific concerns.
- I will send out weekly status reports of our progress and turnaround times to the trade.
We are absolutely committed to ensuring you have a very smooth and consistent delivery service especially through this coming Christmas season. I very much regret the extended time it has taken to consolidate the warehouse operations through the summer and I assure that we will have our delivery times back on track in very short order.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
In His service,
Greg Tombs
Exec. VP Global Distribution.
