Children’s book and magazine publisher Scholastic on April 8 announced expansion plans for its distribution and customer service facility in Moberly, MO. What’s the occasion? It needs to make room for the company’s Back To Basics Toys catalog.
Back To Basics Toys, which sells games and educational toys, has been a subsidiary of Scholastic since 2003. Scholastic has used the Moberly facility for 13 years, says Faye Edwards, vice president/general manager of Scholastic National Service Organization.
The expansion will add approximately 70 employees in the warehouse and 90 employees in the customer service department. “Many of those positions will be seasonal jobs to handle the December holiday demand peak period,” Edwards says.
The Moberly distribution and customer service center now employs about 230 people year round; the workforce increases to nearly 500 workers during the peak school and winter season to support Scholastic businesses and divisions including Education, Book Clubs, and Classroom Magazines.
“Over the years, Scholastic has built capacity in the collation and customer service areas, so that today we can bring the Back to Basics Toys operations to our Moberly facility rather than relying on a third-party logistics provider,” Edwards says. “The Scholastic facility has a history of excellence in quality, efficiency and customer service.”
Edwards says Scholastic’s headquarters for product distribution is in Jefferson City, MO, and the team there will be responsible for logistics oversight. The Moberly facility management team is in charge of day-to-day fulfillment operations.