The Folio Society

The Folio Society sharpens operations and insight with NetSuite

The Folio Society is an independent, employee-owned publisher founded in 1947 and known for beautifully illustrated, collector-grade hardback editions of classic and contemporary books, from Dune, Game of Thrones and Jurassic Park. The business ships directly to customers across five global territories spanning over 100 countries and generates annual revenue of more than £20 million. As the company more than doubled in size after 2020, its legacy systems could no longer keep up. With NetSuite, The Folio Society gained a single source of truth across the business. Manual task time fell by about 50%, month-end close dropped from as long as three weeks to four to five days, and headcount remained flat despite rapid global growth.

Company

The Folio Society

Location

London, UK

INDUSTRY

Retail

EMPLOYEES

50 to 99

NUMBER OF SUBSIDIARIES

NUMBER OF COUNTRIES

SYSTEM REPLACED

Infor

NetSuite Modules Deployed

NetSuite ERP
NetSuite Inventory Management
NetSuite Learning Cloud Support
NetSuite OneWorld

IMPLEMENTATION PARTNER

Sansa Solutions(opens in new tab)

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“Before NetSuite, we were on multiple systems not talking to each other and had no single version of the truth. Now we can find out exactly what’s going on in our business in real time and make quick decisions based on that data.” Mark Mainstone, Chief Operating Officer, The Folio Society

Traditional publisher goes high-tech

A growing catalogue and wider reach: The Folio Society sells and ships beautifully illustrated hardback books directly to customers around the world. The business has posted strong sales growth since launching a new online platform and ecommerce strategy in 2018. About 30% of its customers are in the UK, and 70% are international. Readers can choose from about 350 titles and enjoy access to limited-edition book publications, with overall print runs of 250 to 5,000 copies and prices ranging from £40 to over £1,000 per book.

Disconnected systems hold growth back: The Folio Society had outgrown its legacy systems, a collection of disconnected databases that in some cases dated to the 1990s. Employees had to enter the same information into two or three separate systems, creating duplicate work and errors that undermined confidence in the company’s reporting. The business implemented NetSuite ERP to centralise data and automate sales orders and invoicing, then added NetSuite OneWorld, Netsuite Inventory Management, and NetSuite Learning Cloud Support.

On the same page: The Folio Society works with multiple suppliers to produce each book, often generating 20 to 30 purchase orders and item receipts for a single product. Customised NetSuite dashboards give each department a live view of the business, from invoice status and dispatch readiness to year-over-year sales, margins, and customer acquisition by territory. NetSuite OneWorld lets the business drill down across all five territories—UK, US, Canada, Australia, and rest of world—to identify buying behaviours and trends that shape marketing spend and publishing decisions. As a result, manual task time has been cut by about 50%, month-end close has dropped from two to three weeks to four to five days, and headcount has remained steady even as revenue has more than doubled since 2020.

The next chapter: The Folio Society continues to grow, driven in part by renewed consumer interest in physical books. With all five territories expanding, the business expects NetSuite to support that growth while helping maintain service quality and the customer experience without adding headcount. The team is also exploring NetSuite’s AI and automation capabilities to uncover deeper insight from customer data and improve efficiency.