Fulton County School System (FCSS) in Atlanta, Georgia, serves nearly 95,000 students across 95 schools, making it the fourth-largest school system in the state. With a strong focus on student achievement and continual improvement, Fulton has earned a reputation as a premier school system.

The Challenge

In 2015, FCSS needed a new way to manage its inventory and track textbooks. The existing system lacked robust tracking and reporting capabilities, leading to costly overages and shortages. The district sought a reliable, money-saving method to audit and maintain accurate inventory of all textbooks in their warehouse and schools.

Karen Ethridge, Textbook Specialist at FCSS for 12 years, explained, “Accountability at the site level is one of the biggest challenges a textbook coordinator faces. With 95 locations where we’re tracking our resources, communicating with all of those sites can be a challenge.”

The Solution

As a longtime customer of Follett Destiny® Library Manager, the district knew the capabilities of Follett’s technology and turned to them for help with their textbook inventory management needs. Follett Destiny® Resource Manager was the chosen solution.

“Follett, by far, gave us the best solution, and the schools love the user-friendly ease of Follett Destiny Resource Manager,” said Ethridge. “It’s been such a relief. Our district now has clear, precise observation of proper inventory procedures in each and every school. We look forward to seeing the continued cost-saving results of using Destiny Resource Manager.”

Inventory Services to the Rescue

As part of the Destiny Resource Manager implementation at Fulton, the district asked Follett to help align its inventory. Follett’s Managed Services team provided the expertise and manpower to efficiently plan and execute the inventory project. “Follett saved Fulton the time and the hassle of having to inventory and process 723,000 books spread across its sites. That was a huge undertaking and one that would have been nearly impossible for us to handle without help,” said Ethridge.

Over six weeks one summer, Follett’s team scanned the textbooks into Destiny Resource Manager, working with Fulton’s existing labels to save costs on re-barcode books, while applying new barcodes when needed.

During a holiday break, the Follett team processed a new math adoption for 38 of Fulton’s schools. They barcoded the new materials, entered the data into Destiny, sorted the materials by site, and prepared everything for shipment. The new textbooks were ready in the right schools when classes resumed in January. Follett’s team also removed outdated math books the district no longer needed.

Customer Service Above and Beyond

Follett added barcodes, barcode protectors, and security strips before shipping to simplify the process for the district. “It’s a huge time saver for Fulton, and, in our case, we have an army of people who can do it,” said Whited from Follett. “We can bring in 100,000 books and turn them around and ship them out within a week’s time. We’re good at what we do, and we enjoy it.”

“Follett goes above and beyond their role to make sure things are done right,” said Ethridge. “They make my job easier all the way around. Customer service is so important, and Follett has been a great partner.”

Accurate Data for Peace of Mind

Planning for the next school year begins long before students leave for summer break. Ensuring all the right textbooks in the correct quantities are available for the first day of school is a massive task. Backed by Destiny Resource Manager and the Follett team, Ethridge is confident students will have what they need on day one.

“Data is very important when preparing for back-to-school,” said Ethridge. “School may begin in the fall, but the back-to-school work begins in March and includes placing growth and replacement orders for next school year. With Destiny, our back-to-school processes are streamlined, and tracking the data is easy.”

“I’m not kidding when I tell people that if it weren’t for Follett, I couldn’t do my job,” Ethridge added. “They go above and beyond their role to make sure things are done right.”

For more information on how Follett Software can support your district, please contact us.