The release of the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series may have been the most anticipated event in recent publishing history. It was certainly the largest. For Potterheads everywhere, it couldn't have come soon enough. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Thinking about Harry Potter and logistics together is something most people never think about. Approximately 12 million copies were printed in the United States alone. In delivering those books on time to customers in the United States and 29 other countries under a blanket of high security, U.S. publisher Scholastic Inc. understood that with millions of fans pre-ordering books and expecting them to arrive Saturday morning or be ready at bookstores before dawn, non-availability of books as promised was not an option. UPS, DHL, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service all made deliveries of books that, by contract, could not appear in stores before midnight on July 21. In previous years, due to the contractual guarantee of on-time delivery, transportation and warehouse suppliers had to increase product safety and monitoring. This was done, so the books came out with the least amount of risk and exposure points. Even people in war zones got their copies. Paxton International, a logistics company based in Afghanistan, sent one of its executives to Dubai to purchase the book at the exact moment of its release in London and then catch the next flight to deliver the books. Amazon's U.S. fulfillment centers processed about 18 tons of "Harry Potter." and the Deathly Hallows” per hour and shipped to over 43,000 zip codes nationwide. In the space of 24 hours, both physical and online booksellers collectively sold 8.3 million copies of the final installment of author JK Rowling's hugely popular series. Launch planning began months before Scholastic had the finished manuscript. All the operators used were those who had previous experience working with the Harry Potter franchise and therefore knew the challenges that awaited them. During the months leading up to the implementation, they met frequently with Scholastic managers and developed detailed deployment plans. They were bound by strict confidentiality agreements until the project was completed. The plans were based on various factors, such as length of transportation and, for international shipments, customs clearance. Couriers were also expected to balance the need to deliver books early enough so that Scholastic customers could replenish their stores. They also had to address safety and cost issues. Various meetings have been organized not only with the carrier's management team but also with all essential people, including drivers and the safety team, to understand and resolve the daily problems they face. Scholastic began the process of calculating load plans when they were informed of the book's actual size and weight. So they could see how many books could fit in a truck and then reserve capacity. However, Scholastic's logistics partners took responsibility for the cargo details. All truck loads were exactly equally heavy. Uniform loads were palletised, with each pallet shrink-wrapped with a corrugated top and banded. This served a dual purpose. Aside from the obvious, it was also very easy to tell if any books had been leaked. Beyond.