Ignatius Book Fairs emerged from a unique partnership between Ave Maria University and Ignatius Press. Their goal was to reimagine traditional book fairs, providing schools across the United States with weeklong book fairs that featured quality titles that align with the Catholic faith. Launching a book fair program meant they needed serious fulfillment infrastructure to handle tens of thousands of books moving to and from schools across the country.

They chose 5 Stones to be the operational backbone that could help make their vision a reality. Starting with their very first semester, we built flexible processes to ship large volumes of books to schools for fairs, then handle the complex logistics of returns and inventory management afterward. We developed cost-cutting strategies and streamlined operations as the initiative got its legs, and eventually expanded into customer service support for the program. Today, we even consult on inventory management decisions, helping to optimize their entire operation.

Two years in, Ignatius Book Fair has gained remarkable momentum. This semester alone, we’ve supported 250 book fairs and shipped more than 56,000 books to schools all over the country. What started as an ambitious idea has become a movement bringing quality Catholic literature directly to children across America, transforming how students and their families discover good books. We are honored to manage critical systems as this impactful program continues to expand.