Production is responsible for vendor arrangements and contracts, including print production, paper and front-end vendors such as service bureaus, and in some cases, distribution. Production also collaborates with the publisher to establish upfront standards for price, quality, and service.

• Creates and executes production schedules with internal departments and outside vendors, to provide the publisher with the most optimal ad-closing dates, while still meeting mailing and newsstand deadlines.

• Manages vendor relationships to ensure performance levels that meet the magazine's requirements for fiscal and product objectives.

• Serves as an adviser to the publisher regarding fiscal and technology alternatives that can improve product and reduce costs. When alternatives are adopted, production is responsible for ensuring timely and competent implementation.

• Accounts for vendor and departmental costs of production, proving the department's value as a yearly return on the publisher's investments in (production management). The objective is to deliver the appropriate product defined within the preceding for the least cost, both in out-of-pocket and departmental expenses.

source: Langford, Bert. "Successful production management," Folio: Special Sourcebook Issue 1999