International supply chain manager SBS Worldwide Publishers has unveiled what it claims is “a faster, cheaper and easier way to ship books from printers to customers.” “We have taken our logistics expertise and combined it with our extensive knowledge of the publishing industry to develop eDC (electronic Distribution Centre) specifically for this market,” explained SBS chairman Steve Walker who was at the Frankfurt Book Fair. “We wanted to offer our publishing customers the speed, cost-effectiveness and visibility that is available in other industries, such as automotive and retail. We wanted to integrate supply chain capabilities with total web-based visibility to the ISBN level.”
eDC will help publishers maintain control of costs—and of the books themselves. The software gives everyone who needs it—production, accounts, sales teams—access to the information about where the books are and when delivery can be expected, from pre-production onwards. A traffic light system flags up potential problems or delays in production, allowing publishers to better manage both the operation and customer expectations.
SBS believes the system will particularly benefit those publishers who print in Asia. “Many people took the decision to shift their printing to Asia to reduce costs, but did not then take the next logical step of reorganizing the complete supply chain,” Walker continued. “Many companies ship the books from the printers to a distribution centre in Europe or the U.S. and then organize worldwide distribution from there.” With eDC, books can be distributed worldwide from Asia, reducing costs and cutting delivery times and allowing publishers greater flexibility.
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