Bookmaster ASP facility now available

News & Events 2004-04-21

TMS Tailor Made Systems has officially launched its ASP model by signing up leading Australasian library supplier, James Bennett Pty Ltd, who will pay a monthly fee to utilise the TMS system without the expense of purchasing hardware or software.

April 2004: After signing up with TMS to utilise the ASP, Chris von Hinckeldey, Managing Director of James Bennett commented: “We’re very pleased that TMS now offers Bookmaster on a rental basis as it will allow our new third-party distribution business, InBooks, to utilise the benefits of a powerful backend solution.”

“What we were looking for was a system that was proven, well designed and used by major publishers. What sold us was that TMS have a great reputation in the publishing industry and now also provide an economical alternative for smaller players in the market”. He added that, “The ASP facility is the ideal solution for our small agency division. Bookmaster will allow InBooks to get products out faster and will significantly reduce our operating costs. Ultimately this will allow us to grow our business using the latest distribution technology without incurring major costs.”

Bookmaster is used by many large publishers and book distributors in Australia and worldwide such as HarperCollins Publishers, Penguin, Macmillan Distribution Services, Thomson Learning and LexisNexis.

“Many publishers and distributors would love to use Bookmaster but haven’t the turnover to purchase it outright”, said Mike Irving, TMS Sales & Marketing Manager. “However, they perform the same activities as the larger distributors and need the same functionality in their software”.

“We will provide hardware, software and training and the ASP customers will be able to access Bookmaster through the Internet. They will be able to use the same software as some of the largest publishers for an affordable monthly fee”.

Trevor Anderson, ISD Manager at James Bennett, believes Bookmaster will allow InBooks to have better control over its purchasing patterns and is particularly impressed to have access to the Business Intelligence module. “One of the big pluses for us was the Business Intelligence component as it will certainly raise the level of sophisticated sales analysis and allow us to work proactively to increase sales to our retail marketplace.”

While InBooks hold the distribution rights for a number of overseas university presses, two of its client-publishers, Harvard and Yale University presses also happen to utilise Bookmaster. Trevor Anderson added that, “this will make the exchange of information between us that much easier”.

For Rachael McDiarmid, Publisher Services Manager at James Bennett, the ASP offering couldn’t have come at a better time. “We needed to have a distribution system that allows InBooks’ staff to effectively manage key areas such as suppliers, sales and customers.”

As a previous user of the TMS software while working for Pearson Education, Rachael McDiarmid is pleased to be utilising Bookmaster again and said, “I am delighted to be working in such a new and creative venture. Bookmaster provides everything we need to effectively manage and promote our products to retailers. It’s a win-win situation for both our organisations but more importantly to our customers who will reap the benefits of a better distribution system.”

Jim Abad, TMS’ CEO, who was heavily involved in designing the Bookmaster ASP model, commented that, “The ASP initiative allows us to offer the benefits of TMS’ awarding-winning software to a wider cross-section of the publishing and book distribution industry.”

InBooks is scheduled to ‘go-live’ on the Bookmaster ASP in July 2004.

For more information contact: Rodney Elder Business Development Manager Tel: (61 2) 9761 9222 Fax: (61 2) 9761 9233 Email: marketing@tms.ws