Why should publishers and distributors choose IBS Bookmaster over a generic ERP system?

News & Events 2008-10-24

In terms of the supply chain, the publishing industry is like no other. It therefore stands to reason that a generic ERP system cannot possibly be as effective as a system that is dedicated to a single industry. To truly understand the benefits of an industry-dedicated ERP system, it is necessary to look at the specific workings of that industry and determine the individual requirements and demands they place on the software.

IBS Bookmaster is a complete ERP system developed exclusively for the publishing and book distribution industry. IBS Bookmaster is currently implemented by more than 80 percent of the major publishers in Australia and has seen dramatic growth in customers across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Today, many of the world’s major publishers and book distributors use IBS Bookmaster in more than one continent.

There are many reasons why IBS Bookmaster is much more suitable for publishers than a generic ERP system and they fall into three main categories. These are the benefits of having a book-specific system, the benefits of having a combined ERP and WMS in a single integrated system and the general benefits that IBS Bookmaster, as an established and highly functional application, can provide.

Benefits of having a book-specific system

Benefits for publishers

Central storage of data

A book is a book. It is not really like any other product and as a book it can come in many, many different shapes, sizes, formats and styles. In addition, books are sold in a unique way and information held on them in a database is very different to the type of information held on any other type of product.

For example there is information that is very specific to books that IBS Bookmaster can make available as standard, which generic systems would need additional development to handle. These include the ISBN data, bibliographic information, publishing dates, print status, sale or return, promotion info, binding, front-list/back-list and many other very specific product descriptors. Having this data is not just nice to see, it is wholly relevant to publishers’ operations and helps them to operate more efficiently and accurately.

Unique requirements of books

Sale or return and consignments are hugely important to the book industry, perhaps more so than any other. Publishers need to have a system that is able to monitor them and can cope with the inherent complexity. Returns policies vary from publisher to publisher and from retailer to retailer depending on their relative power. In order to minimize exposure and maximize potential profitability, the distributor needs to know the policies for each of their suppliers and customers and have the processes in place to ensure the most appropriate handling and fulfillment.
Most books are sold on a sale or return or consignment policy where they can only be returned in a certain window. They have to be on display for a period of time and they can only be returned at a pre-specified time. If this time is missed, it will not be accepted back. This information needs to be held and managed by the software so that publishers and distributors do not end up missing vital dates and being left with out of date stock that they cannot sell. The whole issue of returns becomes more complex when dealing with multiple stores in a buying group or when books can be sold as individual parts of a series.

A generic ERP system can be adapted to handle some publishing-specific functionality, but it takes a dedicated publishing system like IBS Bookmaster to handle the most complex publishing supply chains. The system needs to handle different kinds of distribution for different kinds of publishers. For example, in academic publishing, providing sample copies and tracking adoptions information is an essential sales tool. There are also different seasonal variations for different types of publications all of which is very specific to publishers and not available as standard in generic ERP systems.

Product make up

The software also needs to be able to handle mixed cartons, where many different sized books, packs of books, kits, CDs and DVDs are picked into cartons. This requires different picking approaches, such as RF, pick to light, carousels and so on, depending on the type of publisher and the type of book. The system needs to know if books are part of a series or collection pack, or even if they are subject to VAT or other taxes, all of which can only be achieved easily and without additional expense with a dedicated book distribution solution. IBS Bookmaster can also be used to handle non-book items, such as CDs, DVDs and digital content, making it a complete solution for all areas of publishing and distribution.

Royalties

The Royalties module is a very specific application that is simply not available in generic ERP systems. Having accurate and timely royalties payments set up means that distributors can offer this as a value added service, helping them to increase customer loyalty.

Editorial book production

Book production compares to manufacturing in other industries and therefore comes with complexities that need to be managed by a system. It is also important that this system be integrated to other parts of the business systems such as finance to reduce the duplication of work between the publishing/production department and the finance department. Publishers need a specific Editorial and Book Production system that can help them manage the entire process of producing books and related items.

IBS Bookmaster’s integrated Editorial and Book Production module is driven by user-definable business rules, making it extremely flexible and suitable for all types of publishers. It can be used for non-book items (e.g. CDs, videos, web sites, e-books) as well as traditional books and spans the entire publishing process, from initial publishing plan, through acceptance of books into the warehouse. It allows publishers to compare actual costs and sales with pre-publication estimates and budgets to provide a true profit and loss for each title.

Benefits for book distributors

Activity costing

IBS Bookmaster can help book distributors operate more profitably by providing functionality that can take advantage of the specific nuances of their business. Distributors are paid for the work they do, however some customers cost more to service than others for the same value. IBS Bookmaster can carry out complex analysis of costs and charges based on the specific workings of the publishing industry and enable distributors to charge based on an accurate representation of what they have done.

Value added services

Distributors offering publishing services have generally offered as part of their services order processing, pick, pack, dispatch and credit control. Once these tasks are completed Publishers still have many elements to manage including book production, royalty management and sales & marketing.

Without the right systems it is impossible to offer these value added services. This is where IBS Bookmaster will give distributors an edge over generic systems by allowing them to offer services far greater than that currently offered by their competitors.

Distributors can allow publishers to have access to IBS Bookmaster’s book production and royalty management software. This adds huge value for publishers who may not otherwise be able to access such advanced levels of functionality.

Another powerful offering available in Bookmasters is the Business Intelligence reporting. No longer do publishers have to be stuck with basic reports. They can decide what reports they want and when all due to the fact Bookmaster is industry specific.

Being able to offer an integrated eCommerce module to publishing clients means that distributors can deliver an internet based trading and marketing solution that is truly relevant to the book industry. It can handle all aspects of electronic trading, as well as enabling downloading and payment for digital content and ebooks. It also allows distributors to offer a web site for B2B and B2C trading across various publishers or retailers. For example, Booksite Afrika in South Africa uses IBS Bookmaster’s eCommerce module to host seven different web sites for its publisher customers.

Making standard functionality book-specific

IBS Bookmaster can help publishers and distributors improve their operations by offering a range of additional applications and modules that are also dedicated to the industry. We take generic requirements and make them specific to the needs of publishers.

Forecasting is hugely important to both publishers and distributors and can make a real difference to controlling the business. More accurate forecasting can reduce inventory holding and improve overall customer satisfaction. IBS Bookmaster offers advanced forecasting and demand planning functionality and techniques that allows publishers and distributors to match its production much more closely to its needs.

IBS Bookmaster offers a pre-built Business Intelligence module that can access and analyze information throughout the system. It allows customers to access and manipulate information that is very specific to the publishing industry to enable book life cycle analysis. It has different user-definable types of sale so they can analyze different kinds of giveaways that publishers do, such as author copies, samples, desk copies and publicity copies. A generic ERP system would not be able to access and analyze this level of industry specific detailed information.

IBS Formsmaster is an integrated forms management system that allows the distributor to produce documentation, such as invoices, on behalf of different publishers and retailers as required. This system works closely with StoreMaster, a document management solution that handles the storage of these forms for easy archiving and access. StoreMaster is specifically designed to work appropriately with publishing documents such as automatic indexing of royalty contracts.

Other applications include customer relationship management (CRM), which helps publishers and distributors, keep track of communications with customers and ensure higher customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention.

Benefits of combined ERP and WMS

 IBS Bookmaster offers a warehouse management system that is not only dedicated to the specific distribution requirements of publishers, it is also seamlessly integrated with the overall ERP system. The entire IBS Bookmaster system uses a single set of business rules and a single database, which makes it much easier to implement a combined system.

The WMS functionality is just as advanced and certainly more specific to publishing and book distribution than other generic systems and because it is the same system, there is no need to integrate it, making it cheaper and easier to install and maintain. There is no possibility of one component of the system needing to be upgraded, which can affect other areas of the system because it is all one system.

The IBS Bookmaster solution also ensures that customers have a single point of responsibility for the complete system – ie. IBS. Other ERP systems, with different WMS applications will often require working with three parties, both software vendors and whoever does the integration.

General benefits – IBS just does it better

IBS Bookmaster is a standard system designed exclusively for the publishing and book distribution industry. It covers every aspect of publishing from concept to the consumer and can meet the needs of most publishers and distributors with few or no modifications. This makes it cheaper and easier to install, maintain and upgrade. It also allows companies to take advantage of the on-going modifications carried out by similar publishing companies throughout the world.

IBS Bookmaster is proven at many publishers and book distributors around the world so there is much less risk in implementing the system as it meets most book industry requirements right out of the box.

Most of the major international publishers use IBS Bookmaster somewhere around the world, and in many cases in several locations. This means that it is an advantage for a book distributor looking to take on a new system to be using the same software as many of its customers. It could also help the distributor in boosting its credibility and attract new clients. No other system has the combination of specific industry functionality, established customer base and extensive international presence and implementation capabilities. When it comes to software solutions for publishers - IBS Bookmaster is top of the Best Sellers list!

by Mike Irving, VP Publishing, IBS

Contact IBS for more information. »