By Cindy Crosby
Without great books and quality service from publishers, Christian
booksellers would be struggling upstream without a paddle. In the past year, CBA
publishers worked hard to streamline ordering, increase content quality and stay a jump
ahead of what retail customers will be clamoring for at bookstores tomorrow.
From printing books on demand for selected retailers, to adding
24-hour Internet customer service interfaces, to reformatting the look and content of the
printed page, publishers are working hard to ensure that retailers have the product and
services they need to remain profitable and attractive to their customers.
"I don’t know of a single Christian publisher that doesn’t
recognize that the Christian retailer is their core customer," says Doug Ross,
president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. "Publishers need the
CBA retailers as a sounding board for product development and customer service policies to
enhance their relationship."
Christian Retailing takes a look at what 15 CBA publishers have done
over the past year to stay progressive and helpful to retailers. This list is not meant to
be comprehensive; rather, it is a sample of what’s going on behind the scenes to make
the retailer-publisher relationship stronger and more efficient.
New Technology in Customer Service
Broadman & Holman
Up late working? Want to check your account balance with Broadman
& Holman at 2 a.m.? Or place an order after hours?
Developments in technology implemented by Broadman & Holman in
February will enable customers to interface with the company 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, according to publisher Ken Stephens.
A new customer interface dubbed "PubEasy" from VISTA
Computer Services in England allows retailers to access information from Broadman &
Holman by using a password, much like you do with an ATM, according to Darin Moore,
applications manager. Retailers will have Internet access and will benefit from
PubEasy," Moore says. "However, this doesn’t replace X-Net, as the bigger
chains won’t want to manually key in orders. PubEasy is just another way to service a
portion of our customer base."
Another innovation for retailers is work being done behind the
scenes at Broadman & Holman that will result in higher accuracy in picking and
shipping orders. In November, the company built and customized software that resulted in
more intelligent picking in the warehouse and created less physical moving of full cases
of product from the first and second levels of the building.
"As we keep our operational costs down, we can maintain more
competitive pricing on products to the retailers," says Mike Harry, director of
logistics. "In addition, we can maintain high levels of accuracy
