Von Holtzbrinck Publishing
Services to Participate in BookEasy, the New Internet Self-Service Inquiry and
Ordering System for the Trade
New York, NY., May 21, 1998 ………
– BookEasy™ announced today that Von Holtzbrinck Publishing Services,
including its distributed imprints and publishers, will sponsor the Internet-based
BookEasy™ service when it launches in the United States this Fall. VHPS publishers
include; Henry Holt, St. Martin’s Press, Farrar Straus Giroux, Tor, Bedford Books,
Freeman, Worth Publishers, and St. Martin’s College.
BookEasy™ is the new Internet based self-service
inquiry and ordering system that provides booksellers with 24-hour, 7-day access to
participating publishers’ back-office systems for real-time title, price, and
availability information as well as order status inquiries and ordering capabilities. The
U.S. service, which is free to booksellers, provides a simple, easy-to-use interface and
single password log-on enabling fast access from publisher to publisher.
"BookEasy™ is the first of VHPS' technology
initiatives to provide world-class service to our customers," said Fritz Foy, Chief
Technology Officer of St. Martin’s Press. "Our customers will have fast access
to information on over 72,000 titles across all of our imprints and distributed lines when
our BookEasy™ site goes live this Fall."
"VHPS is clearly committed to providing world-class
customer service solutions to booksellers. Their adoption of BookEasy™ is an
important signal to the bookselling community about the role technology will play in
enhancing customer self-service, " said Peter F. Clifton, Chief Executive Officer of
BookEasy™.
The BookEasy™ service launched in the United Kingdom
last October. Since then, BookEasy™ UK has enrolled eight major distributors
representing more than 500 publishers across the trade publishing and academic sectors. By
mid-summer, 65% of the UK publishing industry will have sites on the BookEasy™
service. Original sponsors of BookEasy™ in the U.K. included Macmillan Distribution,
Exel Logistics, and Bookpoint. Over the past several months, Marston Book Services,
Littlehampton Book Services, and International Thomson Publishing Services have joined,
and are either in the process of going live or implementing the software.
More information about the forthcoming U.S. BookEasy™
service and activities at BookExpo in Chicago is available at http://www.bookeasy-us.com.
Von Holtzbrinck Publishing
Services is the parent company of Henry Holt, St. Martin’s Press, Farrar Straus
& Giroux, Tor, Bedford Books, W.H. Freeman, Worth Publishers, and St. Martin’s
College.
BookEasy™ is the first open standard Internet network
designed specifically for the publishing community including, booksellers, publishers,
distributors and wholesalers. BookEasy™ has offices in Northwood, England, and
Somerset, New Jersey, and is a division of VISTA Computer Services, the worldwide leader
in information systems for the publishing industry.
