News
NEW
PUBEASY.COM INTERNET COMMUNITY
WILL HELP SPEED THE SUPPLY CHAIN
Frankfurt, Germany -
October 6, 1998 -- Twelve months after its launch at the 1997
Frankfurt Book Fair, BookEasy, a subsidiary of VISTA
Computer Services, will take the opportunity of this year's Fair to
announce the next steps in the developmental strategy for the unique
book trade Internet service.
These include a change of site name to
PubEasy.com early
in 1999 and an expanded range of services which utilise the
flexibility and accessibility of the Internet to help the industry
deal with many supply chain issues efficiently and economically.
The PubEasy.com web-based community
will offer a range of cutting edge, business-to-business self-services
that respond to the developing needs of the marketplace.
- Bookseller Services: The
current BookEasy services will be available at http://www.pubeasy.com
or via the central PubEasy.com site. Utilizing the Version 2.0
technology launched at Frankfurt, the redesigned site will provide
the continuous access to publishers' and distributors' operational
data which has made BookEasy so popular with booksellers around
the world. PubEasy.com/books will allow booksellers to access
real-time daily updates on price and availability, to check the
status of their orders and dues and to place new orders, including
TeleOrders, from an expanding network of affiliated publishers and
distributors, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, no matter what
country or time zone they are in. Booksellers logging on to
www.bookeasy.com will be redirected via a hotlink.
- Sales Representative Services:
One of two new sites announced at Frankfurt for which outlines are
in progress, will offer web-based services for sales
representatives at www.pubeasy.com/reps. By logging on to
the service, a sales representative will be able to access the
publisher's operational system and call up details for any or all
customers. The information available will include credit checks,
sales and ordering patterns and returns levels, as well as current
and back orders and dues, and the rep can then input orders or sub
in new titles. As the information is not tied to a specific
location, the rep can access it from home, from a laptop or even
from the bookstore - the only requirement is a computer with
browser software, a modem and Internet access. As the service
develops, marketing information and analytical tools will allow
reps to check which titles are selling well for an individual
store, track returns levels and so deal with the bookseller more
efficiently and responsively.
- Subscription Management Services:
The second new site in feasibility is www.pubeasy.com/subs
- designed to improve supply chain management for the subscription
industry. The service will provide real-time information to every
stage of the subscription supply chain, including publishers,
agents and end users. Academic institutions, libraries and
corporate customers can access real-time product information
(catalogs, bibliographic data and abstracts) and keep up to date
with prices and dispatch details from their own PCs. Publishers
will be able to notify subscription agents of changes to
publication dates and the information will cascade down the supply
chain, reducing unnecessary 'early claims' triggered by automatic
systems and ensuring that real claims for damaged or missed copies
are properly handled. By providing more efficient communication at
each stage of the supply chain, PubEasy.com/subs will provide an
invaluable service on all subscription-based journals, CD-ROMs,
legal abstracts and on-line publications.
Additional PubEasy.com services will be
phased in to address other vital areas of electronic commerce and help
to speed the supply chain. The associated financial module, BATCH,
being developed jointly with Book Tokens Ltd. to put the Booksellers
Clearing House on-line, will also go live next year.
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