News

VON HOLTZBRINCK PUBLISHER 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™.

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