PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday 26th January 2010
Save money on distribution costs and invest in digital book technology,
SBS Chairman tells delegates to the Digital Book World conference
Making a speech about the shipment of printed books at the Digital Book World
conference might seem out of place to some people, but not to Steve Walker,
chairman of international freight forwarder, SBS Worldwide.
“Digital technology
requires investment, which requires cash,” he told delegates. “And my company –
SBS Worldwide – is going to deliver you significant savings from your supply
chain.”
He explained how SBS could save publishers both time and money by moving
more of their warehousing and distribution tasks closer to the printer – who,
these days, was more often than not in China. SBS can pick orders at country –
or even store – level directly in China and save the cost of shipping books into
and out of several regional distribution centres before they arrive at their
final destination.
Steve Walker gave the example of books printed in China,
shipped to a publishers’ warehouse in the UK and then shipped out again to
Australia. “The only books that should cross more than one major ocean are those
in the library of a cruise ship,” he declared.
SBS implemented its eDC
(Electronic Distribution Centre) system and cut the shipping time for that
publisher from 93 days to 21 days, saving 80% of the shipping costs at the same
time.
“Freight management in its current form is wasting time, costing money and
swamping your production team with calls from management, sales, distribution
centres and customers asking when the books are coming to market,” he told
delegates.
The eDC system offers total visibility, with the additional benefit
of a traffic light system to highlight any potential delays. “Each morning, your
production teams can see the pre and post shipping stage of every ISBN. If the
light is red, then there is a problem – that you can drill into instantly,
pinpoint it, and proactively resolve it.”
Steve Walker said he was pleased with
the reaction to his speech at the Digital Book World conference, held in New
York, January 26-27. “The people here understand the importance of innovation,
so they are open to listening to new ideas – especially if we can save them
money! They want to deliver books – whether printed or digital – as quickly and
cost-effectively as possible, and we can help publishers do that.”
SBS
Worldwide, founded in 1983, has offices in the UK, US and China and a dedicated
team has spent 12 months developing the industry specific software package eDC,
which Steve Walker believes will transform an area of the publishing business
that may not be sexy, but which is vital.
“Up to now there hasn’t been anything
which has been so carefully targeted at the publishing industry,” says Steve
Walker. “Yet the kind of system we’ve developed is commonplace in other sectors,
such as the automotive industry, clothing or all manner of fast-moving consumer
goods.”
SBS is committed to the book trade and sponsors the Chairman’s Breakfast
at the London Book Fair, the Lifetime Achievement Award in International
Publishing and the International Achievement Award at the Independent Publishers
Guild awards.
End of Press Statement
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