Posted Friday, August 27, 2004
BISG & Georgia Tech Conclude Agreement to Launch New Benchmarking System
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG), in collaboration with a team at The Georgia Institute of Technology has developed the first ever book-industry specific warehouse and distribution benchmarking program. Jeff Abraham, BISG Executive Director, stated, "under this new program participating warehouses will be able to compare themselves -- anonymously -- to others in the supply chain."
Members of The Distribution Executive Interest Group (DEIG), a committee of BISG, have been working with Professor Leon McGinnis of Georgia Tech for almost one year. The DEIG committee is chaired by James Benjamin, of Baker & Taylor and has representatives from numerous publishers, wholesalers and retail operations. "Our goal was to answer the age-old question are we using the right amounts, of the right resources to achieve the right service levels at minimum cost," says Benjamin.
"We've been working for nearly ten years now to develop a different approach to assessing warehouse performance. Our Georgia Tech team has created an Internet based tool -- Internet-based Data Envelopment Analysis (iDEAs) -- that allows an individual warehouse to compare itself to a larger group of warehouses," acknowledges McGinnis. Georgia Tech has collected over 600 warehouse data records over the past four years, and has created a model which identifies and accounts for the book industry's unique warehouse attributes, such as the volume of returns processing, handling of new releases, value added services, and more.
In a description of iDEAs, McGinnis affirms the simplicity of this initiative for busy Distribution Executives. "Participants use their browser to enter the appropriate data in a convenient, tabular format. It is possible to enter data over any number of sessions, and it can be edited once it has been submitted." McGinnis further states that "nobody can see the data of a participant, except the research team that is part of a quality check on values entered." McGinnis is quick to point out that members will have results "sent back to them in about two minutes."
Gil Harper, from Penguin Group (USA), and a member of the DEIG committee, states, "Conceptually all warehouses are basically the same in that they produce required services by moving material through sequential processes. Economies and efficiencies are attained through technology and the resources devoted accomplish each process. This model allows participants to identify areas which offer the greatest potential for improvement." He further states that one of the benefits of working with the Georgia Tech model is that it can be adapted to reflect the uniqueness of book industry facilities.
According to Abraham, "BISG will be initiating this new program at a September 21 meeting and workshop hosted by our Distribution Executives Interest Group (DEIG). This new approach to total resource efficiency is just one of the many benefits of BISG membership." Those interested in participating in the September 21 workshop and in the benchmarking system should contact BISG.
For more information and to register, visit www.bisg.org/news/benchmarking.html.
About BISG:
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is a not-for-profit research, policy and standards organization whose members come from every sector of the publishing community. The Study Group is a forum for managing change and enabling interaction among publishers, booksellers, librarians, wholesalers, manufacturers, authors, and suppliers. For more information, visit www.bisg.org.
Members of The Distribution Executive Interest Group (DEIG), a committee of BISG, have been working with Professor Leon McGinnis of Georgia Tech for almost one year. The DEIG committee is chaired by James Benjamin, of Baker & Taylor and has representatives from numerous publishers, wholesalers and retail operations. "Our goal was to answer the age-old question are we using the right amounts, of the right resources to achieve the right service levels at minimum cost," says Benjamin.
"We've been working for nearly ten years now to develop a different approach to assessing warehouse performance. Our Georgia Tech team has created an Internet based tool -- Internet-based Data Envelopment Analysis (iDEAs) -- that allows an individual warehouse to compare itself to a larger group of warehouses," acknowledges McGinnis. Georgia Tech has collected over 600 warehouse data records over the past four years, and has created a model which identifies and accounts for the book industry's unique warehouse attributes, such as the volume of returns processing, handling of new releases, value added services, and more.
In a description of iDEAs, McGinnis affirms the simplicity of this initiative for busy Distribution Executives. "Participants use their browser to enter the appropriate data in a convenient, tabular format. It is possible to enter data over any number of sessions, and it can be edited once it has been submitted." McGinnis further states that "nobody can see the data of a participant, except the research team that is part of a quality check on values entered." McGinnis is quick to point out that members will have results "sent back to them in about two minutes."
Gil Harper, from Penguin Group (USA), and a member of the DEIG committee, states, "Conceptually all warehouses are basically the same in that they produce required services by moving material through sequential processes. Economies and efficiencies are attained through technology and the resources devoted accomplish each process. This model allows participants to identify areas which offer the greatest potential for improvement." He further states that one of the benefits of working with the Georgia Tech model is that it can be adapted to reflect the uniqueness of book industry facilities.
According to Abraham, "BISG will be initiating this new program at a September 21 meeting and workshop hosted by our Distribution Executives Interest Group (DEIG). This new approach to total resource efficiency is just one of the many benefits of BISG membership." Those interested in participating in the September 21 workshop and in the benchmarking system should contact BISG.
For more information and to register, visit www.bisg.org/news/benchmarking.html.
About BISG:
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is a not-for-profit research, policy and standards organization whose members come from every sector of the publishing community. The Study Group is a forum for managing change and enabling interaction among publishers, booksellers, librarians, wholesalers, manufacturers, authors, and suppliers. For more information, visit www.bisg.org.