Posted Thursday, July 08, 2004
Book Industry Study Group Forms Task Force to Facilitate the Transition of Barcodes
Nearly 30 individuals representing wholesalers, retailers, publishers, and other companies throughout the supply chain convened on July 7, 2004 for the first meeting of the BISG Task Force.
The formation of the group, co-chaired by Fritz Foy of Holtzbrinck Publishers and John Bohman of Random House, comes in response to concerns expressed in recent industry meetings about the ability of channel partners to comply with BISG's recommendations and implementation dates related to its Product Identification Policy (www.bisg.org/docs/BISG_policy_001.pdf).
The Task Force's mission is to explore the impact of this policy and facilitate the transition of barcodes from UPC to EAN on all books while minimizing any negative impact on publisher, wholesaler and retailer sales. In fulfilling its mission, the Task Force will consider the impact of the barcode change on the products such as mass market books, children's books, dictionaries, computer books, and audio. It will also investigate how the changes impact grocery retail, drug store retail, and convenience stores.
The team agreed that data management, price changes, and backlist title transition are the three main focuses of the Task Force. These issues illuminate the need for good communication and data transfer and may spark EDI or ONIX related discussions in other BISAC Committees.
The Task Force's charge is to find solutions that will aid in the adoption of a recommended standard on all books. This standard will allow all partners in the supply chain to manage books at the item level, providing more information for improved inventory management for all parties.
At this year's Annual Meeting (September 24, 2004) BISG will hold a special extended session that focuses exclusively on the Task Force's work to date including: a status report on ISBN-13, Sunrise 2005 and the EAN/UPC transition.
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.
The formation of the group, co-chaired by Fritz Foy of Holtzbrinck Publishers and John Bohman of Random House, comes in response to concerns expressed in recent industry meetings about the ability of channel partners to comply with BISG's recommendations and implementation dates related to its Product Identification Policy (www.bisg.org/docs/BISG_policy_001.pdf).
The Task Force's mission is to explore the impact of this policy and facilitate the transition of barcodes from UPC to EAN on all books while minimizing any negative impact on publisher, wholesaler and retailer sales. In fulfilling its mission, the Task Force will consider the impact of the barcode change on the products such as mass market books, children's books, dictionaries, computer books, and audio. It will also investigate how the changes impact grocery retail, drug store retail, and convenience stores.
The team agreed that data management, price changes, and backlist title transition are the three main focuses of the Task Force. These issues illuminate the need for good communication and data transfer and may spark EDI or ONIX related discussions in other BISAC Committees.
The Task Force's charge is to find solutions that will aid in the adoption of a recommended standard on all books. This standard will allow all partners in the supply chain to manage books at the item level, providing more information for improved inventory management for all parties.
At this year's Annual Meeting (September 24, 2004) BISG will hold a special extended session that focuses exclusively on the Task Force's work to date including: a status report on ISBN-13, Sunrise 2005 and the EAN/UPC transition.
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.