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Book Publishing Next Working Group


About the Working Group


Summary

The Book Publishing Next Working Group (formerly Transforming Supply Chain Communication) brings together professionals from publishers, distributors, printers, retailers, libraries, agencies, and vendors to modernize how information flows across the book industry. Focused on updating today’s fragmented, manual, and often redundant communication practices, the group is working to develop a shared reference architecture, outline clear statements of benefit, build cost models, and launch real-world pilot projects that demonstrate what a more connected, efficient supply chain can achieve. By participating, working group members help shape practical solutions that improve accuracy, reduce delays, and strengthen collaboration across every step of the publishing lifecycle.

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How to Get Involved

If your organization is part of the book publishing ecosystem—whether you’re a publisher, printer, distributor, retailer, library, or system vendor—your contributions can help shape the future of the industry’s supply chain. Participation is open to both BISG members and nonmembers.

  1. To join, e-mail info@bisg.org to express your interest and get on the mailing list for meeting invites, agendas, and other key communications.
  2. Attend working group meetings, held every other month in 2026. View the full schedule of working group meetings here. 
  3. Engage in discussions and pilot activities based on your organization’s expertise and capacity.

By joining, your team will have a direct impact on shaping workflows that increase efficiency, transparency, and collaboration across the publishing supply chain.

2026 Working Group Charter


Current situation

One fundamental and increasingly pressing issue is our supply chain, the network of individuals and companies involved in creating a product and delivering it to the consumer. As vibrant and creative as many people are in our industry, the book publishing supply chain was designed and functions largely in support of the industry as it operated  in the last century.

We need a modern supply chain to seize the opportunities brought forward by new technologies and media. As other industries have embraced standardized digital workflows, the book industry supply chain is still very much a print-focused string of proprietary systems lacking in robust communication among the various segments. The industry continues to grapple with the same questions it has for years, including:

  • How do publishers reach more consumers and sell more books?

  • How do libraries serve their patrons better?

  • How do K-12 schools and universities provide the best learning materials to their students

  • How can manufacturers and distributors provide better service to their customers?

  • How can booksellers provide more value to their customers while closing sales faster and more efficiently?

  • How do we convert more online searches to sales?

In 2025, the Book Publishing Next Working Group convened quarterly and created the Book Publishing Next Project Plan, including mapping committee and working group assignments to individual 2026 committee charters. The working group meets on a bimonthly basis in 2026, with a focus on monitoring progress toward committee deliverables related to the BPN initiative.


Objectives

Plan, promote, and execute a multi-year effort to influence the book industry about opportunities to significantly upgrade the capabilities, transparency, and resilience of the supply chain.


Stakeholder Impact

Limitations in the supply chain are already costing the industry time, staff expense, operational inefficiencies, and missed revenue opportunities. Looking ahead, the challenges will likely grow more severe. An industry that continues to add hundreds of thousands of new products every year will not be able to operate with a “business as usual” supply chain. We see at least four areas requiring specific consideration:

  • Growth in the North American publishing business will increasingly come from the licensing and effective management of rights. While product sales overall will continue to contribute significant revenue, the upside for publishers with significant backlists will migrate increasingly toward rights.

  • Managing the costs of creating, distributing, selling, and returning products will require a commitment to efficiency across the supply chain, using information that is currently unavailable or barely available in legacy systems and workflows. This requires a transformation of supply-chain communications in the U.S. market.

  • Product selection and development will continue to demand a full understanding of the markets we’re working to serve, making access to and the ability to manage consumer information critical for companies throughout the supply chain. In the existing supply chain, links between external data and actual sales are tenuous and often delayed, with decisions made ahead of or well behind the markets we are working to serve.

  • The internet, online e-tailing, mobile devices, and social media have completely changed the supply chain’s relationship with the end consumer. It is no longer only the physical bookstore, advertising, and in-person author appearances that drive consumer buying patterns. There are now multiple direct avenues to consumers, including buying books on social media sites—a brand new addition to the supply chain.  To take advantage of these new and emerging channels, the supply chain needs to be faster, more flexible and more transparent, allowing for greater access to the right data.


2026 Deliverables

BISG has integrated this work into its strategic plan. Deliverables in 2026 include:

  1. Monitor committee progress against deliverables relevant to BPN.

  2. Review and refine the BPN project plan as needed.

  3. Report progress to the BISG board on a quarterly basis.

  4. Recommend ways to publicize BPN and expand industry awareness and engagement.


Blockers

Although implemented in stages, this effort requires the support of the industry across all segments and multiple systems and software solutions. Relatively few organizations have access to staff who can describe how all of their pieces fit together. To address this concern, the working group and BISG staff will identify organizations and (where possible) individuals whose perspectives are important to include in the project. Reaching critical mass of support and participation by 2026 will be a key benchmark in determining how far the project can go.