Tapping the Supply Chain Opportunity
This has created an incentive for them to take control of their own digital content storage, access and distribution. Two major publishers who have done this are HarperCollins (Browse Inside) and Random House (Insight). Other publishers have reported they are studying similar strategies.
The supply chain implications of these initiatives will play out among retailers, librarians and consumers as they prioritize Web search choices between aggregators such as Google and Microsoft, and e-tailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Eugene G. Schwartz is editor at large for ForeWord Reviews, an industry observer and an occasional columnist for Book Business magazine. In an earlier career, he was in the printing business and held production management positions at Random House, Prentice-Hall/Goodyear and CRM Books/Psychology Today. A former PMA (IBPA) board member, he has headed his own publishing consultancy, Consortium House. He is also Co-Founder of Worthy Shorts Inc., a development stage online private press and publication service for professionals as well as an online back office publication service for publishers and associations. He is on the Publishing Business Conference and Expo Advisory Board.