Tapping the Supply Chain Opportunity
Book manufacturers and printers are by nature and design conservative in foreseeing and responding to lethal threats. Their technology and equipment fixed-cost investments are substantial. They are the tail to the publishing dog (no slight intended), relying on a pull instead of a push marketplace (fortunately countered by the massive investments of technology providers such as Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, Kodak, Creo and others).
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.