Melbourne-based Central Book Services has Australia's first book trade consolidation service. We promise a solution to the many-warehouses-to-many-bookstores supply chain. The local market needs a wholesale layer to ensure economies of scale and the supply chain for books needs some work before it can deliver the best-practice model that works so well in overseas markets.

Booksellers are changing the way they order. Central Book Services has chosen to specialise in ones and twos, and can deliver sourcing and freight economies, particularly for the long tail. There are large numbers of small parcels travelling up and down the highways that add to industry costs, and its carbon footprint.

Minimum order requirements and high freight costs must be eradicated if the diversity of choice for consumers is to be maintained. We need a smarter system, and this is just the first step in plans by Central Book Services to help the book trade be more efficient. Libraries resolved this many-to-many approach long ago, contracting out their book acquisitions to library-supply specialists, allowing publishers to consolidate orders to one supply point.

Australian bookstores and publishers interested in discussing options for supply chain collaboration should contact Warren Broom on 03-92107804 wbroom@centralbookservices.com

Challenges

• Establishing a supply chain to facilitate access to diversity of content
• Reduce shipping costs
• Reduce administration costs
• Reduce greenhouse gas output
• Deliver faster

Diversity of content in the book category is our greatest strength and also greatest weakness

Australian Publishing/Bookselling - Industry snapshot

• population 20.4 mill
• books published annually: c.9000
• number of publishers: 23,000
  major publishers: 250
• retail bookstores: 2300
• publisher turnover: A$1.56 bn
• retail sales: A$1.4 bn

Industry trends to reduced number of suppliers.

In three years, the number of suppliers reduced from 4,800 to about 791 active suppliers (84% reduction) and the number of production material suppliers reduced from 771 to 251 (72% reduction). The reduction improved both the communication and relationship between the company and its suppliers. The suppliers' list is continuously pruned to ensure that best suppliers are available on the active list. - Quality Digest

How it works practically

• All orders for non mainstream publishers are sent to CBS
• CBS purchases from publisher/distributor local and overseas
• CBS aggregates all small orders for bookstores
• Ships to stores at agreed intervals
• CBS invoices stores.

Central Book Services now provides Australian publishers with fresh new export opportunities to market Australian professional and reference titles to libraries in the Asia/Pacific region. Simply provide us with timely information about new Australian books, and commercial trading terms, and we will promote your books to library suppliers in the region, and beyond.