Promoting e-commerce in the United Kingdom

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Promoting e-commerce in the United Kingdom

• Peter Kilborn
• Moscow, 4 September 2007

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About BIC

• Set up in 1991 by trade associations to promote
  technology
• Also funded by individual corporate subscribers
  (publishers, booksellers and service providers)
• Independent and impartial leading supply chain
  consensus

3
UK supply chain initiatives

• Standard Book Number/ISBN
• TeleOrdering
• Whitaker BookTrack/Nielsen BookScan
• Industry Returns Initiative
• Batch.co.uk

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Focus of supply chain activity

• KPMGs 1997 report Unlocking the Supply Chains
  Hidden Prize
• Costly and inefficient
• Key areas for improvement
• E-commerce
• Product information
• Returns

5
What is e-commerce?

• Communicating electronically
• Enabling automatic processing by trading partners
• Eliminating rekeying of data reducing errors
• Using automation to replace labour-intensive
  activities

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The e4books project

• Launched in 2004
• Increase amounts of e-commerce use in the supply
  chain
• Provide practical guidance to smaller publishers
  and booksellers
• Dispel misconceptions about cost and difficulty

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Project objective

• E-day 1 May 2008
• All trading partners able to send and receive
  electronic messages
• About 200 days to go!

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Back in 2004

• TeleOrdering widely used by booksellers
• EDI well established
• Cost and complexity of traditional EDI for
  big/small and small/big trading relationships
• The web as a low-cost and inclusive alternative
  to EDI

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Forms of e-commerce

• EDI (Electronic data interchange)
• Transmission by internet (FTP, AS2)
• Internet-based commercial services
• Web services

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Supply chain e-commerce

• Electronic supply of - and access to -product
  information
• Order, order acknowledgment, delivery note and
  invoice/credit note
• Electronic returns transactions

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What has e4books done?

• Promoted e-commerce through trade press, speaking
  opportunities, newsletters, conferences
• Worked with systems suppliers on integrating
  services
• Established an accreditation scheme

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What has e4books done?

• Launched web services standards
• Made publishers reassess business models
• Need for integrated systems
• Outsourcing of distribution
• Encouraged booksellers to migrate to electronic
  services

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What has e4books done?

• TeleOrdering has abandoned fax and mail for
  orders to small publishers
• One publisher will only accept electronic orders
  from January 2008
• Growth of wholesaler e-commerce
• Electronic volumes up to 80/90 percent

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The view from now

• Increasing acceptance of e-commerce
• Younger people receptive to new technologies
• Services becoming more integrated, more
  user-friendly
• Environmental awareness
• Good progress made

15
After e-Day

• Some paper transactions will continue
• but trading partner pressure will continue the
  process
• Accreditation scheme goes on
• Promotion of e-commerce remains a core BIC
  activity

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Thank you for listening
For further information http//www.bic.org.uk pe
ter_at_bic.org.uk