First Edition's role in the beginnings of Electronic Data Interchange in the book trade
| Published date | 01 January 1994 |
| Date | 01 January 1994 |
| Pages | 29-32 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040524 |
| Author | Mark Hodder‐Williams |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
First Edition's role in
the beginnings of
Electronic Data
Interchange in the
book trade
by Mark Hodder-Williams, Managing
Director, First Edition EDI Services Ltd
First Edition was
set
up initially as
a pilot
scheme
in
1992 and has very quickly become
an
important player in
the
UK EDI
scene.
The
article describes the background to
its
establishment and outlines
the
services
provided to
subscribers.
Background
As a result of the publication of the BEDIS stand-
ards,
initially for the fundamental commercial
transactions, a number of individual companies
began to test them in a series of point-to-point
communications links. Meanwhile, electronic
trading was being featured in the specialist and
general press more and more, as the big high street
traders and their major suppliers embraced the
opportunities that this new form of trading offered
them, with, in many cases, spectacular effects on
their profits and service levels.
Simultaneously, Book Data and Vista customers
were asking what they were doing and how their
services might take advantage of, or contribute to,
the EDI marketplace. INS (International Network
Services — the European supplier of EDI Serv-
ices) were also looking at the book sector with a
view to expanding their own market penetration.
The Book Data/Vista pilot
project
As a response to this, Book Data and Vista jointly
offered to manage a pilot scheme, with five major
publishers/distributors (HarperCollins, Tiptree Book
Services; Oxford University Press, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich and John Wiley) and four large book-
seller/suppliers (JS Peters, Morley Books, John
Smith (Glasgow) Ltd and BH Blackwell) delivering
a service that was to provide the following:
impeccable technical performance, with
proven network and software facilities
access to state-of-the-art development
resources
24-hour, 365-days a year support
user-driven trading facilities, not dependent
on any third-party processing
an open system, capable of using trade,
national and international standards
transparent access to non-book trade trading
partners (eg stationery suppliers, printers, •
supermarkets)
transparent access to a global service
(because of the internationality of the
industry)
• a focal point to expand the community, react
to commercial requirements, test and help
develop new standards.
What did we learn from the
pilot project?
The pilot project was an experimental experience
in a number of different ways.
Firstly, most of the participating companies had
not used Value-Added Networks before. This was
one new experience, although there were no
problems with the software or network links, audit
trails or performance.
Secondly, we were testing the new BIC standards
for the first time 'in anger'. Notwithstanding the
huge amount of work that had gone into the
published message formats, when they came to be
used, there were found to be some omissions, and
a number of specific points that needed clarifica-
tion or alteration. This required time to consult
BIC,
and in some cases the Article Numbering
Association, custodians of the UK TRADACOMS
formats, on which the BIC standards are based.
Most of these were resolved quite quickly, but it
did slow down some of the user application
changes that were being made.
VINE
94(March
1994)—29
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