In at the deep end: a look at EDI from the bookseller's point of view
| Date | 01 January 1994 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040525 |
| Published date | 01 January 1994 |
| Pages | 33-37 |
| Author | Stephen Scott |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
In at the deep end: a
look at EDI from the
bookseller's point of
view
Stephen Scott, IT Director, The Holt
Jackson Book Company Ltd
Holt Jackson have recognised the importance
of
EDI
at
an early
stage.
This article presents
the standards issues from the book trade's
point of
view and describes Holt Jackson's
use
of
the First Edition
system.
Some
omissions
in the
TRADACOMS format are
highlighted.
The debate over who should
be
responsible
for
transmission charges
is
covered in the review
of
costs
involved.
Introduction
The current buzzword, the acronym of
the
nineties,
EDI has probably been mentioned in every board-
room at some stage in the last 12 months. As a
library bookseller we have to embrace it with
careful consideration and some degree of rever-
ence.
Before going into it in some detail we have
to re-visit that buzzword of the eighties, standards.
It is vital that EDI users in the book trade adhere to
standards wherever possible.
Standards
One definition of an EDI standard is "the agreed
representation of information to be sent from one
computer application to another". The agreed
standards in the book trade at the moment seem to
be MARC for the transfer of bibliographic records
and TRADACOMS for electronic trading.
The TRADACOMS standards for Electronic Data
Interchange are intended to help UK businesses
improve their trade communications. EDI is the
exchange of data in a structured format — with
emphasis on the word structured. If
we
all use the
same data structure then common electronic
trading is possible in the marketplace. The
TRADACOMS standards seem to be increasingly
the format used in the UK, and the one most likely
to be adopted throughout the book trade.
The TRADACOMS standards have been in exist-
ence for over 10 years and the standards are
maintained by the ANA (The Article Numbering
Association). Other standards are also used in the
UK, such as UK EDIFACT, and for international
trade, EANCOM.
TRADACOMS incorporates 25 message sets
(orders, invoices, order receipts, price information,
product information, financial messages, forecasts
and so on). The first message sets to be used
commonly in the book trade seem to be orders,
order receipt, invoices, delivery notes and price
information.
TRADACOMS problems
The TRADACOMS format itself does not always
meet all the requirements of the book trade com-
munity. For instance, there is a slight complication
in the book trade's invoicing format needs. In a
normal retail environment if you were to order 23
items,
you would receive an invoice for 23 items.
In the book trade an invoice for a library may be
split up on the electronic invoice as 10 items for
branch A and 13 for branch B (therefore creating
an extra invoice line).
Other complications can arise with book/cassette
packs with a single product code, which have VAT
applied to only half the product, in this case the
cassette. These are examples of the kind of prob-
lems that need to be solved, and are currently
being solved through the BIC working party.
Links with publishers
Holt Jackson are sandwiched between the library
and their computer system, the publishers and
wholesalers, and in our case, Teleordering. It has
to be said that booksellers are usually passionately
in favour of EDI out of necessity. We have to be
up to date with the latest technology and ready to
accept electronic orders when required to do so by
our customers. The alternative is to risk losing
those orders.
Linking the bookseller and the systems suppliers
VINE 94
(March
1994) — 33
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