June 27 is the target go live date for EDI files from Integrated Publication Solutions (Fairfax). Thereb is plento to be done between now and then including testing with the various software packages and engaging in field testing.
I know plenty of newsagents will be happy that there is finally progress on EDI files from IPS (Fairfax).
About Bloody Time!!!
THUMBS UP FOR THAT ONE
Yes, it has been a long journey, one which I suspect that the folks at Fairfax have been frustrated with too.
There is light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a train.
About time. Thanks for letting us know. Learn more here.
Before you all get too excited by this, there are some major issues with IPS’s setup of this.
1) You CANNOT do any early returns under their contract – so if you get a magazine and they want you to hold it for 12 months, you are STUCK with it.
2) you CAN set your own supply, BUT if there is a publisher promotion or TV advertising for a title, you have to know about it yourself well in advance and MANUALLY increase your supply if you have time – and then reduce it MANUALLY after the promotion. This will cost you sales in the long run.
3) They currently handle around 50 titles. If this increases to 1000 titles, (remember they have spent well over $1m + buying this platform) will you have the time to sit in front of your pc and manually manage ALL of them?
4)After the fiasco with the sunday/monday TV guide, would you trust Fairfax to stick to a contract?
5) If Fairfax get this working, what is to say that Gordon and Gotch and Network won’t start something like this as well?
I for one am not interested if we are unable to do early returns!!!
i don’t care about anything else other than being able to early return . As far as managing our own stock , i say bring it on this is how it should be ,that way we can not complain about over supply or under supply BUT we have to be able to cut and change when ever and how ever we want .
What contract states we cannot early return ?
Shaun S – how many magazine titles do you have in your store? We have around 3000 different titles, and certainly don’t have time to manage this ourselves.
In regards to OVERSUPLY, The suppliers computer systems should be able to figure out: Supply – returns = Sales
with certain adjustment allowances for promotions – it’s not a difficult equation to figure out, just that the suppliers don’t seem to be able to.
In regards to UNDERSUPPLY, the sales data sent by Xchangeit is now telling ACP when magazines have sold out, and they are sending more if they have stock. If they can do it, I’m sure the others can too.
We are currently allowed to do early returns for Gotch and Network – I’m sure that no one would like that to stop.
The contract that I refer to is a new IPS magazine contract (agreement), currently being written by Fairfax’s lawyers.
Their logic (I beleive) is that if we (newsagents) terminate our newspaper territory contract, Fairfax can still send us magazines…
surely 3000 different tittles do not have to be adjusted every week ?
If this is the case with the contract i will not be signing anything that will not allow early returns . i do not need fairfax papers or magazines but while i have them its great but as far as contracts are concerned good bye fairfax
No – rarely do I adjust – I let the mags come in , sit on the shelf for at least a month and get optimum sales from that pocket than early return last week of following month. Far simpler than sitting in front of a computer screen and more beneficial – customers can talk to you
i once did it like that but found i was getting bombarded with absolute crap mags always in the last week that always out weighed any sales that i could have made , but hey everyone has there own little idea on how to do it and if it works go with it .
To be honest i would have no idea on how many different tittles i carry . i am picturing 300- 500 (this is tomorrows project to have a count )
what size shop do you have ,to carry such a huge variety of mags and how many facings do you need to accomodate the 3000 tittles .
nothing to do with the topic of course but i am just curious ,