In news that will frustrate newsagents who care about magazines, Network Services continues to shed customer-facing staff, reducing the support services for newsagents chasing resolution of magazine over and undersupply issues.
Network is also reportedly about to change their internal magazine allocations system from one that involved considerable human review of allocations to one that uses only 10% of human review time. The risk of supply errors as a result of less human oversight is significantly enhanced by this move.
I’m told these changes are in direct response to the Bauer driven cost cutting of the magazine publishing and distribution organisation.
Network continues to frustrate newsagents by offering a website that does not provide us with reasonable control over magazine supply. For example, it is impossible for newsagents to make a change and be certain of the result – all they can do is ask and hope that someone sometime in Network will approve.
As we have seen in recent weeks, oversupply is on the increase of Bauer titles and other titles distributed by Network Services. This increase in oversupply disadvantages newsagents, it makes us less competitive.
One person put it to me that the Bauer people have little experience at dealing directly with a retail channel like newsagents, that their experience is more with major retailers, like supermarkets.
It appears from the outside looking in that there are fewer people supporting the newsagency channel within Bauer today compared to when it was ACP magazines and part of Nine Entertainment.
This could be a positive, changes made on-line may be left alone.
OR ignored ?
Their allocations system could not get any worse.
Catching up today cleaning my magazine display. There is so much crap on my shelves that rarely sells I’m sure I could easily cut 25% of my shelving including a lot of flat. And most of these mags are from Network. And I know it will never change, very frustrating.
Jenny I do a review weekly, on a Saturday usually, to keep it under control. I take into account sales, return on investment and current distributor behaviour.
OK magazine
3 sold 3
3 sold 3
6 sold 6
6 sold 4
this week i receive 1
Just lost for words on this one
OK, WD and NW all cut back and instead I got 13 packs of all 3.
Either they are idiots or the system is broken and they are poor managers or they have a plan.
Idiots driving a broken system I think.
May be Bauer and Tatts are going to the same how to stuff up a business seminars.
NW Sales
14/3
14/3
12/0
13/3
13/0
6/0
13/3
13/4
5 THIS WEEK BUT 13 (WD/OK/NW) Bagged
ACT WAS WD cut as well
WD only been cut back from 88 to 78 but
OK is another story
11/1
10/2
11/2
19/5
12/4
And last Friday 7
Sick of network online telling me I have to get approval to magazine A from 12 copies to 8 even though recent history shows sale of no mare than 7. They have no idea. For all of the faults at G&G they get this right.
Recent OK sales oldest to most recent
rec 11 sold 7
rec 7 sold 3 rec
5 sold 3
rec 7 sold 3
Tomorrows supply? 2…go figure.
Brendan I would not be surprised to see it bagged with something then.
Finished downloading and no bundles that I noticed. Now for the returns. We’ve been late a few times recently so now aim to do them a day earlier than we used to. Sunday returns also mean we have time to carefully consider all returns and hopefully not lose sales over in appropriate return levels.