Some may think that the only customers of textbooks are the students but that is not the case. There are a variety of customers that buy the textbook before it even reaches the student, someone has to decide what textbook the students are going to be using for which particular course. Business school curricula is changing and therefore their textbooks needs are changing, they want textbooks that cover a variety of information and data in one single, easy to transport textbook.
Some school that were moving the modular course structures wanted books that were easy to cover in a course that lasts sometimes as short as a week long. And now, more and more students are buying their textbooks in non-traditional bookstore, in places such as Amazon. com and eBay. com. These students want textbooks that are affordable as well as the correct copy for their course.
...Some professors want textbooks in “packet” from with chapters and cases from several different sources. And finally, some customers are purchasing e-books, which makes reading their textbooks convenient and easy to transport.
Bookstores and online retailers are also large customers of textbooks and possibly the most critical, seeing how they are the ones that ultimately sell the books to the end consumer, the student.
A supply chain is the global network of organizations and activities involved in designing a set of goods and services and their related processes, transforming inputs into goods and services, consuming these goods and services and disposing of these goods and services. The major players in the supply chain of textbooks are authors, text editors, graphic artists, commercial printers, and others suppliers to edit, design and produce
books. Each division of the supply chain adds value for the critical consumers. Operations management activities located throughout the supply chain create and enhance the value of the textbooks by increasing their economic value (lowering delivered cost), functional value (improving product quality or convenience), and psychological value (improving product aesthetics and desirability).
- The market for textbooks is constantly changing.
As the demand for certain features in textbooks increases each supplier in the supply chain’s role will change and evolve.
Authors need to be aware of the needs of the universities; books need to be concise yet full of information. Authors continuously need to update data and information in all textbooks. Text editors need to keep up with the authors and the ever-changing data and information provided to students in textbooks; they need to be able to adapt to other forms of text as well such as e-books. As technology evolves as does the need for better graphics in textbooks. Many students are visual learners and graphic designers need to be aware of this.
We have certainly come a long way in terms of graphics in textbooks and the need will only keep increasing. Printing companies also need to be kept in the know and possibly develop new technology to make it easier to predict the demand for each textbook and even the possibility of e-books being the dominant form of text. As the industry grows and changes as will the roles of each supplier and everyone needs to look toward the future and realize the changes that are happening.
- I would advise Dave to consider expanding the firm’s definition of what industry they are in.
- Are they solely
in the publishing industry?
It would be wise for them to explore and research the ever-changing needs of the end consumer. Students are becoming more and more tech-savvy and I think that it would be a good idea for Dave and Mountain Publishing to branch out into the e-book industry, which I believe will soon become more popular than traditional textbooks.
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