There's a lot more book metadata available, and available relatively easily unless it's about a highly popular book (in which case the noise level overwhelms all) than even a decade ago. The Internet's made a huge difference, the velocity of information flow, the availability of information, the distribution of information, and the amount of information, have all increased enormously. "Obscure" new books don't stay obscure if even one competent influential Internet blabberblogger find a copy and likes it enough to mention it glowingly to any of the audiences who trust blabberblogger's judgment/taste, or are willing to give books that blabberblogger suggests, a try.
As for the more organized warehousing, the reason why Walmart's the biggest retailer in the USA is its inventory control system. It's the metadata that makes the huge difference. The faster the merchandise turns around, the higher the revenue per square foot of store space. But Just In Time supply chain concepts, require accurate up-to-date inventory systems, and accurate (or at least reasonable projection) forecasting.
The regime where Made in China is eventually going to get clobbered, is when the currency rates change and the purely monetary "the workers there get $2 a day, workers in most of North America that's a few minute of time" advantage erodes away, and that slow boat across the Pacific and having to order months in advance, means that with the monetary advantage eroded, having to forecast demand months ahead of time, put in the orders, and then hope that the ships arrive, the port facilities are available (Walmart got temporarily clobbered nearly two years or two ago with merchandise stuck on ships that couldn't get into the overcrowded ship unloading facilities to offload Christmas season merchandise), the weather cooperates, and that what looked sensible to order six months in advance, turned out to have the predicted demand.
Having to make firm orders months ahead of time, doesn't make for "agile" business operations. One of the issues with publishing can be the lead time involved. I keep wondering when the contemporary fantasy vampires/shapeshifters/witches market saturates. IIRC Making Light had a thread many months ago about how fast a YA or children's series that had been having extremely high sales, suddenly quit selling, much to the detriment of the publisher's finances. Hmm, thinking about it now, I wonder how much that disrupted book retailers' operations and finances (though since it was only one series of books for retailers, it wouldn't have the same impact as it had on a publisher for whom the series was a big cash cow.)
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 04:20 am (UTC)As for the more organized warehousing, the reason why Walmart's the biggest retailer in the USA is its inventory control system. It's the metadata that makes the huge difference. The faster the merchandise turns around, the higher the revenue per square foot of store space. But Just In Time supply chain concepts, require accurate up-to-date inventory systems, and accurate (or at least reasonable projection) forecasting.
The regime where Made in China is eventually going to get clobbered, is when the currency rates change and the purely monetary "the workers there get $2 a day, workers in most of North America that's a few minute of time" advantage erodes away, and that slow boat across the Pacific and having to order months in advance, means that with the monetary advantage eroded, having to forecast demand months ahead of time, put in the orders, and then hope that the ships arrive, the port facilities are available (Walmart got temporarily clobbered nearly two years or two ago with merchandise stuck on ships that couldn't get into the overcrowded ship unloading facilities to offload Christmas season merchandise), the weather cooperates, and that what looked sensible to order six months in advance, turned out to have the predicted demand.
Having to make firm orders months ahead of time, doesn't make for "agile" business operations. One of the issues with publishing can be the lead time involved. I keep wondering when the contemporary fantasy vampires/shapeshifters/witches market saturates. IIRC Making Light had a thread many months ago about how fast a YA or children's series that had been having extremely high sales, suddenly quit selling, much to the detriment of the publisher's finances. Hmm, thinking about it now, I wonder how much that disrupted book retailers' operations and finances (though since it was only one series of books for retailers, it wouldn't have the same impact as it had on a publisher for whom the series was a big cash cow.)