OVERVIEW
BIC is all about the book supply chain - both physical and digital.

What do we mean by supply chain exactly? We use this term to refer to every process involved from the start of a book's life all the way through to its end. So from the author's contract, all the way through to production, editorial, sales, marketing, production, freight, distribution, retail, libraries, returns, metadata etc. All of these areas have an impact (direct or indirect) on eachother and each of them impact on the overall efficiency of the supply chain - ultimately affecting your bottom line.

BIC is continuously looking for process improvement in these areas, best practice and the creation/adoption of relevant standards to ensure our members are getting the best value from their supply chains.

WHO JOINS BIC?
BIC members come from all areas of the book industry: publishers, wholesalers, distributors, booksellers, service providers, data aggregators, standards bodies etc...

WHY DO THEY JOIN US?
SAVE TIME & MONEY
BIC creates and promotes standard processes and procedures which save its members time and money and supplies ongoing technical support to maintain these standards.

KNOWLEDGE & NEWS
BIC occupies a central space in the industry: it listens and talks to all organisations on its members' behalf. BIC gives its members a place to go to for help and advice to any supply chain issue or challenge. We're here to help you.

INDEPENDENT & OBJECTIVE
BIC is independent of any indivdual trade sector or vested interest and supports the common interest of all its members.

BE HEARD
BIC gives its members a powerful voice in the development of standards and helps them to gain early benefits from new opportunites.

BE IN TOUCH WITH STANDARDS BODIES
BIC maintains close relations with the British Standards Institute, the Book Industry Study Group in the USA, and with BookNet Canada and is an EDItEUR board member. These relationships ensure that the UK's voice is heard in the global standards arena and that members are kept informed of developments elsewhere in the world.

QUALITY & EFFICIENCY
BIC Accreditation Schemes are recognised throughout the industry as a benchmark for quality and efficiency.

TRAINING COURSES: Training for an empowered, informed supply chain.
BIC has developed a set of exclusive training courses covering relevant aspects of the supply chain. We're currently looking to greatly extend the remit and frequency of these courses, in particluar we're planning to add a "Beginners Guide to Metadata - all the things you wanted to know but were too afraid to ask".

We are also looking at the change in required skillsets now that the digital age is upon us and our new courses (which we a developing for 2013) will address and reflect this.

BIC is always happy to hear from its members for ideas on additional courses.

NETWORKING/REACH OTHERS
Don't underestimate the power of networking. BIC provides excellent networking opportunities and information for those with an interest in creating a more efficient supply chain and keeping up to date with new ideas/trends etc. This is achieved through seminars, meetings, email discussion groups, newsletters and social media.

For more information get in touch:
info@bic.org.uk
Tel. +44 (0) 20 7255 0516
twitter: @BIC1UK