I have been talking over the last few weeks with people in two different countries about the Australian magazine distribution system. They wanted to know specifically about EDI standards and how compliance is driven. In each case, their country is considerably behind Australia in terms of management of supply – invoices are manually processed, returns are manual and credits can take three months or more because of this.
While I have serious issues with our magazine distribution model, it is cleasr from talking with others that the Australian system is nowhere near the worst in the world. That said, it does not stop me wanting the AAustralian magazine distribution system to be better and fairer to newsagents. I want to see costs for newsagents reduced, supply which more closely matches sales and better ranging control so that we carry a commercially viable range and not what three distributors separately think we should have because it suits them.
My mag is distributed in the UK and the USA, and I can tell you that it is a nightmare. The UK distribution system is a complete joke, while the US distribution system is simply falling apart. (No newsagents in the USA folks, explains a few things doesn’t it?)
Australia’s distribution system is the best I have encountered, for small publishers like me that is.