HarperCollins Publishers today announced that it will roll out a new global publishing system, one of the largest undertakings of its kind to be implemented by a trade publisher. Global Product Manager, developed in partnership with Publishing Technology, will enable HarperCollins to unify editorial, marketing and business data around the world, widening the reach of its print and digital publications in its core target markets.
By integrating systems and assets across the globe, the new centralized system will provide the company with the long term infrastructure needed to maximize its extensive catalogue of books, e-books and apps. It will transform the way staff view, manage and share product information throughout the publishing lifecycle.
Built on Publishing Technology’s advance platform, Global Product Manager will empower HarperCollins staff to explore current and future content delivery types and business models, while enabling better metadata management that will improve the discoverability of its products. Other expected benefits include:
Greater visibility, consistency and reliability of product data
Best-in-class metadata maintenance to drive marketing strategies
Ability to better leverage rights, aggregate content and create new business models
Robust scheduling and tracking capability to monitor cost and performance
Improved relationships with retailers and authors through improved access to data
Best-practice sharing of information across geographical regions
The system will be rolled out first in the US, followed by the UK and subsequently Canada, Australia and to the Christian Publishing Division through 2013.
“It is our responsibility to provide our authors with the broadest possible reach through our global print and digital publishing platforms, regardless of where their books originate and what format they take,” said Larry Nevins, Executive Vice President, Operations. “Global Product Manager will elevate our publishing capabilities by focusing on the content first, thus enabling the flexibly to adapt to various formats depending on the needs of the business. Publishing Technology, with its international business view and strong systems make them the right partner on this project.”
George Lossius, CEO, Publishing Technology, said: “This is an exciting project and it is very refreshing to see that HarperCollins, which has already established itself as cutting edge in its approach to technology, being so visionary and strategic in its efforts to evolve alongside the digital publishing landscape. It is essential that information providers don’t just consider today’s challenges but future-proof their business. Putting digital products at the core of publishing activity, rather than as a bolt-on, is one of the key features of Global Product Manager, so it will be the perfect tool to support HarperCollins ambitious growth and development plans.”
