Ingram Book Co. has launched a new incentive plan aimed at booksellers who use its Vendor of Record service. Under the program, booksellers who use VOR will receive "reward dollars" on their VOR purchases, which can then be used to buy a variety of Ingram database products, programs and services. Currently, about 360 booksellers are VOR participants.
According to Ingram Book Co. president Jim Chandler, the formula for earning reward dollars will be similar to that used by booksellers to earn co-op funds; in the new program, 1% of purchases made through VOR will be credited to the bookseller's account. All record keeping will be done by Ingram reps, who will also keep accounts informed on how many reward dollars they have generated.
Among the items that booksellers can buy are Ingram Books in Print on Disc, i-Page or TitleQuest. Chandler speculates that many of Ingram's customers already use some of these services; he sees the new program as "a way to take some additional costs off the table." Chandler said Ingram had been looking at ways to enhance its VOR service before the controversy erupted over Ingram's plan to merge with Barnes &Noble.
Booksellers can call their Ingram rep for more information about the program, and the company will have materials available at BookExpo America.
