The State of Sourcing

From releasing a new Kindle application for Android devices to allowing customers to exchange textbooks for a gift card or announcing Facebook and Twitter support in Kindles – the past few days have been quite eventful for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). While these new developments reflect the inherent dynamism in the book distribution market, the possible launch of Google Editions or DangDang.com planning an IPO are indicative of the competition that the market is witnessing.

But of all the news items, what I found most interesting has been the announcement of AmazonCrossing. AmazonCrossing will use customer feedback and data from other Amazon sites to identify non-English best sellers. Once identified, Amazon will acquire and translate the book for consumption by the global English-speaking audience. The move leverages Amazon’s existing distribution networks that contain multiple channels, formats, stores and partnerships with independent book sellers.

For Amazon, this has been a step ahead of the rest (Google and Apple). Leveraging its distribution presence in other countries to identify content worth converting is inspired. However, the mechanism (and its success) remains to be seen.

So how will Amazon translate these books?

This article from the Wall Street Journal suggests that a 60,000 word novel could cost anywhere between USD 6,000 to USD 8,000 to translate in the US. While the company has not indicated how it will get books translated (or how much it will pay), there exist opportunities for translation service companies. Amazon might not be looking at high volumes to begin with, but the success of AmazonCrossing’s pilot with Monénembo’s “The King of Kahel” will surely mean there is an opportunity in translating content.

Last 5 posts by Vivek

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