BIC’s Strategy

2026/27 – 2029/30 (4 years)

  • VISION: To become a celebrated, indispensable, and responsive source of stability, providing leadership in supply chain resilience and risk mitigation in an increasingly fast-changing environment, whilst keeping the qualities that make BIC trusted.
  • MISSION: We make the UK book supply chain more efficient and sustainable, by developing standards and encouraging their adoption.  We define best practice and connect experts and stakeholders to enable measurable innovation.
  • EXECUTION: Over the coming months and years BIC will move beyond its traditional standards-and-best-practice role into a visible, practical problem-solving one, reinforcing its value as a neutral convenor and “chaos minimiser” for the supply chain.

BIC’s 4 Strategic Roles

2026-27 – 2029-30 (4 years)

Guided by four strategic roles, our four‑year strategy provides us with a clear and flexible pathway to future‑readiness, industry leadership, broader impact, and sustained value delivery.

We will deliver this strategy through collaborative leadership and shared purpose with our members and the wider industry.

BIC will:
1

Ensure its own future-readiness: Next Generation, Governance & Vision

Continuous assessment, and mitigation for succession risks associated with a small staff team, and experienced volunteers and domain experts retiring.

Strengthening our impact through partnerships only with third parties who remain at the forefront of their fields.

Removing barriers (perceived, or actual) to participation and contribution for its membership.

Emphasising the professional development opportunity of BIC participation.

Introducing more resilience with regards to BIC’s funding and business model.

Regularly reviewing, assessing, and updating the future vision for BIC at board and committee levels. 

2026-27 Key Focus Areas

  • Succession Risk Assessment
  • Committee Reform
  • Finding and Encouraging the Next Generation of Supply Chain Experts
  • Accreditation Schemes Review
BIC will:
2

Actively look ahead: Lead on Industry Supply Chain Horizon Scanning

Being a dependable “early warning system” for the industry with regards to upcoming legislation impacting the book supply chain in the UK, Ireland and internationally, providing information and guidance to BIC members and the wider industry where required. 

Exploration of AI potential (risk v opportunity), and emerging risks. 

2026-27 Key Focus Areas

  • Continuing and Growing Visibility of BIC’s Horizon Scanning Group
  • AI
BIC will:
3

Increase its Visibility, Recognition & Reach

Improving the visibility and raising the profile of BIC’s industry remit, resources, achievements, and current priorities.

Widening industry recognition of BIC as a go-to knowledge hub for supply chain and metadata expertise.

Increasing engagement with UK and international authorities and trade associations.

Broader membership reach, both within current member organisations and potential new members.

A reframed and more visible brand.

Embedding strategic communications capability.

2026-27 Key Focus Areas

  • Engaging the CEOs of the Industry
  • Increasing Engagement with Authorities and Industry Associations 
BIC will:
4

Deliver value via Flexible & Responsive Priority Setting & Execution

Ensuring that an alternative operating mode for BIC is in place: One that demonstrates greater focus, flexibility, responsiveness, and pace.

Doing less, better, with sharper priority setting, evaluation, and action plans.

Optimising opportunities for engagement and contribution whilst being respectful of members’ time

Establish faster response pathways when issues become urgent

Stopping or deprioritising projects that lack engagement or urgency.

2026-27 Key Focus Areas

  • Project Reform/Review
  • Committee Reform 
  • Stopping as a Strategy
  • Reducing Bureaucracy