LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nebraska Book Holdings, Inc. (NBC)* (OTC Pink: NEEB), a leading source of textbooks, rental program options and digital content delivery to over 2,000 independent college retailers across the country, and Sidewalk, a top provider of technology-enabled solutions within the same niche industry, today announced a new strategic partnership that will not only increase the affordability of course materials but also significantly improve the adoptions experience for independent college bookstores and campus faculty.
“Unification in our industry for the betterment of technology, quality and awareness of customer needs will improve the ecosystem for all independent college retailers,” said NBC’s Vice President of Product Management Pete Grenier. “Because Sidewalk shares our belief in the power of independent bookstores and shares our mission to support their success, it made sense to combine forces to ensure we provide only the highest-quality products and services available in the market.”
The partnership will allow both companies to focus their resources on what they each do best. Sidewalk will reduce their efforts toward the development and sale of Pro, its cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) system, in support of NBC’s complete multi-store inventory control and POS software, WinPRISM and PRISM360 products, which combine traditional and digital retail with mobile capabilities and touch-screen features. In kind, NBC will be scaling back the development of its textbook requisitions technology and plans to fully integrate Sidewalk’s adoption tool, Hero, into its industry-leading POS systems, resulting in an all-around improved experience for stores, faculty and students.
Sidewalk’s Chief Executive Officer Alan Martin said, “Hero brings a fresh and practical approach to the course materials selection process and addresses the rising cost of content head-on, answering some of the biggest questions and challenges facing college stores and the future of content in higher ed today. When coupled with the sophistication and capabilities of Nebraska Book’s POS suite, stores will have the best of both technologies in one unified solution.”
Grenier added, "We’re making significant headway toward a promising and sustainable future for independent college retailers. In partnership with other industry experts like Sidewalk and by listening to our customers, we’re identifying gaps and addressing needs by finding workable, affordable solutions to ensure success in an ever-changing, challenging marketplace.”
More information about product availability will be provided later this year.
About Nebraska Book Holdings, Inc.
Nebraska Book Holdings,
Inc., more commonly known as Nebraska Book Company, began in 1915 as an
independent college bookstore and is now a key resources partner to over
2,000 independent college retailers nationwide. With its strategic
business services and technology offerings, including localized
e-commerce capabilities, back-end system access and support as well as
textbook solutions, Nebraska Book Company is devoted to supporting and
strengthening independent higher education retailers across the United
States. For more information about Nebraska Book Company, visit www.nebook.com.
*Nebraska Book Holdings, Inc. common stock is not listed, traded or quoted on any U.S. stock exchange but is quoted on the OTC Pink Market under the symbol NEEB.
About Sidewalk
Sidewalk is a leading provider of
technology-enabled content solutions for college stores and faculty. The
company’s mission is to change the way content works in higher
education, forever, by fundamentally changing the way it is discovered
and distributed. Founded in 2007 by CEO Alan Martin under the name
CampusBookRentals, the company quickly grew into a leading independent
provider of textbook rentals—providing a flexible, convenient and
economical alternative to buying textbooks for price-conscious students.
Today, over 400 college stores (representing over 2 million students)
nationwide have benefited from Sidewalk’s expanded in-store
technologies. For more information, please visit www.gosidewalk.com.
