68 | Customer Report: Merchants
MULTIPLE TOPICS BMF TACKLING
From pandemic, to product shortages and net zero construction targets, the Builders Merchants Federation in-tray has been pretty packed recently, as TTJ’s Mike Jeffree found in conversation with chief executive John Newcomb
Above: John Newcomb: the sector has shown its resilience
MIKE JEFFREE: HOW HAS THE BUILDERS MERCHANTS SECTOR COPED WITH THE PANDEMIC? John Newcomb: After the initial shock of lockdown, the sector has coped extremely well. The BMF was invited to join the Construction Leadership Council’s Task Force (CLC) at the beginning of the pandemic and this powerful grouping gave us a direct line to government to raise members’ concerns and quickly disseminate the information they required. We also pressed government to clarify that construction was classified as an essential industry, with work continuing provided it was safe to do so. This meant changing working practices on construction sites and within builders merchants. This was assisted by Site and Branch Operating Guidelines from the CLC and BMF through the pandemic and got us back to work quickly.
MJ: HAS THE CRISIS PERMANENTLY CHANGED THE WAY THE SECTOR OPERATES, AND IF SO IN WHAT WAYS? JN: We saw many businesses fast-tracking introduction of online trading and launching ecommerce sites in response to the pandemic. These will become ever-more important going forward.
TTJ | July/August 2021 |
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MJ: HOW IMPORTANT TO THE SECTOR WAS THE BOOM IN DIY AND RMI THROUGH THE PANDEMIC? JN: The BMF Builders Merchants Building Index showed sales of timber for fencing and decking and landscaping products soar from late Q2 2020 – and home improvement has been active ever since.
Leading on from this, we’re keen to support a coherent National Retrofit Strategy to upgrade existing housing for the next 20 years. Long-term government backing will give confidence and consistency to businesses and households who want to invest in retrofit, helping create 100,000 jobs as well as addressing energy and water inefficiency in 28 million homes.
MJ: THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR INTERNATIONALLY IS EXPERIENCING PRODUCT AND RAW MATERIALS SHORTAGES AND PRICE INFLATION. WHAT WOULD THE BMF MESSAGE BE TO THE TIMBER SECTOR ON SUPPLY AND MAINTAINING PRICES AT REALISTIC LEVELS? JN: The supply issue is across the board in building products. There are even reports of merchants running out of cement, which is like Sainsbury running out of milk. The
situation in timber is particularly acute and looks set to continue or worsen throughout the year and possibly beyond. It stems largely from extremely high global demand and reduction in supply in the main forestry countries. The UK is in competition with the US and China, in particular, and both those markets are prepared to pay more to ensure supply, so prices are unlikely to come down. The merchant’s role is to manage stock, but forward planning and communication throughout the supply chain are essential, and that includes end users. To tackle the issues and raise policy makers’ awareness of them, we must first realise we’re in it together and avoid the blame game along the supply chain. To this end, the BMF is joint chair of the CLC Product Availability Group, and the TTF attend this Group, which meets every month online. Merchants also need to understand what demand looks like going forward in order to match supply and provide accurate lead times to customers.
MJ: WE’RE NOW SIX MONTHS ON FROM BREXIT BECOMING A PRACTICAL REALITY. HOW HAS IT AFFECTED THE BUILDERS MERCHANTS SECTOR AND ARE THERE OUTSTANDING ISSUES YOU WANT GOVERNMENT TO RESOLVE? JN: Broadly the impact on business has been limited and merchants have been much more focused on the pandemic and now product and raw material availability. There are, however, ongoing concerns about trade for companies in Northern Ireland, or those with branches there. Getting stock there and the added paperwork and costs are issues that need addressing.
The transition from CE to UKCA marking must also be dealt with and we are on the CLC Standards Working Group looking at this and raising it with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). As things stand, companies are going to be left holding a lot of CE-marked products come January 1 2022, when the change takes place. Radiator suppliers, for example, are concerned that, in the depths of winter, they won’t have sufficient
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