RISING STARS MEET THE FUTURE


Pricing manager Matti Hart from Bradfords tells Will McGill how the industry has changed and the challenges he faces in his current role.


What is your current role?


I am pricing manager at Bradfords builders merchant. I’m part of a team of three and day to day we look after the logging and implementation of supplier cost increases, monthly price reviews across our product categories and our wider pricing strategy, as well as getting involved in things like promotions, supplier contract support, new product creations and customer terms.


How did you get into this industry? I sort of fell into the industry at the age of 17 after deciding not to go down the university road. I started as a trainee in my local builders merchant branch, which was Build Center at time time.


After doing my share of sweeping the yard and emptying the cigarette bin (great days). I gradually took on responsibility for the running of the shop and organising the transport for two lorries and a van. After a few years of branch life, I decided to try something different and went out on the tools for another few years before the opportunity at Bradfords came up, and I worked my way to where I am now.


What does a typical day for you at work look like?


First thing, I’ll pick up emails from the previous evening and address any new issues before running any daily reporting and checking in with the team. I may have a meeting or two through the day and will action any branch queries or problems as quick as possible.


What are your big challenges in this role? The biggest challenge is often just the scale of what we cover. We keep on top of tens of thousands of products, deal with hundreds of suppliers and provide support to almost 50 branches - then there is also our ecommerce operations, I am kept very busy!


What do you think has been your biggest achievement in your role?


It’s difficult to pinpoint one thing that stands out, although designing and helping to build a new customer terms management system from scratch was a big one. I do enjoy looking back at how time consuming and rudimentary my methods were when I first started this role compared to the dynamic


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“We keep on top of tens of thousands of products, deal with hundreds of suppliers and provide support to almost 50 branches as well as our ecommerce operations.”


and forward thinking team that I work with now, to remind myself how far we’ve come as a team.


What would you like to achieve next? We’re in the middle of our largest ever pricing project at the moment so I’d like to see that through to the end. After that, who knows? We’ll see what comes up!


What advice would you give to someone new to this industry?


A sense of humour is very helpful, try and see the industry from as many angles as you can as there is so much variety in what people do and, most importantly, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!


What would you say to someone who might be thinking about a career in the merchant industry?


Just give it a go. It’s such a massive industry with a huge, wide range of roles so there will be something of interest to most people. In a relatively short career I’ve covered sales, operations, warehouse and logistics, actual construction skills, commercial planning and even dabbled in database management.


Why do you think young people and women are hesitant to go into the industry?


The industry does still have an image of being very macho, loud and brash, although things have noticeably improved since I started. However, attitudes are changing for the better, and I feel that encouraging young people and women into the industry is a big positive. BMJ


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net February 2024


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