BMJ


BUILDERS MERCHANTS JOURNAL


BMJ and NBG: Bigger, Bolder, Better


AT LAST YEAR’S CONFERENCE, NBG focused on new ways of working with suppliers, the better to build and promote brands - both supplier brands and merchants’ own business brands. This year, the focus was on continuing that good work with suppliers and making the brand building Bigger, Bolder. Better. Once again, BMJ were delighted to work wth NBG on producing this special supplement which aims to show that, by sharing goals, NBG Partners and Suppliers are working together better and better. As NBG managing director Nick Oates explains in our interview, the negotiation of the deal is just the start of the process, not the end. Improving business information flow, both from Suppliers and from Partners, via the Hub and the Merchant Pages is highlighting which areas of the agreed deals are working well, which areas need more attention, and the best way to improve the brands and the business to the benefit of both sides of the negotiating table. This supplement also highlights those Partners who are growing and using their negotiated deals to build their brands with new customers in different sectors and new locales. Plus, our focus on the New Product Showcase gives suppliers the opportunity to highlight the fruits of their R&D departments’ labours. Fiona Russell-Horne BMJ Editor-in-Chief


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NBG continues to out- perform the market, with overall growth at 11.2%. We have increased the number of NBG branch- es by 26, and most of that is coming organi- cally from our existing Partners, although we


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have also continued to add new members.


Our aims include building better busi-


ness relationships between Partners and Suppliers, improving the commitment to our deals and ensuring that we are as competitive as possible with deals that are as good as, if not better, than oth- ers’. We also want to have best-in-class IT and management tools to ensure that the businesses work as well together as possible. As a group we want to be professional, efficient, and progressive. What we have works really well, but we want to make sure we keep building on that, and always be improving it. When I hear about the many new branches being opened, I’m sure this great story will get stronger as we pro- ceed on our journey to be the premier buying group for independents. Nick Oates


NBG managing director


Published by BUILDERS MERCHANTS JOURNAL, on behalf of NBG, the National Buying Group. Datateam Business Media, London Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 8LY Tel: 01622 687031 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief: Fiona Russell-Horne 01622 699101, frussell-horne@datateam.co.uk Senior Reporter: Rachel Tucker 01622 699186, rtucker@datateam.co.uk Art Editor: Steve Stanton Production Controller: Kirsty Hood khood@datateam.co.uk


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Publication Manager: Max Shannon 01622 699148 mshannon@datateam.co.uk North & Midlands Sales: David Harman 01772 462596 david.harman@talktalk.net Southern account manager: Ewelina Pilarska 01622 699174 EPilarska@datateam.co.uk


Publisher: Paul Ryder, pryder@datateam.co.uk


© Datateam Business Media Ltd 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photo-copying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The title Builders Merchants Journal is registered at Stationers’ Hall.


BMJ January 2018 Bigger, Bolder, Better 3


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View from the Top. NBG managing director Nick Oates looks at where NBG is and where it is


going. Building Our Brands.


Branding expert Rita Clifton talked to the NBG Conference about ways to make the most of brands and branding opportunities.


Supplier Summit. The Conference Supplier Summit looked at what the organisation is doing to help Suppliers and Partners work together better, more profitabily, for the benefit of both sides.


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Partner Focus. How one NBG Partner is making the most of the help and support that the buying group offers.


Showroom Focus. Two Partners are using their top-line bathroom showrooms to extend


their brands to the retail sector - and being lauded for their achievements as well.


Supplier of the Year Awards. NBG’s Partners voted for the top companies in each of the group’s


commodity areas as well as for the overall Account Manager of the Year and the Brand of the Year.


New Product Showcase


The One-Minute-Pitch: Suppliers’ newest products as demonstrated in a quick-fire presentation at the Conference.


Welcome


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