MERCHANT FOCUS: CTS DIY & BUILDING SUPPLIES LTD
to gain their old customers’ trust again, but were effectively stating again as a new start-up merchant business.
Fortunately, many customers who had worked with Trevor Scott in the late 90s returned, meaning that cash flow and stock levels increased, and the business was able to employ the 11 members of staff it has today, including recently turned 75 years old Scott himself.
One major turning point came in 2022 when CTS DIY & Building Supplies made the decision to join NMBS and the buying group H&B. CTS DIY & Building Supplies director Laurie Scott said: “We were a member of NMBS from 1992 until 2007, when the business was sold, so we already understood lots of the benefits. “We joined NMBS again in 2022, and immediately that gave us access to hundreds of suppliers. Over the previous two years, we had been reconnecting with our contacts from 13 years ago or searching for new contacts online, so being able to quickly search for suppliers and immediately get great deals saved us so much time.”
Laurie Scott said: “When we returned as an independent merchant, we wanted to provide traditional customer service, with a modern twist. We aspired to give our customers a personalised service but with the practicality and accessibility of modern technology.”
CTS DIY & Building Supplies carried out a rebrand, created a strong social media presence and built an e-commerce site, so customers can quickly find what stock they have, see any offers, easily purchase their products and benefit from local delivery. By creating an online business presence, CTS DIY & Building Supplies has seen leads from Facebook and Instagram. It has also gained over 200 five-star reviews on Google, which has increased its number of new customers further.
Laurie added: “As an independent, it’s very common that potential customers haven’t heard of our business before. This is why we ask all customers to leave a review. Word of mouth was critical when the business was founded over 40 years and we have just adapted towards a more digital approach. Reviews, social media and technology have had a significant impact on our business, so I would strongly recommend other merchants see this as a way to modernise their own businesses.”
CTS DIY & Building Supplies benefits from NMBS’s rebates, which has helped them save around £12,000 since joining. Dean Hayward, head of sales and marketing at NMBS added: “Independent merchant members earned an average of 3.84% on turnover transacted via NMBS in 2023, so rebates can have significant
impacts on cash flow and the independents’ ability to offer competitive prices.” As the business grows and the product offering increases, CTS DIY & Building Supplies could work with hundreds of suppliers, who all have different accounts to reconcile, invoices, credit notes and electronic data interchange (EDI) relationships. NMBS provides one source of invoices and credit notes, so the amount of financial admin and tracking is significantly reduced. This allows CTS DIY & Building Supplies to focus on the more critical aspects of the business, like high-quality customer service and developing its local product knowledge.
Meeting customer requirements
Hayward says: “CTS DIY & Building Supplies is a great example of how an independent merchant can take back their business from a national and see it thrive. Our industry is sometimes seen as slow to transition to new ways of working and technologies, but CTS DIY & Building Supplies shows the positive outcomes from embracing change to maintain a competitive and profitable independent business.”
NMBS currently supports more than 1,250 UK merchants through programming, resources and collective bargaining power. BMJ
January 2025
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
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