NEWS EXTRA: NMBS CONFERENCE
IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK
NMBS managing director Chris Hayward took to the huge stage on the first day of the 2022 NMBS Conference, to welcome delegates after a two-year COVID hiatus.
”I’VE NEVER BEEN so glad and so grateful to see so many friendly and familiar faces in our traditional conference setting. Your support has been incredible over the past two years and your presence here today demonstrate your belief that we have so much promise for tomorrow. It’s sometimes hard to remember what stress it has been,” he told delegates.
“The worry, the having to stay at home, the real fear of catching COVID and then managing the move to home working, through endless Teams and Zoom calls. Both of these will, I’m sure remain a key element of how we do business in the future. Hybrid working used to be the preserve of a select few. Now, however, we understand the value that quiet brings to clarity and focus and many organisations, including NMBS, have seen real productivity gains and there has been a positive and welcome change by many to their work life balance,” he said.
NMBS turnover at the end of 2020 was 5% down at £1.8bn, but, Hayward pointed out, this was really a tremendous result in what was a very difficult year. “This result was driven by our sector really taking off again in June 2020, once the government agreed that construction could continue to trade as an essential industry. It was only really supply issues that held up many merchants from buying and selling even more.
“The DIY and RMI and home improvement sector has never been so busy.”
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Hayward said that the pandemic greatly accelerated the trend for both merchants and manufacturers to move along the journey to digitise their businesses. “These shifts are only gaining momentum and there is a danger that those who do not embrace this, in an increasingly competitive landscape, will get left behind,” he said. “NMBS have already started developing our next generation model for doing business and the emergence and development of OnePlace, our BtoB order portal is part of that plan.
“We did not experience the pandemic in a vacuum, of course, and also had to contend with, and strive for, a successful Brexit, with all the increased costs and administration in importing goods that that entails. The biggest risk with Brexit for our sector remains, perhaps, CE marketing and product standards.” Hayward said that the NMBS business model is very much fit-for-purpose and delivers exceptional service to its members and suppliers which is proved by the buying group’s successful managment of the the substantial challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic ,whilst at the same time developing our new trading platform based on the development of OnePlace. “NMBS will continue to use surplus profits to strengthen its balance sheet which will help it not only to boost liquidity but also to plan finding for the future.
“The ability to offer strong credit lines to our members has
never been greater whilst placing financial guarantees to our suppliers,” he said.
NMBS will also continue to invest more in the development of OnePlace, its digital information management platform.
“We are committed to enhancing our governance reporting and implementing our QCA code and an ESG strategy,” Hayward continued.
“We are owned and controlled by our members who are independent merchants that support cooperative values and principles of working together. these values and principles are enshrined in the NMBS rulebook, the foundation for our governance and decision making and are reflected in our policies, procedures and culture.” He said that risk management also needs to be improved, and that the group recognises that it needs to adopt a longer-term planning horizon of three to five years, instead of the traditional 12 to 18 months.
”In our new uncertain world, we will face new challenges and will have our strength tested both physically and mentally and will have to push hard against our normal boundaries to transform the way we think, learn and work.”
“We also recognise the need to reinstate the NMBS Vison mission and objective. we aim to do this by communication the key elements of our strategic plan to our members and suppliers throughout 2022.
“In our new uncertain world, we will face new challenges and will have our strength tested both physically and mentally and will have to push hard against our normal boundaries to transform the way we think, learn and work.”
Hayward finished by saying that NMBS has taken the time to step back and evaluate the NMBS model and identify that it is fit for purpose, well positioned to embrace change with a well-established team that is passionate about the business. “Let us never forget the value to be gained by working together during the pandemic and the success that we achieved by leveraging the power of meeting with a common purpose. “The NMBS strapline is
strengthening Independents, you have proved that together we strengthen not just our community of merchant members and suppliers but also out entire industry and the whole of the UK economy. BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net July 2022
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