NEWS EXTRA BMF ENGAGES WITH THE FUTURE
The industry trade association is in a good place to help members meet the upcoming challenges, delegates at the annual Members Day Conference discovered.
SOME 117 YEARS after the Builders Merchants Federation launched, the industry is going through huge structural change. That’s according to BMF CEO John Newcomb, who explained some of the challenges facing the sector and how the trade association is gearing up to help members meet them. “As a trade association it is our responsibility to keep you ahead of the curve whether that be on energy efficiency data standardisation , supply chain efficiency, waste reductions,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Newcomb reported that the BMF has continued to grow the membership this year, and now stands at 1010 members. “Our membership has more than tripled in the last 13 years, and we’ve added 686 member companies in that time. That’s phenomenal growth for any business. It wouldn’t have been possible without your help and support behind the BMF,” he said.
The BMF is, he said, made up of 521 merchant members, 314 supplier members and 172 service members. Those merchants operate out of 5618 branches which means the BMF has some 85% of the merchant sector and collectively turns over just under £52bn. Those companies employ 194,000 people, which, Newcomb said, makes it a critical part of the economy, and the whole construction industry. “We are sometimes a misunderstood part of the construction industry, but we play a critical part of the supply chain.”
He went on to explain that the value of the market in terms of the merchant sector, is £26.7bn, and that, 41% is accounted for by the large national groups. “Ours in an unusual sector, in that 59% of it is in the hands of independent businesses, or
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independent businesses that have private equity ownerships. 27% of these are part of buying groups, but 18% of the sector is still independent merchants that don’t belong to any buying group at all. Importantly, 33% of the sector is private equity backed, which makes private equity still a very important part of the merchant sector.”
In terms of the BMF itself, Newcomb pointed out that it is a networking association, rather than a technical association. “We are here partly to bring merchants, suppliers and service members together collectively to talk about some of the issues. This year we will continue to build on the events held this year, with more forums, a Young Merchants Conference, Burns Supper in Scotland, and a Parliamentary Reception at the end of February. This will focus on delivering and retrofitting the high-quality home of the future and will be hosted by Matthew Pennycook the housing minister.“
Newcomb then gave details of some of the initiatives the BMF is bringing in, allied to its strategic aims.
“Government influence is one of the most important factors,” he said. “The help and advice that we collectively do around changes in government legislation, for example post-Grenfell and the Building Safety Act, stricter packaging waste regulations which are about to hit most of our businesses in October, and the inheritance tax issue.” Every consultation that the BMF gets involved with is published in a document called Forward Look, available for download from the BMF website, and which lists them all with the likely impact on a merchant business.
Training is a huge part of what the BMF does for members, and newcomb said that the top three courses for merchants are around
maximising margins, stock control and essential sales and customer service. “These are all critical elements for merchant members, particularly given the trading environment we are facing.” There are now 107 which have signed the BMF Apprenticeship Pledge to bring 15,733 apprentices in to the system by 2030.
Newcomb said: “We now need those companies who have pledged to start converting them into actual apprenticeships. We have over 50 programmes that we now run from sales, digital, in the warehouse, there is an apprenticeship programme for every aspect of the business.” Supply chain collaboration is about how suppliers and merchants can collectively tackle some of the bigger issues. It was the need to adddress this that led to the formation of the company Building Materials Digital Services. “At the heart of this is our product Data Portal, and today
we are launching version three of this. It has enhanced ERP integration, a packaging waste tab and stronger linkage to the CCPI - code for construction product information,” Newcomb explained.
“In the wake of Grenfell this is vital. At the heart of changing the industry is product data to make buildings safer within a more accountable built environment. We’re doing this via a single, trusted platform shaped by the industry.
“This has been built by the industry for the industry. It’s a structured data platform that enables every business in the supply chain to access share and trust the product information that’s within it. Particular thanks to Bradfords, Fortis, h&b, NBG, Epicor and Intact have joined us as shareholders and have bene real drivers of the initial part. And I’m really pleased to announce the addition of Klipboard, IMBG and Selco to that list.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net October 2024 October 2025
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