National Buying Consortium is an innovative buying group, working together to source the best deals, prices and products for independent wholesalers in the FMCG market.
It is first and foremost a member-owned company, and is dedicated to working transparently with members and suppliers to grow each other’s businesses with a collaborative and unified approach to trading.
Making the group unique is its National Distribution Network – NDN – which offers suppliers a centralised order to cash, warehousing and logistics service.
Managing Director David Lunt tells Wholesale Manager what he wants to achieve in the role and how the wholesale industry has changed in recent years.
Where have you worked before and in what roles?
I started for Wrigley’s back in 1986 as their first ever UK relief representative, which basically meant I was traveling all over the UK. Then I was given a territory about a year or so afterwards. I got promoted to regional account manager, key account manager and national account manager, then senior national account manager for the buying groups. I did that for about 10 years, looking after groups like Landmark and Key Lekkerland and foodservice buyers like Compass Catering. Then Barry Parish at Confex offered me a job so I joined them in April 2006. I was initially brought in as a business development manager, and then I got more involved with both the member and the supplier side of it, and when I left in 2019 to start NBC, I was their senior business development director.
What does your current role involve?
My role is primarily as Managing Director of NBC, but as the group also wholly owns its central warehousing and logistics solution (NDN) I have to carefully balance the time, energy, and resources to make sure both companies are on the right track.
What are your goals for what you want to achieve in the role?
My goals centre around the various stakeholders:
• Members – making sure they get the benefits we promise
• Suppliers – making sure that we get the best deals possible and that members support them
• Shareholders – making sure that everything we do provides a benefit from their investments
• Our Head Office Team – making sure that we deliver our promises and enjoy being here
Can you tell us a little of the history of the company?
We started in 2019 with a core group of members – we call them the “initial investors” as they helped fund the start-up – with a vision for a buying group that was wholly owned by its members. What we keep reminding people is that we have always had the challenges of developing a buying group and two companies that require funding and resourcing to make sure they are able to continue with our vision. In the early days, we could have been described as a “disruptor”! Today, we view ourselves as the Alternative buying group for those businesses that share our values.
How is the company performing in terms of both revenue and wholesaler membership – have more members joined recently?
The group has grown significantly over the last 5 years. Membership is now at sixty-five and growing. Revenues for NBC (Limited) have grown in line with its membership. Revenues for NDN (Limited) have been incredible – from just shy of £6m in 2019 / 2020 to over £30m in 2024.
How would consolidation plans by NBC’s supplier partners affect independent businesses retaining access to brands?
Without our own route to market solution, it would have a devastating effect upon getting access to brands, not just for our members, but members of other groups as well. This is why we started NDN in the very first year of our existence. Consolidation has been around for a long time, so planning ahead was always going to be a smart move. And I must say a big thank you to all of our supplier partners for their continuing support – thanks!
Tell us about the NBC Toolkit – what does this provide for members?
This has recently been launched and provides our members with the tools to a create a wide variety of marketing assets to detail their businesses to their customers and support our suppliers in getting their brands to market in the channels we serve. This includes digital stationery, digital campaigns through LinkedIn and WhatsApp, and bespoke brochures for email and print campaigns.
How far is the geographical reach of your business?
We have a UK footprint with members covering the majority of the UK, including Northern Ireland.
Do you have an e-commerce site for your customers?
Not at the moment – we are constantly reviewing the best possible means of how we trade with our members and third-party customers and have a 5-year plan to develop our network.
What benefits does NBC offer members and suppliers?
We offer the following benefits, and they are our core purpose:
• Major brands at great net prices
• Great terms 100% on time and in full
• Free NBC Toolkit
• Volume Discounts and smaller MOQ’s
• Membership as an investment not a membership fee.
How digital is your business, and do you offer any IT support for your members e.g. ordering apps, online support, delivery tracking?
At the moment the members are supporting their own development whilst we agree our 5-year plan to develop a network for NDN that is more member inclusive – we hope to present this to our members during the course of 2025.
How many products does your business supply and what categories do you cover?
Too many to mention! We cover the major product categories for retail and foodservice and continue to source new suppliers that are either creating a wave with new launches or are essential to our members, especially if they are consolidating supply chain points themselves.
Are there any new products in the ranges you want to talk about?
I would focus upon three suppliers that have made a difference in 2024:
• Capri-Sun
• Huel
• Premier Foods
These companies have worked collaboratively with us for new routes to market, new product launches, and access to new customers and been successful with their results.
How has the wholesale industry changed in recent years?
Everything has changed to some degree. Suppliers – they have got bigger and tend to dominate categories. Members – they have survived severe challenges from a variety of events. New Start-Ups – have been highly active to stimulate growth. And People – many have remained within the industry, but it is great to see new people finding this channel an attractive and exciting place to work. Ninety-five percent of our team have never worked in this channel before – and they love it!
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