For the first time in 2 years the members of NBC and their supplier partners have been able to get together at a networking event – and what a busy day it was!
As Chairman of the Group, Jason Langmead was able to say hello for the first time in his role to well over 100 delegates from our membership and our supplier partners.
“To be able to address such a well-attended gathering after the events of the last 18 months was a real pleasure. I know that there is a real passion for this group to go onwards and do great things, and the best way to find out how to do it is to meet with people and just get it done”.
The supplier networking event was well attended by our supplier partners and gave members plenty of opportunity to have individual conversations and see at first hand the brand plans and NPD that they were bringing to market.
Reflecting upon the event, several the attendees were more than happy to provide feedback:
Richard North of AG Barr: “It was great to interact with the members in a relaxed fashion and it was a testament to NBC on how they feel about the buying group in general”.
Sam Robertson of Boost Drinks: “Thank you Sarah, and all the team and members at NBC for what was a great event! I’m already looking forward to the next one…”
Jack Hadland of Coca Cola Europacific Partners: “Thank you Sarah and to the whole team at NBC, it was fantastic from start to finish and brilliant to be in the same room as the wider team.”
Jason took the opportunity to summarise the day: “we are so pleased to have everyone in the same room, together, working in a collaborative and transparent way. We are in our third year of a long journey, and we know that together we can deliver upon our promise of being a unified solution for both members and suppliers.”
The supplier networking event was a great opportunity to provide both members and their supplier partners with an update on how the group was performing after its first two to three years of operating.
Commenting at the opening presentation, David Lunt, Managing Director:
“When we first started this journey in 2019 it would have been hard to predict the progress that we have made during such a short but busy and eventful time”
Much has already been said about the impact of the pandemic upon the wholesale sector, but there have been plenty of good things going on as well.
Since our inception we have …
- grown our membership to 48, representing over £500 million in turnover
- secured trading agreements through annual plans with over 50 key supplier partners
- returned over £2 million in rebates to members, in full and on time
- achieved over £30 million in sales through our central distribution facility, National Distribution Network
- delivered on our promise of providing a unified solution for members and suppliers
… and we continue to build the capabilities of the Group to go further”.
Speaking about the importance of working in partnership with suppliers: “there have been numerous examples of where we have had great support from our suppliers. We have taken the opportunity today to recognise those that have gone the extra mile – to achieve £1 million, or £5 million – the point is, without that support we, as a group, would not achieve exceptional results. So, our supplier recognition awards in the evening did exactly what it says on the tin – recognises the contribution that they have made”.
The Group never stands still, and we see great opportunities to work together even more: “we worked very closely with one of our key suppliers, identifying opportunities, and activating great plans. The results speak for themselves – + 179% growth year on year. Let’s try and replicate that across the board”.
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