National Buying Consortium (NBC), the member-owned buying group that launched last summer, has reported robust growth in its first year of operation. This included generating over £9.2m through National Distribution Network (NDN), its flexible warehousing and logistics service.
Reflecting on group’s performance over the last 12 months, NBC Chairman and Sales Director at Lansdell Soft Drinks Stuart Lane said: “NBC’s member-owned business model has offered a collaborative and agile approach in what has been an extremely challenging environment. Our forward-thinking, transparent approach has seen growing numbers of market-leading members and suppliers join us and this trend is set to continue.”
NDN monthly revenues have also been on an upward curve since launch, from over £260,000 to almost £1.6m in June 2020.
During the lockdown, its head office team and members focused on supporting each other with stock management and meeting changing customer needs. The head office team is also said to have played an instrumental role in working with the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) to lobby the Government to gain assistance for the wholesale sector, resulting in a number of NBC’s members gaining grants from their local councils.
With the retail and foodservice landscapes starting to change again, NBC stated that is supporting members with a ‘Let’s Bounce Back’ campaign, which builds on their relationships with suppliers to give members “the best possible prices and promotions”. The group stated that early indications suggest that its members are outperforming the market.
Commenting on NBC’s support during the crisis, member Steve Dussek of D&D Snackfoods said: “We have benefited from NBC’s ability to help us adjust and adapt during this immensely difficult trading period.
“Since joining NBC, we have accessed opportunities that we would not have ordinarily. This has been a game-changer for our sales and revenue.”
With business-building plans in the pipeline, including a new Retail Club offering ‘super deals’ and more new members joining the group, NBC said it was confident of “more opportunity ahead despite these unpredictable times”.
