Through its brands such as Marley Plumbing & Drainage, Hunter Plastics, Multikwik and Alutec, Aliaxis is a global leader in manufacturing and distributing plastic piping systems and related building and sanitary products, and develops innovative ways of working for business growth.
Aliaxis continually looks at improving its products and services for merchants, to boost sales and assist the running of a smooth and efficient business, serving the needs of their customers effectively. Since 2015, Aliaxis has worked with NBG to convert 26 Partners and 60 branches to its products. Indeed, the partnership with NBG has resulted in an increased turnover of 43% between 2015 and 2019.
David Thomas, Merchant Trading Director at Aliaxis, says: “We don’t follow the traditional approach of a Supplier. It’s something we try to avoid. Instead we focus on the commercials and how we can give NBG Partners the best margins.
“We also sponsor a lot of events which means we are always up to date with new product launches and what is going on across the building sector.” David adds. “Aliaxis has been trading with NBG for around 15 years, constantly working together to explore new ways of developing sales for Partners across the Group.”
David aims to be innovative, when it comes to stock-cleansing, by working closely with Aliaxis’ Merchant Trading Manager Andrew Bishop. The pair are involved with all aspects of the NBG Partner’s businesses from managing stock rotation, through to agreeing local promotions and aligning stock for local markets.
“We don’t follow the traditional approach of a Supplier. It’s something we try to avoid. Instead we focus on the commercials and how we can give NBG Partners the best margins.”
The Key Account Managers handle day to day activity at branches and business development, but the Merchant Trading team (David and Andrew) often get involved with these other aspects too which together adds real value to the merchant business.
NBG Toolbox
Aliaxis has also worked with NBG to develop an NBG Toolbox to assist merchant teams, making selling Aliaxis products easier. As well as saving Partners valuable time and minimising errors when making orders, Aliaxis ensures that the tool automatically records all the individual product codes, and has the ability to apply cost discounts and understanding that merchants may often run promotions or offer special price reductions for regular customers.
David adds: “We launched the NBG Toolbox in 2015 and it has evolved greatly, as we have worked with Partners to understand exactly what information they need. The NBG Toolbox evolution has definitely helped us win business in 2018/2019 and we have seen consistent year-on-year growth.”
Bob Fleetwood, Purchasing Director at Kellaway, one of the fastest growing independent building merchants in the South West, says: “Aliaxis is a very professional company that employs professional people. We find, at all levels, staff are easy to deal with and nothing is a problem. They look to solve issues rather than create them meaning we can both focus on the key aims of working together to maximise mutual business opportunities.”
For more information, visit nationalbuyinggroup.com, find them on Twitter at @NBGLLP or on Linkedin at National Buying Group.
