Understanding NMBS’ Data Plus

Many merchants will know Data Plus as an invoice resolution centre, but NMBS plans to turn it into an automated reporting platform with many more capabilities. Here Rex Nye, digital director at NMBS explains what this change will mean for the organisation’s members and suppliers and what updates to look out for on the horizon.

NMBS has a role as an invoice clearing house, so it supports the resolution of queries around delivery notes and pricing before invoices are paid. To streamline more of these processes, a new iteration of Data Plus is coming.

Integrating Report Centre

Over the next couple of years, members and suppliers will see the capabilities of Data Plus expand to include the abilities of NMBS’ existing Report Centre. Data Plus will go beyond its role as an invoice resolution centre to become an engine room of invoice processing. It will provide better data insights that businesses need to define and refine their targets, financial data, invoice information, rebates and statements.

Members will be able to access more dynamic reporting, which allows them to review their own company data, tailor the level of reporting detail and carry out their own data assessments. Data Plus currently removes the need to manually request a standardised Excel report from NMBS. This change will give businesses the ability to tailor the report specifically for their business, allowing members to streamline their data analysis process and ensure their reports are as useful as possible.

Improving efficiency

Efficiency is critical. Independent builders’ merchants need to spend their time building their local trade and product knowledge and customer service, rather than spending time sorting invoices, analysing spreadsheets and carrying out admin.

Data Plus will help streamline admin tasks further. If an invoice is disputed, all investigations and resolutions will be included in a fully traceable chain of communication to avoid confusion. By moving away from emails and improving the traceability of disputes and conversations, members and suppliers will be able to easily see what has been agreed upon and the agreed next steps in the process.

NMBS recognises that there is currently a large spread of platforms that users engage with daily, like Data Plus, Report Centre and OnePlace. NMBS is planning on creating platform unity to help members and suppliers save time by having everything they need in one location and behind one log-in.

The future of Data Plus

According to RICS’ Digitalisation Construction Report, the use of digital tools in construction remained unchanged between 2022 and 2023. But this needs to change, digitalisation is the key to improving efficiencies in the construction sector.

NMBS’ longer-term aim is to use the data from Data Plus to provide better insights into customer demographics, purchasing power, category turnover and customer buying patterns. This information will help show merchants and suppliers what products are good to stock and promote, who they should target for specific products and what sectors could be good for them to diversify into in their local area.

The organisation strives to make its members and suppliers as competitive and profitable as possible, and this step will increase market awareness and allow for better data-based business decisions across the independent builders’ merchant industry.

Working together

NMBS has more than 1,230 independents and 4,749 branches within its membership and over 450 suppliers. As these changes to Data Plus take place, user feedback and perspective will be critical to ensure the adaptations are as effective as possible. It will also help to maximise time and money savings for members.

By working together, learning from each other and encouraging curiosity in new digital processes, the independent builders’ merchant sector is set to remain competitive against larger merchant businesses.

Uptake will only grow if success stories and case studies of new technologies and processes are shared. This will encourage people to invest in new technology and join the journey towards more automated, traceable and digitalised working processes. NMBS’ goal is to ensure these changes are as tailored to the sector as possible, so productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction are as high as possible across the industry.