The latest version of NMBS’ popular OnePlace B2B ordering platform is bringing even more features and benefits to the Buying Society’s Members and Suppliers.

The NMBS Order Portal was originally developed to allow Members to send electronic orders to Worcester Bosch, and was extremely well received by the all who used it, on the back of this success the platform quickly grew to allow other suppliers to benefit from its order processing functionality. Following this increase in usage, the decision was made to develop the platform even further, to allow for the growth that NMBS Members and Suppliers wanted.

NMBS’ Commercial Director Andy Hextall explains: “Our OnePlace B2B Ordering Platform was first developed in 2018, but has grown considerably since then, and so we made the decision to redesign and redevelop it to ensure it has the correct foundations for continued growth and development that will benefit both our Members and Suppliers.

“Our vision for NMBS OnePlace is for it to become the main trading platform for the exchange of all documentation linked to a purchase order, providing functionality and efficiency savings for Suppliers and Members, by making it even easier for our Members to place all their orders in one place.”

The new NMBS OnePlace platform has all the functionality of the original Order Portal, but with the foundations in place to make it futureproof, so that NMBS can continue to develop it to meet the industry’s future trading requirements.

As part of this implementation members can continue to get access to documents linked to the order such as the order acknowledgement and delivery note, but now have the ability to look for products in a marketplace style search to help with purchasing special non stocked products that merchant customers often ask for.

Members will also be able to download and access the suppliers product data in format which is suitable to them so that they can update their own back office, purchase order platforms or E-Commerce system to help generate new sales.

Features that have been made available in the latest release include:

• Advanced search by product, category, or Supplier, with additional filtering options
• Shopping Basket checkout function
• Quick Order function
• A new PDF/XML order upload that automatically populates the system with the details of the order, making the order process even quicker for Members
• Members can download product data in their chosen format to quickly update their own platforms.

Andy continues: “We’re delighted that the first phase of NMBS OnePlace’s development is complete and available to Members. There is a clear development path for the platform throughout the remainder of 2020, with two new phases planned that we will communicate out to Members as soon as they are available.”

Suppliers who join the OnePlace platform will receive electronic orders from NMBS’ independent merchants in one simple electronic format with standard product codes. This means they can be processed automatically, and the NMBS system will have already checked that the order complies with all the Supplier’s order rules, to reduce the number of order queries and errors. These rules can set requirements such as a minimum number of products in any one order, a minimum order amount, a preferred delivery date, or even setting specific postcode areas that a Supplier will deliver to.

Nine Suppliers are currently active on the platform, with many of them operating within the heating and plumbing sector, reflecting the fact that the platform started as a way for NMBS’ independent merchant Members to order from boiler manufacturer Worcester Bosch. These businesses include Makita, Worcester Bosch, Dickies, Glow-worm, Velux, Vokèra by Riello, Baxi, and Honeywell.

Three more companies are currently in final testing and ready to launch their products on the platform, with new Suppliers coming on board all the time as the platform continues to expand.

The NMBS team will be proactively working to bring even more Suppliers and Members onto the platform over the coming months.

More than 200 Members have already embraced the simplicity of the OnePlace platform, and NMBS has received strong feedback on the latest changes, all of which are available to Members free of charge.

Aaron Matthews of Sussex Plumbing Supplies has been using the platform for a number of months, and says: “Since its launch, we have found the new NMBS OnePlace Portal to be a very useful online purchasing tool.

“Being able to upload orders from a file is a very simple and welcome solution rather than keying in individual items, while confirmation of invoice cost means less invoice queries. With more features on the horizon, we have found the portal very beneficial to our business and look forward to its future development.”

The OnePlace platform can be accessed online at www.nmbs-oneplace.co.uk/account/login. NMBS Members can continue to use their existing Order Portal username and password, or alternatively can contact NMBS to obtain new login details.

Selected suppliers are offering between 0.5%-1% additional rebate for orders placed electronically through the platform, recognising the efficiency gains that electronic ordering delivers to them and members.

Any Member who would like more information about the NMBS OnePlace platform can contact NMBS E-Commerce Manager Reece Gerrard at Reece.Gerrard@nmbs.co.uk. Suppliers who would like more details about the platform should contact Andy Hextall, Reece Gerrard, or their Trading Manager.

Source: https://www.nmbs.co.uk/news/2531