Over 500 delegates attend NMBS All-Industry Conference

The event at Grand Hotel Dino on the shores of Lake Maggiore, Baveno, centred around the theme Industry Matters’, offering delegates a commercially-focused itinerary designed to encourage collaboration, knowledge sharing and networking.

Keynote speaker was award-winning author Jez Rose.

Delegates were also given an update on NMBS’ current performance and future plans. Delivered by senior members of the NMBS team, this outlined how NMBS plans to automate and innovate to build on success.

The buying society is aiming to complement its core activities with an increased focus on maximising digital technology and best practice data management in order to achieve a turnover of £3bn within five years.

Economist Mark Berrisford-Smith spoke to delegates on the UK and global economic outlook, while Georgie Barrat, tech journalist and presenter of Channel 5’s The Gadget Show, spoke about millennials and how to get the best from this new generation of talent.

Vit Kutnar, founder and CEO of DEK - the largest distributor of construction materials in the Czech Republic, spoke about the innovative approach that has helped him to take DEK from a standing start to a £650m business in 25 years.

Neil Munz-Jones, director and founder of mdj2, offered insight into digital disruption on the building materials market and how merchants can effectively compete with businesses like Amazon.

Andy Scothern, managing director of eCommonSense, spoke about effective data management and the tangible impact this can have on commercial success.

Meet the Merchant networking sessions proved highly popular with those attending the conference, enabling delegates to book 10min appointments with contacts of their choice.