Stock answers – keeping merchant ranges flexible

When there is too much stock, cash is tied up. When there isn’t enough stock, customers find products elsewhere. This is the daily balancing act facing merchants as their customers continue to expect faster service and a wider range of availability.

For trade essentials supplier TIMCO, this balancing act has shaped a clear response. The business has been looking closely at how merchants are buying, where friction appears inside the branch, and what kind of supplier support helps merchants stay responsive, without taking on unnecessary stock risk.

The result is a service model built around faster replenishment, broader product coverage, digital ordering and direct account support. The aim is to help merchants keep availability high, protect capital and encourage more product confidence.

Listening to changing buying habits

TIMCO has been trading in Cheshire for almost 55 years and has grown into one of the largest NMBS suppliers in its category.

While it is well known across builders’ merchants, it also supplies to agricultural, electrical, plumbing and engineering customers, giving its team a broad view of how trade purchasing habits are changing. And one pattern is clear from this. Customers want less complexity and the confidence that products can be sourced quickly.

To meet these requirements, TIMCO has lowered barriers to ordering in certain categories, created smaller pack formats and offered next-day delivery. This supports merchants that are placing smaller, more frequent orders to protect cash flow, while still maintaining availability.

John Gregson, national trading manager at TIMCO, explains: “The aim is to help merchants keep stock disciplined while still saying yes to their customers. If we can deliver next day and make it simple to order in the quantities that they need, it takes pressure off the branch, supports cash flow and keeps the customer happy.”

Making online ordering part of better service

Online ordering has become another way the business is reducing pressure on merchants. Direct to site delivery was introduced just before 2020, when only 10 per cent of customers were ordering through the portal for direct delivery. Today, as ordering habits and customer’s use of digitalisation has increased, around 60 per cent of orders are placed through the website.

This change reflects the way many merchants now want to work. They need ordering to be quick, accurate and easy to manage. They also need product information that helps them identify the right items, understand compatible accessories and spot relevant add-on opportunities.

Product information management is therefore a critical part of the wider service. Better data helps merchants make faster decisions and gives teams greater confidence when advising customers. It also supports merchants developing their own digital sales channels, where accurate and consistent product information is increasingly important.

Working with NMBS to reach more merchants

As an NMBS supplier, TIMCO is using its position to build stronger connections with merchants. It’s using NMBS’ insights to understand where its range and service model could provide useful support and further product offerings to its customers.

This matters because merchants need suppliers that understand the pressures of running local branches, managing cash carefully and offering a range of products to customers. NMBS gives suppliers a route to engage with those challenges more directly, while giving merchants access to supplier partners that are already thinking about availability, branch efficiency and stock opportunities.

Dean Hayward, head of sales and marketing at NMBS, says: “When merchants are under pressure to be faster and leaner, supplier service becomes a competitive advantage. TIMCO’s focus on flexibility and next-day fulfilment helps merchants reduce friction, protect stockholding and meet customer needs consistently.”

Built around merchant confidence

The pressure on merchants is unlikely to ease quickly. Customers will continue to expect fast answers, reliable availability and knowledgeable service, while branches will need to keep stock lean and margins protected.

Gregson concludes: “If we only supplied one range, we would make life harder for our customers. Our job is to make it easier for merchants to get what they need, when they need it, with the support behind it that keeps them confident in front of their own customers.”

For merchants, the message is clear. Supplier service is now a core part of staying competitive. For suppliers, TIMCO’s approach, backed up with NMBS support and insights, shows how listening to merchants and adapting to their personal pressures can create stronger, more commercially useful relationships.

If you would like to become an NMBS supplier, like TIMCO, learn more on the NMBS website at www.nmbs.co.uk/become-a-supplier.