I had the pleasure of attending the BMF Technology Winter Forum at the BMF head office in Coventry on Feb 11th. It was a very informative event with great speakers, excellent content and well organised. There were some very good conversations before, during and after the event.
John Newcomb, CEO of BMF kicked off the event with a whistlestop tour of everything BMF : What BMF stands for, the building of excellence and value in the industry, staying ahead, building a voice, training, events, recruitment, data standardisation and finally reasons to be upbeat moving forward. It was very much about being “Stronger Together”.
I was particularly interested in hearing about the Data Yard project presented by Gareth Thomas. Data Yard aims to provide a digital platform for seamless product data exchange providing a single source of truth across the building materials sector. Suppliers feed standardised product information into Data Yard and Merchants can then take that data and download for their own use. At Apex B2B we aim to integrate with Data Yard directly or any other PIM that might consume this data, be enriched and then pushed to eCommerce. Exciting times ahead for the Data Yard project.
Other speakers on the day included Ryan McKinnia from BigCommerce and Alex Phipps from Pimberley who presented together about the real business value of eCommerce. Some very interesting stats and insights here. Customer behaviour is changing so fast. It’s a constant challenge for Commerce executives to try and keep up. Especially with the current AI revolution.
After morning coffee we heard from Axel Enblad from Alrik with a very engaging talk about what is the value of digitalisation. It is very important to make clear what your “Why” is when tackling this. AI is not a threat, it is a tool that can help us.
Next up we had Charlot Simpson-Vye and Ben Roberts from Cyncly talking about how AI enhances the Customer Journey. This is a real eye-opener into how much AI is now part of our lives when we browse or shop online from shopping copilots to inventory demand forecasting. Cyncly connects the journey with AI-supported design. Capture intent once, turn inspiration into orderable starting designs, keep reality and continuity built in. They presented an example of this where consumers can reimagine their kitchen with their own products (re-invent your kitchen with smart AI).
The final talk was James Cave from EH Smith. It was an excellent presentation focusing on the many business improvements that have been implemented at EH Smith. This included branch operations, central functions, infrastructure and cyber security. It was a very open and honest account of how far the company has come on their technology journey in recent years.
Congratulations to everyone who organised this event. A little shout out to Richard Johnson and his colleagues at BMF who made everyone feel really welcome on the day itself. We look forward to attending the next BMF event very soon.
The BMF Technology Winter Forum highlighted just how quickly the building materials sector is evolving. From initiatives like Data Yard improving product data standards to the growing role of AI in customer journeys and operational decision-making, it is clear that digital infrastructure is becoming a core competitive advantage for merchants, suppliers, and distributors.
For businesses across the sector, the opportunity lies in combining strong industry relationships with modern technology that improves visibility, efficiency, and customer experience. As these digital foundations continue to mature, companies that invest early in data, integration, and scalable commerce platforms will be best positioned to adapt and grow.
Events like this also reinforce the importance of industry collaboration. I’m looking forward to future opportunities to continue learning from forums such as the BMF Technology events and working more closely with partners across the ecosystem, including BMF, Data Yard, and Etimix, to help support the sector’s digital evolution.
As product data, AI, and digital platforms become more interconnected, the building materials sector has a real opportunity to unlock a more efficient, transparent, and scalable future for B2B trade.
If you are exploring how initiatives such as Data Yard and product data standardisation might connect with your broader digital commerce strategy, it is a B2B eCommerce conversation we are always happy to have with fellow wholesalers, merchants and partners across the sector.