NBG reborn as the Network Group

The National Buying Group has rebranded and transformed itself in to the Network Group.

The rebrand has been implemented to emphasise the range of services and support offered to its members, including marketing and collaboration, as well as reflecting the fact that the group has high hopes for 2011.

More specifically, the Network Group has created two major new initiatives to support its members. The first is an e-commerce platform, which will allow members to create their own online store, with pricing and availability fed directly from key distributors. On top of that, regular special offers will be negotiated by the group, which members will be able to take advantage of, tweaking pricing and other aspects according to their needs.

“We’ve tried to create a lean solution for the retailer and reseller that they probably couldn’t develop off their own back because of the cost involved,” said the Network Group’s managing director, Phylip Morgan.

As well as the online retail platform, the group has also created what they call, the Cloud of Clouds. Ostensibly a hosted data cloud, Network Group members will be able to buy a part of, and use for whatever reason they wish, whether that be to host their own backend management or to resell under white label.

“Independent resellers need to make a choice – either they jump on board someone else’s platform – and they in effect become a broker, introducing people on to that platform and then they live on the margin between that and their customer – or they can do it on their own, which is where we aim to help them,” continued Morgan.

“For the independent reseller and retailer, without question the best terms are through the Network Group.”