The digital order and data platform Nextrade has succeeded in reaching an impressive milestone – well ahead of schedule: The B2B marketplace has now been activated for retailers and has gone live with over 60 suppliers and 120,000 products. In early 2020 it will be rolled out throughout Europe.
After a three-month pilot phase, Nextrade, the first digital B2B marketplace for suppliers and retailers in the home and living sector, has now gone fully live. Registration is now open not only to suppliers, but also to retailers. Within a few weeks of the launch, the product range has doubled already, so that Nextrade now has a list of over 60 suppliers and 120,000 products. They include a range of prestigious exhibitors, such as Asa, Blomus, Gefu, Koziol, Leonardo and Robbe & Berking as well as many new customers, including major players such as Berghoff, Butlers, Gilde, Hoff, Kaheku, Städter and Wenko. And companies in the giving segment are also taking part, including Donkey, G. Wurm, Giftcompany, Troika and Räder.
By setting up Nextrade together with nmedia, market leader at EDI Home & Living, and the EK/servicegroup, Messe Frankfurt has launched the first digital B2B marketplace to cover the entire home and living sector. “Even when we were still at the planning stage, we received highly positive responses to the idea of a central data and order platform for the German and international home and living sector. This is mainly because Nextrade gives retailers of different sizes a central marketplace with a single login. The large number of positive responses and supplier registrations confirms that we’ve really captured the mood of the time. Originally, we weren’t going to go live and open up the service for retailers until early 2020, and 2019 was supposed to be the test phase. However, the feedback was so good that we decided to bring the entire go-live forward,” says Philipp Ferger, Tendence and Nordstil Group Show Director and CEO of nmedia.
Large range of supplier marketing materials with a single login
One of the major benefits, particularly for high-volume retailers, is that whenever they plan POS activities or catalogues, they can access the product images and marketing materials of all their suppliers. So Nextrade is not just about orders. For suppliers and retailers the platform provides a standard digital data and order management system all in one place. Suppliers are totally independent in their choice of retailers and can award different access rights to their shops – ranging from customised price lists to specific access rights to various product ranges.
Each supplier has their own shop on Nextrade, and each shop has the same structure and largely the same standard functions. Nevertheless, a manufacturer has the option of customising their shop to suit the look and feel of their brand through colours and logos. Moreover, suppliers can give buyers an experience of their brand and products through images and information.
Ambiente 2020: the opening shot for the European rollout
Nextrade is working closely with existing suppliers as well as with retailers who have recently been added to Nextrade. Based on their feedback, platform processes are continually being optimised until the end of 2019, and the platform is also being promoted to further suppliers. The launch of the European rollout has been scheduled for Ambiente 2020. Based on the feedback received from existing suppliers, further retailers and suppliers will be added in selected countries from February 2020. “This will involve close coordination with the suppliers, so that the next stage in the development can focus on the most relevant markets. We are therefore nicely on schedule and we’ll eventually be covering the entire industry,” says Nicolaus Gedat, CEO of nmedia.
At the coming Ambiente 2020 any interested retailers and suppliers will be able to discuss the platform at the Nextrade info stand in the foyer of Hall 4.1, where Philipp Ferger, Nicolaus Gedat and the entire team of nmedia GmbH will be available.
