This week I attended the Builders Merchants Federation Digital & Technology Forum, and if there was one clear message running through the entire day, it was this: digital transformation is no longer a side conversation in our sector. It has moved to the centre of competitiveness, compliance and customer experience.
The forum brought together merchants, suppliers and technology partners to explore the realities of digital change across the building materials industry. What stood out wasn’t just the technology itself, but the collective recognition that mindset, collaboration and execution are now just as important as the systems we choose.
The day opened with a reminder of the scale and strength of the industry. With membership continuing to grow and representing a sector worth tens of billions, the BMF is a powerful collective voice. Yet alongside that strength came a clear acknowledgement of the pressures facing the market. Building safety, decarbonisation, energy performance, housing delivery targets, skills shortages and supply chain efficiency are not distant policy conversations. They are shaping daily commercial reality. A simple but telling question was posed: if the BMF could solve one problem for your business in 2026, what would it be? That framing set the tone for the day. This was about practical progress, not abstract innovation.
A significant focus was placed on Data Yard and the push for industry-wide product data standardisation. The concept is straightforward: create a single, trusted source of structured product information that merchants and suppliers can rely on. Yet the impact of getting this right is profound. Clean, consistent and compliant data reduces errors, improves operational efficiency and strengthens the traceability required in a post-Grenfell regulatory environment. Data was described as the fuel powering the engine of digital transformation. If the data is incomplete or inconsistent, the engine stalls. What became clear is that this is not just a technology initiative; it is a cultural shift towards shared responsibility and higher standards across the supply chain.
The ecommerce session reinforced just how much customer behaviour has already changed. The vast majority of B2B buyers now research suppliers online before they ever speak to a sales team. Customers expect speed, transparency, availability and convenience. Digital channels are not replacing traditional relationships; they are enhancing them. The businesses that succeed will be those that align their digital objectives with their wider commercial strategy, ensuring online capability complements branch expertise and field sales. Omnichannel thinking, real-time stock visibility and integrated systems are fast becoming expectations rather than differentiators.
There was also an honest discussion about why construction has historically lagged in digitisation. Margins are tight, supply chains are complex and many processes remain manual. Change carries perceived risk, and implementation fatigue is real. But the message was clear: waiting is no longer a strategy. Progress does not begin with wholesale transformation; it begins with identifying a specific problem, running focused pilots and creating internal champions who understand the “why.” Technology alone does not drive results. Adoption does.
AI featured heavily, but refreshingly, it was not presented as a ‘buzzword’. Instead, it was positioned as a productivity tool designed to remove friction. Whether applied to customer journey mapping, design automation, forecasting or logistics optimisation, the emphasis was on using AI at the repetitive start of processes, freeing people to focus on relationships, judgement and trust. The recurring theme was that AI is not here to replace expertise. It is here to enhance it.
One of the most grounded and practical sessions came from James Cave of EH Smith, whose “Bricks to Bytes” journey highlighted the reality of digital transformation inside a merchant business. It is rarely linear. ERP upgrades, infrastructure investment, cybersecurity threats, vendor overload and organisational restructuring all form part of the journey. Transformation requires patience, resilience and leadership alignment. Perhaps most striking was the emphasis on cyber security as a growing risk priority. As systems become more connected and AI-powered threats increase, protecting data and operations must sit at the heart of digital strategy, not as an afterthought.
Reflecting on the day, three themes stood out to me. First, digital transformation is now sector-wide. The conversation has shifted from whether we should embrace it to how effectively and how quickly we can execute. Second, data quality underpins everything. Without accurate, consistent product data, ecommerce, analytics and AI initiatives will struggle to scale. Lastly, technology exists but the real differentiator will be clarity of purpose, cultural buy-in and the willingness to adapt in.
Despite the challenges discussed, the overall tone of the forum was realistic but optimistic. Tough trading conditions are cyclical, not structural. The building materials sector remains fundamental to the economy. Every recovery begins with materials. Increasingly, it will also begin with better data, stronger digital capability and a more connected supply chain.
We often say we are stronger together. After this forum, it feels equally true to say we must also be smarter together.
