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Website and Digital Initiative of the Year

The judges will be looking for product listings, contact details, working links, terms and conditions, online ordering, electronic invoicing and branch directions, together with ease of site navigation. What new initiatives were introduced that have increased/encouraged repeat visits to the site? How does the company monitor and measure the visitor traffic and how does this translate into sales?
Marketing Initiative of the Year

Builders’ and timber merchants’ marketing initiatives will be judged for the period commencing January 2012 to the present. Include details of the project with costs and benefits to the business clearly defined. Explain the objectives and results achieved and the marketing tactics used, eg advertising, public relations/publicity, merchandising, direct mail, events, sponsorship, sales promotion, etc.
Rob Simpson Training Initiative of the Year

The winning nomination will have acknowledged the achievements of a merchant business, or a branch of a merchant business, in developing the knowledge-base of its staff, including the consequent benefits this has brought to the business from January 2012 to present. Nominations must include the company’s objectives for providing the training; the learning outcomes set for the candidates; the candidates achievements, and the actual effects of the training initiative on the merchant’s business.
Customer Service of the Year

The judges will be looking at builders’ merchants’ customer service initiatives for the period commencing January 2012 to the present, with explanations of why the company decided to introduce fresh initiatives. What were they? How did they impact on the business/customer relationships? How did the company monitor the results of these initiatives?
Hard Landscaping Display of the Year

The design and construction of builders’ merchants’ external hard landscaping displays will be appraised for the period commencing from the start of 2012 to the present. The judges will examine the techniques employed to maximise products and materials displayed and the implementation of technical and design advice for customers. Also sought will be what information about market and customer research was conducted and information about what change the display has made to the company’s trading.
Showroom of the Year

The kitchen and/or bathroom showroom submissions will be judged on the objectives of the showroom, what goals were being sought, what type of business was attracted and what results were achieved by the changes made to this side of the merchants’ business.
Independent Builders Merchant of the Year 1-5 branches

The judges will be looking for the builders’ merchant that has successfully developed and marketed its business for the period commencing January 2012 to the present. What was achieved? How were improvements in services provided? What was the result of the company’s initiatives on the merchant’s business and how were these results measured?
Independent Builders' Merchant of the Year 6 + branches

The judges will be looking for the builders’ merchant that has successfully developed and marketed its business for the period commencing from January 2012 to the present. What was done? How were improvements in services provided? What was the result of the company’s initiatives on the merchant’s business? How were the results measured?
National Builders' Merchant of the Year

The judges will be looking for the national merchant business that has most successfully developed its sales, management, marketing and IT sectors from the start of 2012 to the present. State what was done. Why it was done; how objectives were measured. Explain what this will mean to the company’s sales and the development of its customer base.
Heating and Plumbing Merchant of the Year

The judges will look for the company that has created mutually rewarding customer support and relationships through the provision of innovative business initiatives and quality-assured products. They will also look for the manufacturer that can demonstrate continuing programmes of investment and research for the period commencing from January 2012 to the present. In this category, suppliers may nominate themselves or be put forward by their merchant customers.
Environmental Initiative of the Year

The Builders’ Merchant Environmental Initiative Award will recognise the merchant that has changed its stock profile and sales emphasis to sell more environmentally-focused products and has altered its purchasing and sales approach to reduce its carbon footprint over the past 18 months. Claims should be backed by quantifiable data and demonstrable results.
Supplier of the Year

The judges will look for the company that has created mutually rewarding customer support and relationships through the provision of innovative business initiatives and quality-assured products. They will also look for the manufacturer that can demonstrate continuing programmes of investment and research for the period commencing from January 2012 to the present. In this category, suppliers may nominate themselves or be put forward by their merchant customers.
Trainee of the Year

The winning nomination will be for the trainee who, with their own outstanding performance, has met their learning objectives through product modules and/or vocational training while at the same time making a demonstrable contribution to their employer’s business. Details of planning and business achievements should be outlined along with any tangible results obtained.
Achiever of the Year

The judges will be looking for the person who, over the past 18 months, has worked towards making a major improvement to their company’s business. State how this improvement was achieved and how the company has benefited as a result of these efforts. The individual for this category can be working in any capacity at any level of the business.
Branch Manager of the Year

The judges will be looking for the exceptional manager who has introduced successful sales and marketing strategies and who has improved management systems at their branch for the period commencing January 2012 to the present. The judges will want to know what the manager did. What were the results of his/her efforts in relation to increased effectiveness of his/her team and the enhanced profitability for the company?
Lifetime Achievement of the Year

The judges will be looking for the person who, in a lifetime of service to his/her work, has made the greatest impact and contribution to the management of their company. They will also be considering what major acknowledged contributions the nominated individual made to the builders’ merchant sector as a whole, and the individual’s own company’s profile.

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