BigCommerce, Brave Bison, The Journey and Pimberly Launch 'Branch of the Future' Accelerator to Digitally Transform the UK Building Material Supplies Sector

AUSTIN, Texas, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BigCommerce (NASDAQ:BIGC), a leading open SaaS ecommerce platform for B2B and B2C businesses, today announced the launch of a powerful ecommerce accelerator purpose-built for the UK building materials industry. Developed in collaboration with leading digital agency Brave Bison, Product Information Management technology provider Pimberly, and construction industry consultant The Journey, the "Branch of the Future" accelerator provides building merchants with a comprehensive toolkit to digitize operations, meet the expectations of next-generation buyers and future-proof their businesses.

To further strengthen its commitment to this sector, BigCommerce has also joined the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF), the authoritative voice for the UK's builders' merchants, plumbing, heating, roofing, decorative and timber merchants and their suppliers.

Digitising a Traditionally Offline Industry

The building supplies sector has long relied on offline interactions, phone calls, in-person visits and paper-based workflows, but today's trade buyers expect more. A new generation of customers is demanding the same seamless, omnichannel experiences they encounter in other industries. Yet most builders merchants have been underserved by generic ecommerce solutions that fail to account for the complexities of trade pricing, quoting, account relationships and real-time inventory.

"The Branch of the Future accelerator is about helping builders' merchants unlock new growth by delivering the seamless, customer-first experiences today's buyers expect, whether in branch or online," said Lance Owide, general manager of B2B at BigCommerce. "By combining proven technologies with deep industry expertise, we're enabling builders merchants to modernize their online experience more quickly, more affordably and with less complexity while deepening the relationships they have with their customers."

The new accelerator combines:

• Business transformation consulting from The Journey, taking advantage of their 25+ years of experience in the building material supplies industry
• A turnkey ecommerce implementation by Brave Bison using BigCommerce B2B Edition and Catalyst, tailored for complex B2B workflows
• Integration with Pimberly, a leading Product Information Management (PIM) platform, for robust data and content management, complete with access to over 1.5 million pre-optimized SKUs tailored specifically for builders merchants
  
  

Together, this composable commerce solution empowers merchants to streamline operations, differentiate customer experience and boost sales team efficiency.

"Builders' merchants have an important opportunity to reduce operational costs by automating repetitive tasks like order tracking and invoice inquiries, freeing up teams to focus on higher-value work," said Al Ward, vice president of commerce at Brave Bison. "At the same time, they can deliver a more personalized, self-serve buying experience for trade customers, complete with negotiated pricing, curated product access and seamless quote-to-order workflows."

B2B Functionality Out-of-the-Box

The accelerator leverages BigCommerce's B2B Edition to deliver capabilities typically missing from legacy platforms, including customer-specific pricing, product visibility and quoting, all of which are available out of the box with B2B Edition. Brave Bison, a media, marketing and technology company that specialises in both B2B and BigCommerce, brings deep implementation expertise and a strong understanding of the complex workflows that define builders merchant operations. Their modular Branch of the Future storefront is designed for phased deployment, making it easy for merchants to get started quickly, tailor the experience to their needs and realize value faster.

Pimberly brings industry-leading product information management to the accelerator, ensuring builders merchants have the high-quality data foundation needed for successful digital commerce. With over 1.5 million pre-optimized SKUs tailored specifically to the building materials sector, Pimberly enables merchants to centralize, enrich and distribute product information with speed and accuracy.

"We've spent years helping builders' merchants overcome the challenges of managing vast, complex product ranges," said Craig McCalley, managing director at Pimberly. "In this sector reliable product data is crucial. It is the foundation of trust and operational efficiency. With Pimberly, merchants can confidently deliver the up-to-date specifications and pricing their trade customers depend on, while freeing internal teams from manual tasks so they can focus on growing the business."

"With over 25 years of experience working alongside and at builders merchants, like Travis Perkins, we know just how much opportunity there is for digital to enhance, not replace, relationships with buyers," said John Godwin, director at The Journey. "We're incredibly excited to bring that experience to the ‘Branch of the Future' accelerator. As part of this initiative, we've ranked every builders' merchant in the UK based on their online customer experience, and we're sharing those insights directly with merchants. It's a powerful starting point for transformation, rooted in data, tailored to the trade, and focused on helping merchants move forward with confidence."

For more information or to register for a demo, visit https://bravebison.com/branch-of-the-future/.

About BigCommerce

BigCommerce (NASDAQ:BIGC) is a leading open SaaS and composable ecommerce platform that empowers brands, retailers, manufacturers and distributors of all sizes to build, innovate and grow their businesses online. BigCommerce provides its customers sophisticated professional-grade functionality, customization and performance with simplicity and ease-of-use. Tens of thousands of B2C and B2B companies across 150 countries and numerous industries rely on BigCommerce, including Coldwater Creek, Harvey Nichols, King Arthur Baking Co., MKM Building Supplies, United Aqua Group and Uplift Desk. For more information, please visit www.bigcommerce.com or follow us on X and LinkedIn.

About Pimberly

Pimberly is a powerful, AI-driven Product Information Management (PIM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform that simplifies product data management for retailers, manufacturers, and distributors. Our cloud-based solution automates workflows, enriches product content, and seamlessly integrates with e-commerce, ERP, and data platforms. Designed for global teams, Pimberly scales effortlessly to support complex catalogues and high SKU volumes. Leading B2B and construction brands rely on Pimberly to manage their product data, including Marshalls, JT Atkinson, Wolseley, NEUCO, PartsTown, and ExTech.

About BraveBison

A world where complexity is the only constant demands a new breed of company. Brave Bison is a different beast: a media, marketing and technology company purpose built for the digital era.

We work with the boldest brands in the world to engineer seamless digital experiences and composable commerce infrastructures. From platform integrations to bespoke UX design, from tech-stack advisory to rapid product innovation, we turn complexity into clarity—and clicks into conversions.

Whether it's helping global leaders like Worldline revolutionise multi-platform payments, or launching multi-market ecommerce ecosystems for retail giants like our Technology and Experience division delivers digital transformation at the speed of now.

We combine strategic consultancy, agile delivery, and industry-leading tools to ensure every solution is fit for today and built for tomorrow.

Find out more at https://bravebison.com/branch-of-the-future/.

About The Journey

The Journey is a digital growth consultancy with deep expertise in the building materials and home improvement sector. We partner with ambitious brands to unlock ecommerce performance, improve customer experience, and drive measurable commercial growth.

We've worked with some of the UK's most respected builders' merchants, helping them modernise their digital channels, connect better with their trade customers and accelerate their growth in a highly competitive market.

Whether it's redefining digital strategy, optimising UX, improving conversion, or building smarter data-driven customer journeys, we bring industry know-how and hands-on delivery that gets results, fast.

BigCommerce® is a registered trademark of BigCommerce Pty. Ltd. Third-party trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contact:

Brad Hem

[email protected]