Nexeo launches e-commerce platform for online orders

Nexeo Plastics is launching MyNexeo, a new e-commerce platform aimed at customers.

"We've had a re-order portal since 2017, but [MyNexeo] will be an end-to-end user experience," Chief Commercial Officer Jeff Collier said in a June 20 phone interview. "Our customers told us what they wanted in plastic distribution.

"We need to meet our customers where they are," he added. "They want to be able to search and select and place orders online and to have 24/7 access."

With MyNexeo, customers will be able to shop more than 15,000 materials in Nexeo's catalog and find their favorite and most commonly used products. They'll also be able to access past order history, instant pricing visibility, real-time order status and estimated delivery dates.

Officials added that, based on MyNexeo pilot sessions, it now takes a customer less than three minutes to place an order. Live chats and quote requests also will be available. The platform officially launches June 22 in North America and later will be added in other parts of the world.

Nexeo, based in The Woodlands, Texas, distributes resins and compounds in North America, Europe and Asia for more than 30 suppliers. The firm has annual sales estimated at around $2 billion.

Nexeo has been very active in the last 18 months, hiring more than 150 employees, mostly in customer facing roles including sales, marketing, technical support and customer solutions. The firm also has continued efforts to expand geographically, most recently opening distribution networks in Costa Rica and Romania and adding suppliers and products to its line card, including sustainable and bio-based materials.

In January 2021, Nexeo parent One Rock Capital Partners LLC — through its GPD Cos. Inc. unit — acquired European resin distributor Distrupol. Nexeo had competed with United Kingdom-based Distrupol in some parts of Europe. The two businesses continue to operate independently of each other.

Nexeo also acquired Nevicolor SpA, a resin distributor and compounder based in Luzzara, Italy, and Danish resin distributor Lautrup Chemicals A/S in the first half of 2021.

"All of our initiatives are doing well," CEO Paul Tayler said June 20. "The calendar year started slow, then we had some strong months. Now we're dealing with inflation and other challenges, but we're in a good place to manage them."

He added that because of the global pandemic and supply chain issues, local distribution has become more important to customers. "Buyers don't want to be reliant on other parts of the world," Tayler said.

Looking ahead, Tayler added that Nexeo's strategy "is to grow organically and through acquisitions."