NORDWEST Handel AG

NORDWEST Handel AG is a German purchasing cooperative (Verbundunternehmen) headquartered in Dortmund. It acts as the link between industry and wholesale in the sectors of steel, construction, skilled trades & industry, and building services (Haustechnik). Rather than selling to end consumers, NORDWEST organizes centralized procurement, develops private labels, provides services and bundles payment transactions for its roughly 1,320 independent, medium-sized specialist wholesale partners. Its core settlement model is Zentralregulierung (central regulation), under which dealers order directly from suppliers while NORDWEST acts as the central clearing house, paying suppliers and later issuing consolidated invoices to the dealers. Through this model NORDWEST also assumes del credere liability toward suppliers for the obligations of its affiliated houses. The company was founded in 1919 as Einkaufsverbund Nordwest GmbH in Bremen. In 1945 it moved as Nordwest Eisen- und Metallwaren eGmbH from Bremen to Hagen. In 1992 it converted from a cooperative (e.G.) into a stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) with restricted registered shares; after the restriction was lifted in 1998, it was listed on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange in 1999. In 2005 its own warehouse was transferred to the central warehouse of Rhenus SE & Co. KG in Gießen, and in 2011 the high-bay warehouse at the headquarters, opened in 1974, was demolished. In 2016 the company gave up its registered seat in Hagen and moved to Dortmund in the Phoenix-West area; the property in Hagen-Haspe used since 1945 was sold to DB Schenker as of January 2016. Today NORDWEST employs around 440 people and describes itself as a full-service provider for specialist wholesalers, offering a "round-sorry-free package" of value-added services especially in digitalization, logistics, sales and marketing. Its service portfolio includes the maintenance tool meine-wartung.de, the training and further-education offering TrainingsWerk, and the NORDWEST information system N.I.S. for order, return and complaint status. The company also develops trade brands and supports its partners in procurement, financing, logistics, digitalization, sales and marketing. In 2026 it reported milestones such as 10 kilometers of installed POS modules for future-proof specialist retail, the first NORDWEST Marketing Communication Days in Dortmund with around 120 participants, and a BSFZ seal recognizing its DataConnect product master data platform as an eligible research and development project.

NORDWEST Handel AG was founded in 1919 as Einkaufsverbund Nordwest GmbH in Bremen. In 1945 it moved as Nordwest Eisen- und Metallwaren eGmbH from Bremen to Hagen. In 1992 the company converted from a cooperative (e.G.) into a stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) with restricted registered shares (vinkulierte Namensaktien). After the restriction was lifted in 1998, the company was listed on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange in 1999. In 2005 its own warehouse was transferred to the central warehouse of Rhenus SE & Co. KG in Gießen. In 2011 the high-bay warehouse at the headquarters, opened in 1974, was demolished. In 2014 a business volume of EUR 2,030.4 million was achieved, comprising revenues from central settlement, direct and warehouse business. In 2016 the company gave up its registered seat in Hagen and moved to Dortmund in the Phoenix-West area; the property in Hagen-Haspe used since 1945 was sold to DB Schenker as of January 2016. Today NORDWEST is a purchasing cooperative for medium-sized dealers active in building services, steel, tools, industrial supplies and building hardware/components, employing around 440 people and serving roughly 1,320 specialist wholesale partners.

• 2026

  Milestone of 10 kilometers of installed POS modules reached; DataConnect recognized by BSFZ as eligible R&D project.

• 2025

  First NORDWEST Marketing Communication Days held in Dortmund with around 120 participants.

• 2016

  Registered seat moved from Hagen to Dortmund (Phoenix-West); Hagen-Haspe property sold to DB Schenker as of January 2016.

• 2014

  Business volume of EUR 2,030.4 million achieved.

• 2011

  High-bay warehouse at the headquarters, opened in 1974, demolished.

• 2005

  Own warehouse transferred to the central warehouse of Rhenus SE & Co. KG in Gießen.

• 1999

  Listed on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange.

• 1998

  Restriction on registered shares lifted (Entvinkulierung).

• 1992

  Converted from a cooperative (e.G.) into a stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) with restricted registered shares.

• 1974

  High-bay warehouse at the headquarters opened.

• 1945

  Moved as Nordwest Eisen- und Metallwaren eGmbH from Bremen to Hagen.

• 1919

  Founded as Einkaufsverbund Nordwest GmbH in Bremen.

Full-service B2B wholesale group and purchasing cooperative for independent specialist wholesalers, offering centralized procurement, settlement, digitalization, logistics, sales and marketing support.

• Zentralregulierung (central settlement)

  Centralized settlement model where dealers order directly from suppliers and NORDWEST pays suppliers and issues consolidated invoices to dealers, assuming del credere liability.

• meine-wartung.de

  Service tool providing an overview of maintenance-relevant products for efficient, central and digital maintenance and servicing.

• TrainingsWerk

  Training and further education offering for specialist retail partners.

• N.I.S. (NORDWEST information system)

  Online system for querying order, return and complaint status.

• DataConnect

  Product master data platform recognized by BSFZ as an eligible research and development project.

1. 1NORDWEST Handel AG official websitenordwest.com
2. 2Über uns - Was macht NORDWEST eigentlich genau?nordwest.com
3. 3Lösungen und Services von NORDWEST für Ihren nachhaltigen Erfolgnordwest.com
4. 4Kundenservice, Auftrags- und Retourenkoordinationnordwest.com
5. 5Nordwest Handel - Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Nordwest Handel - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org