Published 15 January 2024
Last updated 27 February 2024 — See all updates
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) has today (15 January 2024)
launched its annual groceries sector survey and wants to hear
from as many suppliers as possible about how they have been
treated by the 14 large
retailers(Retailers).
The survey, run by the independent polling company YouGov, is one
of the most important ways for suppliers to confidentially tell
the GCA about their experiences working with the Retailers. The
questions cover individual Retailer behaviour and issues
affecting the industry. The responses will help the GCA
understand which Retailers are perceived as the most and least
Code compliant and how cost price negotiations and other issues
are impacting suppliers.
Mark White, Groceries Code Adjudicator said:
“My last two surveys showed how inflation and cost price increase
negotiations have strained relationships between Retailers and
suppliers. However, I know that suppliers have faced a wide range
of other issues over the last twelve months, including de-lists
and inaccurate forecasting.
“I want to hear from as many suppliers as possible about your
perceptions of Retailer behaviour and the key issues affecting
the sector. Your input will help me to focus my engagement with
the Retailers to ensure they are treating all suppliers fairly
and lawfully.”
The 2023 Survey
The 2023 survey was
the third survey in a row with more than 2,000 responses. These
responses highlighted supplier concerns including about the
continued impact of inflation. 28% of respondents reported a
refusal to consider a CPI or an unreasonable delay in reaching a
decision on a CPI request, which was the most reported issue over
the past six years.
Furthermore, delays and errors in implementing price rises likely
exacerbated other issues faced by suppliers:
- 25% of suppliers said they had experienced inadequate
processes and procedures in place to enable invoice discrepancies
to be resolved quickly; up from 18% in 2022.
- 16% of suppliers said they had experienced data input errors
(e.g. pricing) not resolved promptly (within seven days); up from
10% in 2022.
Despite this, perceived Code compliance across the Retailers
improved compared to 2022. The average compliance score across
the 14 Retailers was 92% while 8 of the 13 Retailers included in
the 2022 survey improved their overall compliance score by 3% or
more. M&S took the top spot in 2023 with a record high score
of 99%.
Next steps
The survey is open for six weeks, closing on 25 February with the
results published later in 2024. The GCA will commission YouGov
to conduct anonymous follow-up interviews with a select group of
respondents to explore supplier concerns in more detail.
Suppliers will be able to indicate their willingness to
participate in these interviews at the end of the survey.
