The Groceries Code Adjudicator’s (GCA) sixth annual survey is now open for UK producers to help make the supply chain fairer.
The survey is an opportunity for farmers and producers to give their opinions to the GCA on retailer compliance with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCoP) in the last 12 months.
GSCoP covers the 10 largest UK supermarkets and is designed to help control practices that have a negative impact on suppliers and stifle supply chain innovation.
Christine Tacon, the current GCA who oversees compliance with the code, said the annual survey plays a 'huge role' in work to improve producer and retailer relationship.
“It sheds strong light on the behaviour of the retailers and tells me how well they are complying with the Code,” she said.
“I use the information I receive to help identify top issues and to decide where to focus my discussions with the businesses I regulate.
“Thanks to the large numbers of suppliers who have taken part in previous years I have been able to delve deeper into specific issues, identifying particular challenges for individual retailers to work on.”
Ms Tacon added: “I need all sectors and sizes of groceries suppliers to complete my survey so please take the time to fill it in, and I welcome a cross-section of views from within suppliers. I am hoping as in past years to receive more than 1,000 replies from suppliers.”
Last year, the survey put Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and the Co-operative at the top of the improvement table for Code compliance in a year of strong progress across all regulated retailers.
In 2014, the percentage reported as complying ‘consistently well’ or ‘mostly’ ranged from 58 to 90%. Last year, it ranged between 84% to 97%, with only two retailers scoring less than 90%.
Unfair practices within the retail supply chain led the government to establish the GCA in 2013 to oversee direct supply contracts between retailers and suppliers
The survey, which closes on 23 April 2019, is run by YouGov on behalf of the GCA and any information provided by suppliers is treated in confidence.
