The Groceries Code Adjudicator wants to hear from you

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is seeking information from suppliers across the United Kingdom about their experience of working with the 14 large retailers.

The 2023 GCA survey is open from 16 January until 26 February and provides a valuable opportunity for Scotland Food & Drink members to confidentially tell the Adjudicator, Mark White, about any Code issues they are facing with one or more of the 14 retailers. The survey is carried out by independent polling company YouGov on behalf of the GCA.

This is the GCA’s tenth annual survey. Past surveys have played a significant role in identifying issues facing the sector and have helped the GCA achieve improvements in the relationships between suppliers and retailers.

Amazon.com, Inc. was designated as a retailer in March 2022, so this is also the first opportunity for their suppliers to provide feedback on the retailer’s performance through the survey.

Mark White, Groceries Code Adjudicator said: “Since my last survey, inflation has continued to affect the entire groceries sector, straining the relationships between retailers and suppliers. I am concerned about how the retailers are responding to CPI requests and whether this pressure is causing other issues to arise.

“I want to hear from as many suppliers as possible so I can understand the ongoing impact of inflation and other issues affecting suppliers. This will help me to work with the retailers to ensure they are treating all suppliers fairly and legally.”

Next steps

The survey is open for six weeks, closing on 26 February with the results published later in 2023. The GCA has commissioned 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 sign up to these interviews at the end of the survey.

Suppliers can respond to the survey here. The results will be published later this year on the GCA website.

If you have any questions, you can email the GCA at enquries@groceriescode.gov.uk