The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) published the results of its 2023 annual survey today, which confirms that inflation continues to create challenges for the sector.
It found that 91% of suppliers had requested at least one cost price increase (CPI) in the previous 12 months. 28% of respondents reported a refusal to consider a CPI or an unreasonable delay in reaching a decision on a request, the most reported issue in 2023 and over the past six years.
The survey results (download here) showed that inflation is likely to be exacerbating issues faced by suppliers due to delays and errors in implementing price rises. 25% of suppliers said they had experienced inadequate processes and procedures in place to enable invoice discrepancies to be resolved quickly – an increase from 18% in 2022. Meanwhile, 16% of suppliers said they had experienced data input errors (e.g. pricing) not resolved promptly (within seven days) – an increase from 10% in 2022.
Despite the difficult conditions, suppliers reported overall that retailers had improved their compliance with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP). The average compliance score across the 14 Retailers was 92%, and of those included in the 2022 Annual Survey, 8 out of 13 improved their overall compliance score by 3% or more year-on-year.
M&S took the top spot in 2023 with a record-high score of 99%, whilst Aldi and Tesco slipped down the ranking, having taken the top two places last year. Of all the retailers, Iceland saw the biggest improvement in their performance, up by 6% to 92%. Amazon, which was included in the survey for the first time, came bottom.
Retailers ranked by their overall compliance with the Code
| 2023 Rank | Retailer | 2023 Score (%) | 2022 Rank | 2022 Score (%) |
| 1 | M&S | 99 | 3 | 97 |
| 2 | Waitrose | 97 | 7 | 94 |
| 3 | B&M | 97 | 4 | 94 |
| 4 | Sainsbury’s | 97 | 5 | 94 |
| 5 | Co-op | 96 | 6 | 94 |
| 6 | Tesco | 95 | 2 | 97 |
| 7 | Aldi | 95 | 1 | 98 |
| 8 | Asda | 94 | 8 | 93 |
| 9 | Ocado | 94 | 9 | 91 |
| 10 | Iceland | 92 | 11 | 86 |
| 11 | Home Bargains | 91 | 10 | 87 |
| 12 | Morrisons | 90 | 12 | 86 |
| 13 | Lidl | 88 | 13 | 84 |
| 14 | Amazon | 59 | N/A | N/A |
Note: The percentage comprises those who rated that the retailer “consistently well” or “mostly” follows the Code.
“It is encouraging to see that the overall compliance scores of retailers have improved, despite the challenging year the sector has faced,” said Mark White, the GCA.
“For the second year running, some of the retailers have struggled with the high volumes of CPI requests being received, which may have contributed to both how they respond to the requests and other issues such as invoice discrepancies due to pricing errors. I am working with retailers to ensure they address these issues promptly, to decrease the burden on suppliers.
“I will also be watching closely to see how retailers respond to any changing patterns of inflation and how they manage cost price decreases. I urge suppliers to confidentially report all Code-related issues they experience so I can raise them confidentially with retailers and ensure necessary action is taken swiftly.”
NAM Implications:
- Compliance management re shelf price decreases will be more of a challenge…
- Even more so unless appropriate feedback is provided to the GCA…
