Suppliers see the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCoP) as a 'long road to failure' and 'ambiguous'.
That's according to David Sables, CEO of management consultancy Sentinel, who was speaking at today (22 June)'s Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) conference in Westminster.
Sables said the solution for suppliers 'to best use GSCoP is not to use gscoP', albeit with a caveat.
He told delegates: 'The GCA is a gift that is being severely under-used at the moment. Although suppliers view the GSCoP positively, they see futility in engaging with it, and the climate of a fear still surrounds it.
'The ambiguity of the code doesn't help - what are 'reasonable grounds'? What is 'due course'? And what is 'good faith'? Suppliers just don't feel that they can rely on the code.'
He added: 'If you feel that you have been mugged by a retailer, then you first have to go back to the mugger to make sure they meant what they said. Then, you have to go to the mugger's boss, and if you're still not happy, you then have to go to the code compliance officer at that retailer. That's three levels of pain to deal with if you feel that you've been mugged.'
Sables said that his words were not a criticism of Christine Tacon's administration; 'it's a difficult area to manage', he told delegates.
However, he urged businesses that supply retailers to ensure their staff know more about the code - 'assign responsibility outside legal, train commercial dialogue,' he said.
Sables added that those dealing with retail buyers need to be able to use the code in a more 'savvy' way to avoid 'invoking' it.
Noting the grey area between buyers' bullying behaviour, and them merely 'trying it on, and needling suppliers', Sables stated his belief that suppliers showing that they have knowledge of the code could make a huge difference in determining which of the two practices.
However, a YouGov survey of 1,145 suppliers conducted ahead of today's second-ever GCA conference found that only 29 per cent of those working for businesses that supply the UK's ten largest supermarkets have received training on the code - with the figure falling to a mere 9 per cent of staff at 'micro-suppliers'.
ALSO FROM THE 2015 GCA CONFERENCE
- Suppliers 'suffering fewer problems' with supermarkets
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