After becoming the first UK retailer to publish its payment terms with suppliers, Tesco is now set to introduce two new teams dedicated to helping its relations with suppliers.
The UK's leading grocery retailer, which has a supplier network of more than 5,000 members, said that it has an ambition to be known as 'fair, professional, knowledgeable and helpful' towards its suppliers.
And Tesco now aims to put its money where its mouth is by launching a food invoice query team, and a team to help new suppliers integrate into the Tesco supply chain model.
Chief product officer, Jason Tarry, said: 'I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made, but my team and I know there’s more to do. We need to ensure more suppliers find Tesco simple, transparent and easy to deal with, and give them the confidence to invest in innovation that’s right for our customers.
'If last year was characterised by lots of change, this year it's about building on that. We’re completely focused on serving customers a little better every day, and we want to help our suppliers focus on that too. That's why we’re launching a new food invoice query team, which will be a single point of contact for price and invoice queries with the ability to resolve issues with speed.
'And we’re also introducing a dedicated team to help new suppliers during their first six months working with Tesco. As many small businesses will tell you, it can be quite daunting working with a large company for the first time, so we hope suppliers can draw on our knowledge and expertise in those crucial first months.'
He added: 'By building trusted and transparent partnerships, we want to free up our suppliers to concentrate on what they do best.Innovate. Use their expertise. Help us develop unique and differentiated products for our customers.'
Earlier this year, a Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) report found thatTesco prioritised its own finances over treating suppliers fairly by “often lengthy” delayed payments,
The report, covering the period from 25 June 2013 to 5 February 2015, found the retailer had “seriously breached” the legally-binding Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCoP) on payment delays.
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