Mark White took over as Groceries Code Adjudicator in October 2020. As measured by the YouGov GCA annual survey, the percentage of suppliers experiencing GSCOP-related issues was 29% at the time, having declined consistently year on year from 79% in 2014.
Since then, the issues have risen to 35%, 36% and then 33% in the 2024 survey. This doesn’t reflect well on the performance of the GCA, who has had two major problems: the cost of living crisis and Amazon.
Cost price increases
Since 2021, many GSCOP issues have been in relation to cost price increases leading to breaches. I don’t believe the GCA’s seven golden rules of CPIs, issued in January 2022, have worked.
The rules are just a list of collaborative communication 101 principles, which are far from new to any players in the supplier-retailer interface. Instead, code amendments should have been issued: giving time deadlines to respond to CPIs, plus limitations on the justification information retailers can request.
Amazon failings
Another key issue is Amazon, which came under the jurisdiction of the code in February 2022. It entered as a serial code offender and has been allowed to get worse.
Amazon is ruining the reputation of GSCOP, which has been viewed internationally as a success model – and is the basis of a new Canadian grocery code due to launch in June 2025.
The GCA’s last survey revealed less than half of Amazon’s suppliers believe the retailer sticks to GSCOP: its compliance score dropped from 59% in 2023 to 47% in 2024. By contrast, other retailers average 91% compliance.
In the survey, a traffic light system shows red where over 7% of suppliers have had an issue. In the whole grid, there are only 16 red lights, of which 10 are Amazon’s. It is only rated green on one measure. Its only defence is that it’s trying hard, but failing, to be better.
Knowing its intention to grow grocery turnover beyond the £1bn threshold, Amazon should have been ready to play by the rules in 2022. The company admits to routinely breaking the code and has had three years to fix it.
Lack of enforcement action
The GCA recently ‘urged’ Amazon again to take swift action to improve its treatment of suppliers, but is waiting to see improvement and understand the resource versus benefit of an investigation before acting. This makes no sense and looks weak.
It shouldn’t be a complex investigation – given Amazon’s own admissions, a fine is definite and only the level is to be decided. Furthermore, the GCA office can request more resource in investigation mode, and this cost can be added to the fine.
Consistent with its negotiation style, Amazon says it would fight – but it can’t fight an investigation, only a fine.
Rather than acting on the results of 2024, the GCA has waited for yet another survey. Now that the 2025 survey is closed, the results are visible internally.
The GCA should not wait for the publishing of the survey results in the summer. The investigation and fine are already two years overdue.
David Sables is the CEO of Sentinel Management Consultants
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