David Sands has called for the creation of an ombudsman to support smaller retailers when dealing with major suppliers in the wake of ongoing problems with Coca-Cola Enterprises.
The Scottish convenience store chain has claimed it has been "struggling for several months" to get the soft drinks giant to pay it what it owes for cost price reductions.
CEO David Sands said that although the soft drinks giant claimed it would take just three months for his company to receive the money back, payment often took much longer in one case as long as 16 months.
"We have credit notes that go back many months without settlement," Sands said. "No one is disputing the validity of these credits. It is simply about getting the company to arrange the credit. Senior management at Coke seem unable to improve this position."
The money owed could be "anywhere between £50,000 to £100,000 at one time" and this had a "major impact" on cashflow, claimed Sands.
Smaller retailers needed to be protected from large suppliers, he added. "In all my years of trading with most of the leading UK suppliers, this must rank as the worst example of big company arrogance."
Coca-Cola Enterprises said: "We listen to all our retailers and take their comments and issues very seriously. In this case, we are very sorry that the credit transfer process has been delayed. We are continuing our discussions with Mr Sands' teams at both a national and a regional level to work together to put in place new processes on both sides to resolve this situation."
The Scottish convenience store chain has claimed it has been "struggling for several months" to get the soft drinks giant to pay it what it owes for cost price reductions.
CEO David Sands said that although the soft drinks giant claimed it would take just three months for his company to receive the money back, payment often took much longer in one case as long as 16 months.
"We have credit notes that go back many months without settlement," Sands said. "No one is disputing the validity of these credits. It is simply about getting the company to arrange the credit. Senior management at Coke seem unable to improve this position."
The money owed could be "anywhere between £50,000 to £100,000 at one time" and this had a "major impact" on cashflow, claimed Sands.
Smaller retailers needed to be protected from large suppliers, he added. "In all my years of trading with most of the leading UK suppliers, this must rank as the worst example of big company arrogance."
Coca-Cola Enterprises said: "We listen to all our retailers and take their comments and issues very seriously. In this case, we are very sorry that the credit transfer process has been delayed. We are continuing our discussions with Mr Sands' teams at both a national and a regional level to work together to put in place new processes on both sides to resolve this situation."
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