There has been a modest improvement in the treatment of grocery suppliers, despite a decline in Amazon’s compliance with the industry code, according to an annual survey.

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) collects feedback from suppliers, including farmers, about the challenges they encounter and whether retailers are treating them fairly and in accordance with the law.

Overall, the survey results indicated a decrease in the number of suppliers reporting breaches of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), with the percentage dropping from 36% to 33%.

However, significant changes were noted in individual retailers' compliance with the GSCOP, particularly at the top of the rankings.

For the first time, the Co-op secured first place among 14 retailers for overall code compliance (98%), pushing M&S from first to third place.

Both the Co-op and Lidl showed a 2% improvement in their scores—the largest percentage increase among all 14 retailers.

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In contrast, Amazon experienced a notable decline in its code compliance score, which dropped sharply from 59% to 47%.

The GCA has urged Amazon to take prompt and thorough action to ensure it complies with the code, as its score is significantly lower than the average of the other 13 retailers, highlighting the need for substantial improvement.

Amid a record number of Cost Price Increase (CPI) requests submitted last year, the GCA has closely monitored issues related to CPI requests.

The survey results indicated that the number of suppliers reporting concerns about retailers' responses to CPI requests decreased from 28% in 2023 to just 16%.

However, this reduction in CPI-related issues might be attributed to a decline in the number of suppliers submitting requests, which fell from 91% in 2023 to 67% in 2024.

For the first time, the survey also addressed concerns regarding Cost Price Decrease (CPD) requests, based on feedback from suppliers.

The results revealed that 5% of suppliers expressed concerns about how retailers requested a CPD.

Mark White, groceries code adjudicator, expressed encouragement at the improvements in retailers’ treatment of suppliers across various issues.

This includes better management of CPI requests, as well as resolving invoice discrepancies and data input errors.

Regarding Amazon's decline in code compliance, Mr White emphasised that the online retailer ‘must ensure suppliers understand the changes it has made since its designation and in response to these survey results, and make any further changes that are needed to ensure code compliance’.

He encouraged suppliers to continue reporting any issues with Amazon confidentially, adding that he ‘will not hesitate’ to launch a formal investigation if warranted.

This was the eleventh GCA survey, with over 3,000 respondents, including both direct and indirect suppliers to retailers.