News (including the Drop and Drive Workgroup)

With plenty to build upon from last year, February’s Customer Supply Group meeting got off to a positive start with both old and new members fully engaged with key projects running for 2020. Thank you to @molsoncoors for hosting our first meeting and, along with our regular members, we were delighted to welcome @pladis, @PZCuzzons, @Tate&Lyle @kpsnacks.

 With Brexit uncertainties at an all-time high, it’s not surprising that the focus of the regular Customer Supply Group forum was on how well prepared companies are for Brexit. Following on from our previous blog post: How Your Peers and Competitors are Preparing for a Hard Brexit, the sentiment in the room was a mixture of concern, heightened awareness and a realisation that there is no clear guidance for those who work across the supply chain on what happens when we finally leave the EU, assuming it goes ahead.

 Gaps, Uncertainties and Plans; with the likelihood of a Hard Brexit increasing as a possibility, we have no other option than to prepare for the implications on supply chains. 

Issues such as: increased requirements for customs declarations and the massive administration implications associated with this; new rules of origin requirements; the border checks and associated delays at all points of entry; and the availability of knowledgeable and experienced resources means there is little time left to plan: particularly with less than 80 days to go!

Letter to The Grocer, October 2018

Dear Sir

As reported last week in The Grocer ‘Women in Agribusiness Award’ the USA appear to have recognised Christine Tacon, The Grocery Code Adjudicator’s, impact on the UK Grocery retailers more fully than some of our own institutions....