A survey by the GCA (Groceries Code Adjudicator) has found that poor retailer forecasting behaviour is becoming the ‘norm’. This is causing increased costs and disruption for suppliers who are always expected to maintain a high service level. The Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) ‘requires retailers to fully compensate suppliers for costs incurred due to forecasting errors.’
Despite this being stated in the regulation, many suppliers are either unaware of this protection or are uneasy managing these conversations with their customers.
Are you being affected by poor or non-existent retailer forecasts? Are your account and supply teams aware of the protection provided by GSCOP?
Increasing the skills and capability of your sales teams is vital to ensure that they are equipped to manage difficult customer conversations whilst maintaining customer engagement and a working relationship.
The British Brands Group provides a range of functional training to help you ensure that your customer teams are ready for the conversations that will result from poor forecasting.
Courses cover Competition law and compliance, GSCOP and Trading with Amazon. All feature a strong commercial bias, being about both understanding and application in the trading world. This training is available as either face-to-face or online offerings.
The British Brands Group is also very open to discuss your specific needs, should you want to run an in-house course exclusively for your team. Get in contact.