Groceries Code Adjudicator

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (or Supermarket Ombudsman ) is an independent statutory office responsible for enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice and to regulate the relationship between supermarkets and their direct suppliers within the United Kingdom. The post was created by the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013 and is an independent office within the Department for Business and Trade.

The UK Competition Commission ( the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) undertook an investigation of grocery retail in 2009, and recommended that government establish an ombudsman for the sector. The Groceries Supply Code of Practice applied initially to ten retailers with an annual turnover of £1bn+, namely Tesco, Co-op, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Aldi, Waitrose, and Iceland. On 9 February 2022, the CMA announced that Amazon.com would also be included with effect from 1 March 2022.

Trade magazine and website Retail Week reported that in response to calls for submissions to the Competition Commission investigation, major UK retailer Aldi supported the establishment of a retail ombudsman, while Tesco, Sainsbury's, and a number of other major retailers did not support its establishment.

In January 2013 Christine Tacon was appointed to the role for a four-year period. Mark White, the current adjudicator, was appointed in October 2020.

The Adjudicator publishes interpretative guidance on the Code of Practice, best practice statements and details of retailers' voluntary commitments and arbitrates in disputes between retailers and suppliers.

Investigations
Christine Tacon's first investigation, announced on 5 February 2015, looked into the supply chain activities of Tesco plc. The investigation found that Tesco had breached the delayed payment provisions of the Code, but in respect of the rule that no payments should be required from suppliers for better positioning of goods unless in relation to promotions, no evidence of a breach was found.

In her work on the Tesco investigation, Tacon identified problems with "drop and drive deliveries" as one of her top five issues, because they can be a cause of delay in payments to suppliers for goods received. "Drop and drive" disputes involve deductions made in supplier payments because of "alleged discrepancies" in delivered quantities. As a result, work was undertaken with a group of 20 supermarket suppliers and consultancy firm Simply Supply Chain, which highlighted concerns regarding inaccurate claims being made by the supermarkets. the GCA withdrew from handline concerns over the drop and drive issue so that an industry-led solution could emerge. Morrisons and Asda later introduced a "Good Faith Receiving" process, under which they agreed to pay suppliers for all drop and drive deliveries, using spot check audits to ensure accuracy, and the Co-op had agreed to pay all drop and drive delivery invoices in full and settle any disputes later by mutual agreement.