In the UK food industry the effects of the horsemeat scandal
are dramatic. Over the past two months total ready meal sales were down 5%
year-on-year, frozen food sales dropped 13% and there was a fall of 3% in
chilled ready meal value sales. The reaction of consumers to this issue is not surprising.
However the latest report from the Chartered Institute
of Purchase and Supply states that almost half of supply chain managers “do not
have a means of monitoring their entire supply chain”.
Even more damaging is their comment that “how few
chief executives and boards take supply chain issues seriously”.
One of today’s buzzwords is “traceability” – it is
incumbent on companies to monitor all aspects of their supplier’s performance
and failure to do so can have far reaching and damaging consequences.
The days of a “cosy” relationship between Buyer and
Supplier, the archetypal nod and a wink have long since passed.
These scares and alarms are part and parcel of
today’s trading environments and there is no excuse for being unprepared.
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