Trust our food retail supply chains

Dutch cartel watchdog Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) will, due to the corona crisis, monitor competition in the Netherlands less strictly. ACM director Martijn Snoep explains: “For example, supermarkets want to know if they can keep each other informed. We are faced with those kinds of questions”. This offers opportunities for groundbreaking cooperation in food deliveries.

With this approach, supermarkets are allowed to inform each other about how much inventory they have, says ACM. Logistics service providers are allowed to cooperate in the distribution of food. Branches may make agreements with each other about the smooth handling of debtors. Pharmaceutical wholesalers may inform each other about the quantities they sell. That is good news.

Resilient food supply chains
Food production and distribution (FMCG) is resilient. Food chains are able to switch quickly and efficiently in the event of an emergency. If production or business locations are also affected, the companies are confident that production can be moved to other locations quickly with their business continuity plans. The condition is that partners in the supply chain share data. With all GS1 standards, data exchange is a breeze. Even Dutch ACM is now giving more room for this.