Retailers aiming to pass on pain down the chain?

News in yesterday's FT that Retailers are aiming to pass on pain down the chain, should not be news to UK suppliers.
Most members of a supply chain will try to pass risk and cost back to the previous member of the supply chain.
If they feel they are being over-charged or carry unfair risk, they are entitled to seek alternative suppliers…
The way forward for suppliers is to ensure that their selling prices are competitive (EMR-Buying Mix Analysis) on a genuinely like-with-like comparison with available competition. Any perceived 'unique advantage' will obviously work, at least until the customer sources a reasonable substitute, so even a slight market advantage has to be played carefully and realistically…
The big difference is that 6 months of recession have raised the game significantly, changed all of the supplier-retailer relationship-ingredients, and retailers are taking no prisoners.
We still have to live together, but we need a fair basis for implementing the partnership…

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