Amazon has been accused of threatening suppliers with delistings unless they adhere to demands of paying large lump sums to improve profitability of sales.
The Grocer, which has seen evidence of demands for one-off payments and large cost price reductions to UK companies, reported that suppliers have said they have just 48 hours to pay the sums which amount to tens of thousands of pounds.
A Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) expert told the publication he had heard from at least six companies who had received a similar warning and one UK-based supplier said Amazon had given them two days to respond to “an ask of more than £50,000 to plug a profit gap”.
However, Amazon has said that letters sent to suppliers with similar demands were done so in “error” as a spokesperson explained: “Amazon takes the groceries code very seriously and we strive to ensure we meet our obligations at all times.
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“We are aware some grocery suppliers received a notification in error, and we are working to reassure them of our commitments under the GSCOP principles.
“We encourage any grocery suppliers who received this notification to contact Amazon’s code compliance officer.”
It is understood that Amazon is still investigating the notifications which were sent to a small number of its UK grocery suppliers.
This is not the first time that the retailer has come under fire for its handling of suppliers.
In June, Amazon came last in the Groceries Code Adjudicator’s 2023 annual survey with an overall score of less than 60%.
Almost 12% of suppliers said it “never” complied with the GSCOP and 30% said it rarely did.
At the time, Groceries Code Adjudicator Mark White said there was “no excuse” from Amazon, adding he would do “everything in his power” to ensure suppliers were better dealt with.
At the time, an Amazon spokesperson said: “We take compliance with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice extremely seriously, and we are introducing further changes to continue to improve the experience for our grocery suppliers.
“It is clear from these survey results there is more to do, and we are committed to listening to our suppliers and making further improvements.”
