DSPANZ provided a submission to the Independent Review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct on 30 April 2024.
We supported the review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct (the Code) and the intent to better protect suppliers. In particular, we supported the recommendation that the Code should be made mandatory and prescribed under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
Our main recommendation was to introduce an eInvoicing capability requirement into the Code to protect suppliers, especially smaller suppliers, and meet several of the Codes objectives, such as enhancing transparency, reducing disputes and reducing administrative overhead. We recommended requiring supermarkets, especially the larger retailers, to be capable of receiving eInvoices from their enabled suppliers as the best approach to introducing eInvoicing within the Code.
We put forward that eInvoicing enabled-suppliers within the food and grocery sector should be able to readily supply the major supermarkets and be paid promptly, enabling appropriate cash flow management without the current burden and expenses involved in this process.
This submission covered an introduction to eInvoicing and how it, as a tool, aligns with the Code's objectives and enables a payment arrangement system that will reduce payment times, particularly for small suppliers. One large food and grocery retailer, Woolworths, has already successfully implemented eInvoicing, which significantly benefits payments to small suppliers. This example demonstrates that eInvoicing is a viable option for all other large players in the grocery chain as a component of the proposed mandatory Code.
Access a full copy of the submission here.