Morrisons announced last month that they were opening their own “farming centre of excellence” in a bid to improve their understanding of their suppliers. By creating their own farm in East Ayrshire Morrisons hope to understand the practices, issues and day-to-day work that their large supply-chain faces in order to meet the demands of the leading supermarket.
This sounds an excellent approach to improving supplier relations and supply chain management, however there are sure to be a few sceptics out there wondering how long it will be before Morrisons begin issuing best practice instructions or changes to current agreements - once they have gained a better working knowledge.
Improving and maintaining supplier relations is of course essential to any supply-chain, and understanding the issues faced by your suppliers will support this; yet when a leading organisation declares they are ‘having a go’ themselves I’m sure they will be watched by their suppliers intently.