Debate on cooperation between manufacturers and retailers in the "new normal"

Cooperation between manufacturers and retailers remains on the agenda in the European DIY sector. In Germany, for example, the DIY manufacturers' association HHG has initiated a discussion on how manufacturers and retailers deal work with one another in times of globally disrupted supply chains and procurement problems.

According to a statement by the association, under the changed market conditions, the hitherto customary assurance of acceptance and unrestricted fulfilment of all incoming orders with simultaneous penalisation of underdelivery and late delivery is a considerable cost driver in the supply chain. Delivery quota regulations could offer incentives for delivery reliability in predictable procurement markets. "Under the current and future framework conditions of procurement and logistics networks, however, they only mean direct costs for the supplier and thus costs for the product," says the HHG statement.

In France, the associations of DIY store operators and manufacturers, FMB and Inoha, have agreed on a code of conduct. The chairmen of the associations, Mathieu Pivain and Jean-Luc Guéry, want to sign it on 15 June in Paris.