Horsemeat scandal leaves severe cracks in Tesco's reputation. Getty Images
Tesco has defined the limit of mutual responsibility for supply chains. Having inquired into the provenance of beefburgers that contained horsemeat, it has dumped Silvercrest, its supplier of frozen burgers, essentially for deviating from the list of Tesco-approved meat suppliers.
“The breach of trust is simply too great,” said Tim Smith, the UK retailer’s technical director, in a statement. (The owner and founder of Silvercrest’s parent told the FT earlier this month it had been “let down” by its own suppliers.)
I wrote last week that “big companies know that admitting your supplier got it wrong is tantamount to admitting you got it wrong“. Tesco concedes that its checks were not sufficient. It is to introduce DNA testing of its meat products to try to avoid it happening again.
But if you’re now offering thanks that you don’t operate in as sensitive an industry as food retailing, think again. It may not be possible, strictly speaking, to apply a DNA test to, say, a toy, a smartphone or a blouse, but the “horseburger” episode is still a salutary one. From Mattel, to Apple, to Primark, companies have faced criticism for bad stuff that happened further up the line of supply. As I wrote, modern supplier relationships are about trust and collaboration, not just control. But regular “DNA-testing” of your supply chain will ensure nobody can let a horse gallop through your reputation.
