We hate schoolyard bullies. A bully in the workplace, when caught, might lose their job and reputation. Why aren't we as consumers as interested in bullying in the market place ?

Market bullies don't behave that way to bring us lower prices. They do so just to increase both their market share and their profits. Sure you may get lower prices on some items but the purpose of that is to get you into the store. It's a fair bet once there you'll do the rest of your shopping, including for a wide range of normally priced items.

When you go to the supermarket pay attention to which brands have the best shelf positions. It will tell you something. The two big supermarket chains play rough with their suppliers.

Who doesn't remember the cheap milk saga? You and I might have had access to cheap milk but the dairy farmers got squeezed. If you have a few kids it might seem as though milk just walks out the door. Cheap milk would be something of a blessing. Until the dairy industry was upended, reconfigured.

New and innovative producers in the grocery field are enthused by the support that comes with a big supermarket contract. They work together. It all goes well, for a while. And then the crunch comes. The big buyer knows you'll be in trouble without them. So they screw you down on price. If you don't play ball your products are given less shelf space, and not at the easy to reach hand height. Surprise surprise your sales go down.

Then the really bad news arrives. As your stuff isn't selling so well the store needs to rationalise your lines and so a few products will no longer be carried.

Now, to the customer this might not matter. You probably just buy a different biscuit, butter, bread or whatever. But think about what it means for the producer. If you're selling a biscuit to a huge supermarket you have probably bought equipment to enable larger scale production than otherwise. The supermarkets pushed you down on price so you did what you could to meet their demands. You may have also entered into longer-term contracts for the ingredients to get them at a better price. Sadly you've got quite a bit of stock on hand and some contracts to break. And your suppliers of flour, flavourings, nuts, packaging or whatever are now facing a cut in their business. And so it goes down the line.

About seven years ago the voluntary food and grocery code of conduct was introduced. Why? Because bullying was rife. Apparently things have improved ... but not enough. Don't take my word for it, look at the report of the government appointed reviewer. There's a pecking order of persistent misbehaviour and "the fresh food people" do not come out well. Although not perfect, Aldi gets a very positive mention.

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The sorts of bad behaviour include charging for shelf space, sudden cancellation of contracts, sudden deletion of items stocked, excessive pressure for unreasonable promotional prices, and both underpaying and late payment of invoices. The big guys might also squeeze a supplier for production details which then get used against the producer via a "home brand".

All the big retailers responded well to the supply chain problems caused by COVID. It seems that nightmare brought out the best in them. Some would say to be fair to them bad conduct seems to be a function of poorly trained buyers. The sort of person who gets carried away with the power that being a buyer for a big chain brings. I don't buy that excuse.

It's up to the board to set the standard and management to ensure compliance with it. Turning a blind eye like Lord Nelson is tantamount to giving approval. A board that tries to get away with saying management didn't tell them is looking for trouble. Just ask some people who served on the boards of reputable banks. Boards should set the strategy but they shouldn't get away with just accepting a management tick off. They ought to know what is happening in their business. How can you set a strategy for your future direction if you don't know your starting point?

Communication is a key player in bringing about better behaviour. When I left school I worked for Myer as a trainee buyer. The trainees were all told that Myer was a model business partner, treating suppliers well. Sadly, the manager on the loading dock gave a different story. She said invoices were checked and overcharging accounted for. And undercharging? I asked. That was the suppliers problem not ours. When I raised that with the finance man who had been so confident of our good behaviour he was shocked. Nor had the manager of the loading dock heard of the store policy.

Make the policy, make sure it is communicated and then monitor its implementation. Unless you do all of that you are wasting your time.

As smaller suppliers get squashed, bigger, sometimes overseas companies, swallow them up. In this bad environment any sensible operator would think twice about expanding any grocery production in Australia. Offshore markets and production would beckon. That's less jobs here.

In everyday language local suppliers are being blackmailed. If you don't care about that have a look in the mirror. You can make a difference by emailing MP's and senators and asking them about it. Ask for a punishment to fit the crime.

A lousy mention in the reviewer's annual report doesn't go anywhere near it.