What would you expect happens once you send a product back to a supplier?
Kaskel: I would expect them to test it, but I’m going to guarantee that they’re not going to and the delivery guy will put it in the garbage.

Pettit: That goes back to my point earlier, that they are traders and have no passion for their product. The companies that have tried to be responsible, they are the ones who are succeeding and they are the ones we are moving towards.

Triemer: If you reject the product, there needs to be a link where the municipality has a database that shows it’s been sent back. It’s very complex to make that work.

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Raja: It should not go back to the source or the supplier, it should find its way somewhere else… otherwise it will find its way back in the system and go somewhere else. If it’s too bad for consumption or very serious, it should go somewhere to get condemned.

Pettit: It would be great if all the operators had a big stamp that said: ‘Rejected!’. The problem is if the driver turns up in the middle of a busy shift, then I don’t necessarily have time to call the supplier. The driver doesn’t necessarily understand because he’s not educated perhaps. You’ve got no control over what he’s sent. He will send it to somebody else the next day.

Saeed: Communicate that cause to the supplier. If you’re communicating that to the driver, then what’s the point? Communicate to the right person in the industry.

Manca: Will they take it seriously? Can we send an email, or will they if it’s coming from the municipality? Can we write an email and copy in the municipality?

Saeed: Yes you can. I’m getting regular calls from Atlantis about food safety issues, so you can do so as well. What we normally do is, when we see that the issue is very serious, we pass it on to the inspector and go and verify. We want you to be open with us.

Do products get sent back over quality or food safety?
Williams: More quality, but sometimes food safety. It’s not generally the product itself but it will be the temperature coming in, the cleanliness of the delivery vehicle.

Pettit: Dirty packaging. Bean sprouts coming in dirty cardboard.

Hayes: We’ve been lucky enough that some of our customers have complained about our product to us. When we investigated, we found that the distributor hadn’t stacked it properly. Sometimes we’re lucky that people inform us about it because if they send it back with the driver and nothing else gets said, we’ll never know about it.

Westhuizen: We’ve got people in the business that dedicate their hours every day to customer complaints and supply chain issues and looking at R&D related issues, and you’re right. The best is to get in touch with suppliers and manufacturers. Because we’re able to really get the problem sorted out at the source.

If you had to sum up the biggest concern you have right now over this topic, what would it be? Any solutions?
Kaskel: My biggest issue would be the actual delivery of the product. You talk to the sales rep and they say it’s the best product ever. And then you get it, and it’s on this truck in a dirty box and… sweat dripping in it, and you’re like, I can’t! I think suppliers are now doing much better quality-wise but from point A to point B, that’s where it gets lost.

Pettit: I agree, it’s that final, bringing it to the receiving area. It’s critical and some suppliers have recognised that and use uniforms, hairnets, and are diligent and you feel quite confident in them as a supplier. They use polystyrene packaging, things on ice… but then I’m relying on the guy receiving at the time. It could be a steward or I could be lucky and it’s one of my white jackets who will reject it if it’s a problem. If it’s during a busy lunch rush, my chefs are cooking.

Williams: It’s education. People are going through the training but not sincerely absorbing information. It needs to make people actually care about what’s going on and understand what happens if they don’t follow procedures.

Triemer: If you had the choice of getting everything from one supplier who complies with everything, it would be easier but here you have to deal with different distributors. Some take it more seriously than others. And many people come in contact with food… it’s not just the F&B side. You think, ‘I’m not cooking’ — but you are delivering food. There needs to be an education process, with accountability.

Karakoulias: We have to give all the tools to the receiving team to do their job properly, training, HACCP awareness; we are also doing the LobsterInk course on food safety.

Hayes: The transportation. From leaving the warehouse to reaching the kitchen is a very weak link.

Westhuizen: That link is important; bringing the users of our products closer to us in the age of multimedia... we have ambitions to bring that gap closer. If you receive a product from us which you’re not happy with, you can get in touch with us immediately. That’s what we are working towards.

Raja: Receiving is the most important missing link, so we need to have a standardised training for the receiving. Manufacturers play a lead role in training the distributor. It’s your brand and has to reach the end consumer the way you want it.

Saeed: The most important thing is the top management commitment. The second is the sourcing of the supplier. The last thing is communicating non-conformity with the supplier and pushing them to take action.

Manca: Communication with the municipality because they are our partner, and being strict with the distributors. If everyone is pushing in the same direction there will be growth as well.