Viewpoint: Driver crisis is a warning

Retailers have taken control of their stores and have turned them into safe spaces for shopping, while ensuring an uninterrupted supply of goods and services. However, the level of control retailers have is always constrained by the fact that convenience stores are at one end of a complex supply chain. We don’t have to look very far to see the reality of this.

One of the main issues facing us now is a UK-wide shortage of HGV drivers. There are a wide variety of reasons for the shortage – many of them long-term. The recovery is increasing demand across supply chains, the impact is already being seen with the increased opening of ‘non-essential’ retail and parts of the hospitality sector in recent weeks.

Brexit has contributed too. So has the loss of about 12 months of driver training and testing. Obtaining a licence to drive a lorry with the associated costs is a significant barrier to joining and, in some cases, re-joining the driving profession.

In the convenience sector, the impact seems to be falling most heavily on chilled products, with some of our members reporting that problems with driver availability are causing “critical-level” shortages.

As we have moved into summer and big sports events, the demand for beers and soft drinks has increased and these lines are being prioritised, with available driver resource being used to ensure delivery. This means other categories can suffer from ‘volume suppression’. The UK government – perhaps unwilling to acknowledge the connection with Brexit – seems slow to react to the problem.

In Scotland, an additional challenge is that most of the potential solutions are not devolved to the Scottish government. Unfortunately, there seems to be no quick fix.

There has been a clear need to work with trade bodies from other sectors and by and large this has worked well, with most of them showing a commendable willingness to share advice and information with us. These challenges should be seen as a stark warning to us all about how interconnected the supply chain is and how limited our level of control can sometimes be.

Pete Cheema, chief executive of the Scottish Grocers’ Federation