With the end of major shopping holidays, the pressure for fully stocked shelves in US retailers has eased. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now aims to delve deeper into the ongoing supply chain challenges to identify their root causes, the most affected parties, and the key locations of impact.
The FTC has issued a formal order to several prominent retail chains such as Kroger, Walmart, and Amazon, along with major suppliers like Tyson and Heinz, requesting them to provide information to aid in the examination of the causes behind empty shelves and soaring prices.
“Supply chain disruptions have disrupted the supply and delivery of a wide range of products, from computer chips and medicines to meat and lumber,” mentioned FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in a statement.
These companies have been given a 45-day period starting today to submit the requested data to the FTC. According to the FTC’s announcements, the companies are expected to elaborate on the primary factors obstructing their product acquisition, transportation, and distribution; the resulting effects like delays, cancellations, increased costs, and prices; the most impacted products, suppliers, and inputs; their initiatives to mitigate disruptions; and their product allocation strategies for stores facing shortages.
FTC demands info from top companies including Amazon and Walmart in sweeping supply chain probe https://t.co/7YOQRtW4qy
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 30, 2021
The companies are also required to share “internal documents related to the supply chain disruptions, encompassing strategies concerning supply chains, pricing, marketing and promotions, cost structures, profit margins, sales volumes, supplier and brand selection, and market share figures.”
The FTC expects that by gathering and analyzing this data, they can determine whether supply chain disruptions are causing specific bottlenecks, shortages, anticompetitive behavior, or contributing to the escalation of consumer prices.
