Endeavour Group is assisting small suppliers affected by COVID-19 by reducing its payment terms to a maximum of 14 days.
In line with the Business Council of Australia, Woolworths Group classifies small suppliers as businesses with $1million purchases by Woolworths and less than $10million annual turnover .
Woolworths Group said the move was in recognition of the economic uncertainty many of its small business supplier partners are facing.
Woolworths Group Chief Financial Officer Stephen Harrison said: “Our small business suppliers are an integral part of our supply chain and play a key role in helping us provide the products our customers need.
“We recognise that right now many of our small supplier partners are facing additional challenges in the current climate and we want to do our bit to further help them out by shortening payment terms across the Group.
“By paying our small suppliers faster, we hope to ease some of the financial pressure many of them are currently experiencing amid the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.”
Woolworths said the change will have a positive impact on more than 1100 small suppliers.
Stephen Harrison concluded: “We understand this is a challenging time for many and we hope this additional support provides our suppliers with some assistance through these unprecedented times.”
The Woolworths Group revised Small Business Policy will continue until the June 30, 2020, when it will be reassessed based on the situation at that time.
The move follows the announcement last week that Woolworths will offer rental relief for its tenants in its 28 owned shopping centres and other retail assets throughout Australia.
Woolworths & Endeavour are also hiring 20,000 extra staff to assist the retailer to meet the unprecedented demand for food and drinks across Australia. It will also help scale up online operations to support the changing shopping needs of the community as the health crisis continues to unfold.
