The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that the grocery industry has slightly better processes, thanks to the finalization of the Grocery Code of Conduct, to resolve disputes among suppliers and retailers regarding issues that include random fees, sudden cost increases, lack of clarity on contracts and late payments. The Globe's guest columnists Vass Bednar and Denise Hearn write that the code includes important elements such as no unilateral contract modification, no refusals to deal and a board with representatives from across the supply chain. The design of this new system, however, is disappointingly DIY. It trusts that the industry would police itself, and being merely a code of conduct, whole swaths of it are difficult to enforce. The code has been industry-led, allowing the sector to co-design a pact to play more fairly. While the parties that dedicated their time and effort to this cause deserve kudos, these efforts may prove wanting. What the code of conduct misses, fundamentally, is the inherent power imbalances between a set of highly concentrated grocery retailers and their counterparties. Fear of retaliation from a supplier's biggest customer is difficult to overcome with voluntary governance.