Beyond the Deal: Why Supermarkets Still Face EU-UK Trade Challenges and How AI Tech Can Help
The EU-UK agreement marked a pivotal step toward resolving post-Brexit trade friction, particularly in the food sector. For supermarket executives across Europe and the UK, the deal promises reduced bureaucracy, lower costs, and improved supply chain fluidity. Yet beneath this progress lie unresolved regulatory gaps, implementation delays, and sector-specific risks that threaten its intended benefits.
While political negotiations have eased immediate pressures, it doesn’t address the deeper, structural inefficiencies that still define sourcing strategy in many supermarkets today. To deliver speed, resilience, or transparency, supermarket buying teams need something more powerful — AI technology.
The Agreement’s Limited Scope: Persistent Gaps in Food Trade
Unresolved Regulatory Divergence
A key part of the agreement is the UK’s decision to follow EU food standards as they change over time — a system known as “dynamic alignment.” This helps keep trade flowing smoothly for now, but it also means the UK must adopt new EU rules without having a say in how they're made. If the EU updates its regulations in ways that don’t align with UK practices, it could lead to supply disruptions or increased compliance costs for supermarkets.
Consider the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy, which aims to reduce pesticide use by 50% by 2030, a target that may conflict with UK agricultural practices. Supermarkets relying on cross-Channel sourcing must prepare for scenarios where regulatory misalignment disrupts product availability or increases compliance costs.
The issue of veterinary medicines further highlights the agreement’s fragility. With 40% of Northern Ireland’s animal medicine supply coming from Great Britain, the lack of a long-term solution threatens livestock health and meat production timelines — crucial for perishable inventory management.
Implementation Delays and Border Friction
While routine food checks have been removed, customs declarations and regulatory audits still apply to GB–NI trade. Combined with the agreement’s phased rollout (set for 2026), this leaves businesses navigating a mix of old and new rules. For example, UK exporters still need to follow EU rules for mixed products that contain meat or dairy — items that made up 22% of food exports before Brexit. This delay between the agreement and its full rollout leaves room for confusion and disruption, especially for teams still relying on manual processes or outdated systems.
Strategic Priorities for Supermarket Leaders
Build Agile Compliance Systems to Navigate Regulatory Complexity
While recent agreements have eased short-term trade friction, long-term regulatory divergence between the UK and EU remains a risk. The UK is expected to follow future EU food rules without having a say in shaping them, creating uncertainty for cross-border supply chains. To stay ahead, supermarket leaders should adopt platforms that provide real-time compliance visibility and automate due diligence. This reduces risk and allows teams to focus on strategic sourcing and growth.
Prepare for Disruption with Technology-Enabled Scenario Planning
Post-Brexit regulatory unpredictability demands a proactive approach to sourcing risk. Supermarket leaders should prioritise tools that offer real-time supplier intelligence and dynamic benchmarking. These capabilities allow teams to assess exposure, model alternative sourcing strategies, and maintain continuity in the face of shifting trade policies or sudden compliance changes.
Accelerate Supplier Engagement to Strengthen Competitive Advantage
In a market where speed to shelf determines market share, sourcing delays are no longer acceptable. Supermarket leaders must ensure their teams are equipped with digital infrastructure that enables rapid supplier discovery, qualification, and onboarding. Streamlining these workflows through technology reduces time-to-market, enhances responsiveness to trends, and strengthens supply chain resilience across key categories.
The Role of Technology in Enabling Strategic Agility
While trade agreements may ease surface-level friction, they do little to address the deeper structural vulnerabilities that supermarkets face in their sourcing operations. Platforms like Kwayga are purpose-built to solve these challenges, providing buying leaders with real-time supplier intelligence, automated compliance workflows, and accelerated supplier engagement.
For supermarket executives, the imperative is clear: investing in agile, tech-enabled sourcing isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about building a resilient, future-proof supply chain that can navigate whatever comes next.
