The Observatorio de Innovación en Gran Consumo del Institut Cerdà has recognised the implementation in Mercadona supermarkets of the five-day working week, to facilitate two weekly rest days, as a “significant advance” in reconciling work and family of workers in the commercial sector.
The institute considers that, in addition, this measure reinforces the commitment to quality employment and work environment, a path begun in 1995 when the process of making its entire workforce permanent was launched.
This improvement has been recognised during the celebration of the fifth edition of their recognition event, which also recognises the reduction of plastic.
Specifically, it refers to the innovation developed by the beer supplier Martens, exclusively in Spain for Mercadona, with the first bottles that replace the plastic film with an adhesive for their grouping in the 6-bottle packs of Shandy and Radler, of the Steinburg brand, which has allowed the saving of more than 30 tons of plastic per year, without the need to replace the film with cardboard or other materials.
Mercadona recalls that it has had a pioneering model since 2011 whereby it shares with customers experiences and habits of consumption of food and beverages, household cleaning, personal hygiene and pet care, later transferring them to suppliers, in order to promote direct collaboration to improve quality and develop their products.
The company has a network of more than 20 co-innovation centres in Spain and Portugal, whose facilities are dedicated to innovation and continuous improvement in processes and products, and study the needs and wishes of customers in order to offer the best solutions in an increasingly changing context.
