This paper explores how a cooperative approach to supply chain management enhances supply chain performance under fluctuating demand and uncertainty in the grocery retail sector. The exploratory and qualitative empirical study comprises a two-echelon case study of a Finnish grocery retail supply chain focussing on a grocery wholesaler and its tier 1, small retail customers. Interviews were conducted with key respondents at both echelon levels and it was found that cooperation can be a useful and successful technique to reduce costs and improve supply chain performance in a volatile and uncertain demand context. A list of enablers and barriers for supply chain cooperation were developed to guide practitioners and there is a brief discussion of this study’s implications for Poland.