UNFI Launches New Technology to Assist Produce Distribution

Grocery wholesaler and distributor United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) has unveiled new technology and processes to help ease supply chain strains, in addition to expanding its private label produce selection.

To improve delivery capability, Rhode Island-based UNFI has redesigned its produce sourcing strategy by consolidating its purchasing efforts and procuring many items directly from major Mexican suppliers. Product is then transported from those farms directly to UNFI distribution centers via a McAllen, Tex. cross docking facility. UNFI has also implemented commodity specific thresholds to accelerate the movement of products through its distribution centers and to retailers. 

The wholesaler says the new sourcing model and supply chain processes have improved inventory turnover, reduced inventory shrink, and have allowed UNFI to remove an average of over a day from its supply chain during the past year.

“We know quality is the number one driver for produce purchases, which is why we are fanatical about freshness at UNFI Produce,” said Dorn Wenninger, Senior Vice President of Produce at UNFI. “In line with UNFI’s overall strategy to harness technology and data to serve our customers better, these initiatives allow us to remove over a day from our supply chain and provide a fresher product to our customers and their shoppers. Our team is already seeing the positive results of our efforts to deliver the freshest produce to our customers and I’m looking forward to continuing to evolve UNFI as a best-in-class produce organization.”

In another tech move, UNFI recently implemented Share-ify, a real-time, cloud-based, tablet-enabled quality control program which allows the company to “synthesize tens of thousands of data points” to remove variability and help ensure its growers and suppliers are providing the high-quality produce. The technology is currently in use at half of UNFI’s produce distribution centers and will roll out to the remainder by this September. 

To help manage the rollout, UNFI recently recruited industry veteran Susan Akin to serve as Director of Quality Assurance, overseeing quality control programs.

“The power of the data we now have in our hands is immense,” says Wenninger. “Our new technology updates provide greater transparency in our supply chain, better protecting our customers and helping us to provide them with the freshest, highest-quality produce available. But we’re not just investing in technology. With the addition of Susan and several other leaders to the team, we’re assuring that we have the expertise, focus, and leadership to excel in unleashing the power of data for our customers.”

Finally, UNFI has expanded its Wild Harvest private label line to include organic bananas, as well as other produce items that will be introduced throughout the remainder of 2022. Wild Harvest produce is already available in hundreds of retailers across the country.

UNFI delivers the fresh, branded, and private label grocery products to more than 30,000 grocery locations throughout North America.