Providence, Rhode Island–(business wire)–Consistent with its commitment to providing the highest quality produce, United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE: UNFI) (the “Company” or “UNFI”) today announced a new technology and announced that it has implemented the process. Unleash the full potential of UNFI data points to deliver fresher produce to your customers. These efforts have proven successful as UNFI has outpaced industry growth in agricultural sales, even as retail production numbers fluctuate with inflation. increase.
Excluded from the supply chain for more than one day
To help UNFI deliver the freshest products to its customers, the company has redesigned its agricultural sourcing strategy by consolidating its purchasing activities and sourcing many items directly from key Mexican suppliers. Products are then transported directly from these farms to the UNFI Distribution Center via a cross-docking facility in McAllen, Texas. UNFI has also implemented commodity-specific thresholds to accelerate the movement of products to distribution centers and retailers. New sourcing models and supply chain processes have improved inventory turns and reduced inventory run-off. Most importantly, UNFI has removed an average of more than one day from its supply chain over the past year.
Dawn Wenninger, senior vice president of production at UNFI, said: “In line with UNFI’s overall strategy of leveraging technology and data to better serve our customers, these initiatives will remove more than one day from our supply chain and deliver fresher products to our customers and their shoppers. Our team has already seen the results of their efforts to bring the freshest produce to our customers and we look forward to continuing to evolve UNFI as a best-in-class produce organization. increase.”
Use data to create a culture of quality
UNFI recently implemented Share-ify, a real-time, cloud-based, tablet-enabled quality control program. This allows the company to synthesize tens of thousands of data points to remove variability and ensure producers and suppliers are delivering the freshest produce. Possible. The technology is currently in use in half of UNFI’s produce distribution centers and will be rolled out to the remainder by September of this year. To help manage the deployment, UNFI recently hired her industry veteran Susan Akin as Director of Quality Assurance to oversee the quality control program.
“The power of data that we have today is immense,” says Wenninger. “Our new technology updates will allow us to be more transparent in our supply chain, better protect our customers, and offer the freshest, highest quality produce available. The addition of Susan and several other leaders to the team ensures that we have the expertise, focus and leadership in unlocking the power of data for our customers. increase.”
Wild Harvest Expansion
UNFI also leverages its deep expertise to offer an extensive catalog of organic produce under the well-known and trusted brand Wild Harvest. Bold purple branding makes it easy for both shoppers and store associates to recognize which products are organic while providing the confidence of the Wild Harvest label. Things are going well, with dozens of additional major items set to be introduced throughout the remainder of 2022. Wild Harvest produce is already available in hundreds of retail stores nationwide.
For more information on UNFI produce, please visit https://www.unfifresh.com/unfi-produce.
About UNFI
UNFI distributes a wide variety of fresh, branded and proprietary branded products to more than 30,000 locations across North America, including natural products superstores, independent retailers, traditional supermarket chains, e-commerce providers and food service customers. is one of North America’s leading grocery wholesalers. UNFI also offers a wide range of value-added services and segmented marketing expertise, including proprietary technology, data, market insights and shelf management, to help customers and suppliers build their businesses and brands. . As North America’s largest full-service grocery partner, UNFI is committed to building a better food system for all and is uniquely positioned to offer our customers better food, more choice and a fresh mindset. . To learn more about how UNFI is driving the future of food, visit www.unfi.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Declaration of Safe Harbor Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding our business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties and Based on current expectations and management’s estimates. Actual results may vary materially. Risks and uncertainties that may affect these statements are subject to amendments, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. in the Company’s Securities Exchange Act of 1934 filings. The September 28, 2021 (“SEC”) and other filings we file with the SEC include, but are not limited to, the impact and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Labor and other labor shortages and challenges. Dependence on key customers. Addition or loss of material customers or material changes to relationships with those customers. our sensitivity to general economic conditions, such as changes in disposable income levels and consumption trends; relatively low margins in our businesses, which are sensitive to inflationary and deflationary pressures; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and strategic initiatives, including the acquisition of Supervalu; Our ability to deploy warehouse management systems and company-wide transportation management systems across our distribution centers in a timely and appropriate manner and achieve efficiencies and cost savings from these efforts. Our ability to continue to grow sales and manage that growth, including high-margin whole, organic and non-food products. Increased distribution of natural, organic and specialty products and increased competition within the industry as a result of direct distribution of these products by major retailers and online distributors. Increased competition in the industry, including as a result of continued retailer consolidation and chain growth. Union formation activities that can cause labor relations difficulties and increased costs. our operational ability to operate reliable and secure technical systems, and our ability to rely on third parties; Adjusting supplier promotional activities, including reducing futures purchase opportunities. Circumstances beyond our control, including health epidemics, may disrupt supply chains or distribution capabilities. potential additional asset impairment charges; Risk of supply interruptions due to lack of long-term contracts, bad weather, work stoppages, etc. Our ability to maintain food quality and safety. volatility in fuel costs; volatility in foreign exchange rates; and our ability to identify and successfully complete acquisitions of assets or businesses. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake to update the information in the foregoing reports until the effective date of future reports as required by applicable law. Estimates of future operating results are based on a number of assumptions, many of which are beyond our control, and we cannot guarantee that such results will actually occur. These estimates are subject to change and may differ materially from final reported results. We may update these published estimates from time to time, but we are under no obligation to do so.
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