United Natural Foods Inc. has implemented the tech and strategies to shorten certain delivery times by more than a day and better use its data to deliver fresher produce to its customers.
Called UNFI, the Providence, R.I.-based grocery wholesaler delivers fresh, branded and owned-brand produce to more than 30,000 locations throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, e-commerce providers and food service customers, according to a news release.
Shortening the supply chain
The company 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 in a McAllen, Texas, cross-docking facility, a practice that’s helpful especially for produce.
UNFI has also created commodity-specific thresholds to speed up movement through its distribution centers and to retailers.
Related: Check out these UNFI produce displays for summer
The new sourcing model and supply chain processes have improved inventory turnover, reduced inventory shrink, and most importantly, allowed UNFI to remove an average of more than a day from its supply chain during the past year, according to the release.
“We know quality is the No. 1 driver for produce purchases, which is why we are fanatical about freshness …” Senior Vice President of Produce Dorn Wenninger said in the release.
Using data
UNFI is now implementing Share-ify, a real-time, cloud-based, tablet-enabled, quality-control program, allowing the company to use 10s of thousands of data points to remove variability. The technology is 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 recruited 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,” Wenninger said in the release. “Our new technology updates provide greater transparency in our supply chain, better protecting our customers ...”
Wild Harvest expansion
UNFI is providing a broad catalog of organic produce with a recognized brand: Wild Harvest. The bold, purple branding makes it easier for both shoppers and store associates to identify which products are organic, while offering the trust of the Wild Harvest label.
The newly launched Wild Harvest organic bananas have performed well, according to the release, and dozens of additional items will be introduced throughout the rest of 2022. Wild Harvest produce is already available in hundreds of retailers nationwide.
Besides selling and delivering fresh produce, UNFI also offers customers proprietary technology, data, market insights and shelf management to help customers and suppliers build their businesses and brands.
