Welcome. I’m happy to share our Fall
roundup of UNFI supplier news with you. Remember to also visit our Supplier Support Site, another key resource
in doing business with us.
SUPPLIER
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Here are the latest updates to our
Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) team:
Position
Change
- Richard Bruns has been promoted to SRM Group Manager. Richard will be responsible for the Frozen and Perishable team, with the following direct reports: Laura Russo, Melissa Farkas, James Gouin, Kiva Shogren and Lisa Jorgensen.
New
Team Members
- Jessica Clancy joined the team in July as SRM. Prior to that, Jessica worked with our Inventory Planning and Replenishment team. Jessica manages the following beverage categories: Additives, Single Serve and Juices. Jessica reports to Maureen Hines.
- Nancy Willard joined the team in August as SRM. Nancy manages the Prepared Sauce, Dry Sauces & Seasoning Packets, Beans: Dry & Prepared, Grains, Potatoes: Dry, Spices & Seasonings, Olives/Capers/Tapenades, Pickles/Peppers/Relish/Marinated & Pickled Specialties. Nancy reports to Maureen Hines.
- Sierra Connolly joined the team in August as our newest Associate SRM. Sierra manages the Fruit: Can/Glass/Cups/Snacks, Vegetables: Can/Glass, Batters & Coatings, Fish & Meat: Can/Glass, Baby Food categories. Sierra reports to Meagan Kessel.
Supplier
Relationship Manager (SRM) Line Assignments Update
Click
here for the latest SRM line assignments.
Product
Code Dates
In my
July update I asked for your help to collect accurate date code information
so we could update our records. We’ll continue this process by requesting a
clear, readable date code from suppliers that do not provide one on the outside
of a shipping case. For any questions, please contact Nancy Semmelrock.
National
Administrative Fee Program
UNFI facilitates various supplier
deductions in exchange for administrative fees. The fees historically have been
inconsistent across the country, so we’re moving to a national program that has
one fee schedule effective November 1st. We will charge suppliers 10% with a
minimum $25.00, whichever is greater, not to exceed $195. Every supplier who
chooses to take advantage of UNFI’s third party billing option will incur
administrative fees, with the exception of those whose fees are specifically
outlined otherwise in their executed agreements. Contact your SRM or Joe Gordon with any questions.
Deductions
Support
All Manufacturer Charge Back (MCB) and
deductions concerns and correspondence should be directed to the national team
email address, deductions@unfi.com.
The East and West deduction teams have been consolidated into one to reduce
response time and provide a single point of contact.
Electronic
MCB Reports
I announced in my
last update that we would begin testing a new way to communicate your
weekly MCB deductions electronically, and eliminate paper reports. This change
is a win-win―saving time and resources for you and us, as well as being
environmentally friendly. We’ll continue to add more suppliers to this test,
and on October 22nd, will deliver East Region reports electronically
to all suppliers. We hope to deliver West Region reports electronically later
this year. To receive electronic MCB reports, please click here to provide your email address. Contact Joe Gordon with any questions.
Supplier
Survey
In early 2015, we plan to ask for your
feedback as we continue to identify areas in need of attention, build on what
you believe we’re doing right, and look for ways to enhance partnerships. Your
response will be confidential, and we’ll share our overall findings and plans
to address issues and opportunities. I encourage you to participate and help
drive continued success for us all.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Distribution
Center Ordering Insights
- Hudson Valley, NY began shipping to customers last week. Every other week this month, we’ll transition groups of customers from Dayville, York and Chesterfield. No customer moves will take place through the holidays. We will begin to build additional inventory in December for the next transition phase, which will take place in mid-January.
- Racine, WI is fully operational with all planned customer moves completed.
- Iowa City, IA – We moved some customers in the St. Louis and Minneapolis markets from Greenwood, IN to Iowa City, IA last week.
Resources
to Help You Develop a More Sustainable Supply Chain
We’re always looking for new ways to deepen our commitment to sustainable business practices. In that spirit, we would like to recommend two resources to you, as members of our supply chain:
- Participate in the pilot testing of the National Sustainable Agriculture Standard (LEO-4000), a comprehensive sustainability standard for agricultural crops with four levels of certification. Contact Michael Arny at Leonardo Academy to learn more.
- Join the Sustainable Food Trade Association (SAFTA) to get support and resources to integrate sustainability throughout your operations.
Click
here to learn more.
MARKETING
UNFI
Joins IX-One Product Data Exchange
UNFI has joined the IX-ONE product data exchange as a founding
member. IX-ONE is a membership based platform that provides independently
verified and standardized product information to suppliers, brokers,
distributors, retailers and key partners in the organic, natural and specialty
products industry. The solution allows its members royalty-free use of all
applicable data and images to run their businesses.
We will be supporting an IX-One product
data capture station located near our York, PA distribution center. UNFI
recognizes the industry-wide need for a comprehensive solution to the problem
of dysfunctional product data and images. We strongly encourage you to join
IX-ONE. We believe it will help streamline new item setup, increase sales and
create efficiencies for the entire industry. Contact IX-One at info@IX-ONE.net
or (904) 512-3200 for more information.
Digital
Consumer Circulars
Our Natural Connection and Healthy
Advantage program will have a new digital feature beginning with January
circulars. Participating retailers will be able to post the circulars on their
websites, and both they and their customers will be able to share them via
social media. Plus, consumers will be able to create shopping lists and use
their tablet or smart phone to view the circulars.
2015
Tabletop Show Registration is Open
UNFI Tabletop Shows are a great
opportunity to get in front of buyers, and I hope you’re making plans to
attend. Space is limited and we will sell out, so don’t delay, click
here to register.
- Orlando Show: February 19-20, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL
- Foxwoods Show: May 13-14, Fox Tower at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, CT
- Portland Show: June 3-4, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR
Thank you to those who participated in
the 2014 post-show survey. Using that feedback we’ll be making improvements in
2015:
- Customers asked for more time to buy and visit suppliers at the Orlando show, so we’ll extend the show hours by opening the half day before.
- Suppliers said that a Friday show made travel back home difficult. Since the venue can only provide us a Thursday/Friday event, we’re closing the show at 2 p.m. on Friday to provide more travel time.
- Customers identified new products as the #2 top reason for attending our tabletop shows (#1 was the deals). Therefore, we’re offering more opportunities to show off your new products.
- Customers said they want to see your products featured at the Healthy Breakfast, so we’re offering Breakfast Sponsorships for several food categories at each show.
- We want to help you strengthen your brand awareness, and have added new sponsorship opportunities like massage and recycling stations. Custom sponsorships are also available.
If you have any questions, contact events@unfi.com.
2015
Consumer and Trade Marketing Programs
Reach retailers and consumers with
results-driven Marketing Programs available for 2015. Click
here to learn more.
Customer
Portal Web Advertising
Good news about our Customer Portal
website―suppliers are seeing up to a 500% increase in traffic to product
listing pages as a result of their banner ads. Consider including banner ads as
part of your growth strategy. You can secure your product listing pages for
$1,200/year/brand if you sign up before December 31, 2014. Otherwise, in January,
those pages will be available for others at $500/month/brand (maximum 2
consecutive months). Check out our Case
Studies and contact Laurie Donohue
for more information.
Holiday
2015
Planning has begun for our 2015 Winter
Holiday catalog. The catalog will have two sections: Holiday Specials, for
items stocked and on deal through the holiday season, and Holiday Pre-order for
‘in-and-out’ items ordered in advance by retailers. It will be published in
conjunction with our May and June Table Top Shows, and shipped with June
Monthly Specials. Advertising opportunities include Customer Portal banner ads,
webinars, email and styled advertorials. Click
here to learn more.
East
Region Advertising Agreement Billing Schedule Adjustment
We’re adjusting our East Region
advertising agreement billing schedule to correspond with calendar quarters and
our West Region billing schedule. Therefore, instead of the usual Sept-Oct-Nov
quarterly billing, we will do a one-time adjustment and bill for four months
(Sept-Oct-Nov-Dec). Then, beginning in
January 2015, advertising agreements will be billed quarterly, in Jan, April,
July and October. For questions, contact your SRM.
UNFI’S NEWEST CHANNEL―GOURMET/ETHNIC
One of UNFI’s greatest opportunities
for growth is to Build out the Store,
ensuring that we can meet virtually all of the needs of our retail customers,
ranging from center store to the entire perimeter. In keeping with this
strategy, we’ve formed a new channel―Gourmet/Ethnic.
We often use the term “specialty” in
conjunction with this class of trade, but as we look at our greatest growth
potential across the retail landscape, we are intentionally focusing on the
“Gourmet” channel as a customer class that is unique in both their needs from a
distributor perspective and their go-to market strategy. As such, we have
determined that this channel must have a renewed attention and energy afforded
to it, along with a unique supporting structure, discipline and leadership.
One of our key focus areas will be in
major metropolitan markets where we have new distribution centers and
significant capacity to invest in this highly differentiated assortment. We’ll
also be stretching this channel across the country to encompass what we today
call “Independent Supermarkets”, or those customers with a similar need to be
nimble and competitive in an ever-changing retail environment.
To learn more about the Gourmet/Ethnic
Channel team, click
here.
THRIVE / SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSFORMATION PROJECT
We’re underway on a major initiative
called Thrive,
which will improve our processes and technologies for better supplier and customer
experiences. For any questions on this, email us.
Here’s the latest:
- One Source is a project that will provide better national data, standardized reports and enhanced analytics capabilities. It will greatly improve our ability to share this type of information with our business partners.
- Inventory Optimization (IO), our advanced forecasting system for buying, is in use at all of our West Region distribution centers. Our East Region rollout began on July 7th with Racine, Iowa City and Greenwood fully converted to date. All remaining East Region distribution centers will be converted by November.
Our Auburn, WA distribution center has
been operating with the new Warehouse Management (WM) for two months and service
levels have now normalized. We’re focused on capitalizing on the positive
improvements we expect from WM: lower selection errors, lower billed/not
received issues, and less damaged product due to better pallet building.
Thank you for your support of
UNFI. Please feel free to reach out to
me or your SRM with any questions and comments.
John Raiche
Vice President, Marketing