COVID-19 is a dynamic situation with far-reaching implications, as seen by the cancellation and
postponement of many major events and activities this week. As North America’s largest publicly-traded food wholesaler, we know we are a critical link in the overall supply chain. All decisions we’re making are to ensure associates safety and business continuity. I’m extremely proud of our teams’ response to the increased volume on all fronts and, particularly, in support of our customers. Please know we continue monitoring the latest CDC and FDA information, and are taking necessary precautions to keep all our stakeholders safe during this time.
Unprecedented product demand has continued building over the past week. The COVID-19 volume
surge has now impacted all UNFI DC’s and some warehouse locations are receiving orders for 200%-500% normal demand. In addition to historic demand for “pantry loading” SKUs we are now
experiencing surges on additional product categories as consumers prepare for school children being
home and adapt to eating more meals at home. We’ve taken steps to build product inventory and will
continue working diligently with you to secure all products. On Sunday afternoon, our CEO participated in a conference call with the White House to reaffirm our commitment to working tirelessly to meet the needs of customers and consumers across the country. You can read about it here.
We know this is a rapidly-changing and quickly evolving situation. Your support is critical. We ask your immediate help in the following ways:
- Please keep your UNFI contacts apprised of any potential supply disruptions so we may ensure the best possible support of our joint customers
- Reconfirm any planned in-person UNFI meetings; arrange to conduct them virtually, whenever possible
- Please present any collaborative opportunities so, together, we may maximize our ability to address this unprecedented retail demand
Additionally, we want you to know about a change we’ve made at our distribution centers to better
accommodate the significant increase in inbound and outbound deliveries. Specifically, suppliers should know that:
- Effective immediately we will be waiving late truck compliance fees (due to COVID-19)
- This change will extend for the next 30 days at which point we’ll revisit the situation
Regarding upcoming shows:
- On March 5th, UNFI announced the transition of our Fresh Show, scheduled for April 1, 2020 in Sacramento, CA to an online show, supported with web-based participation tools which allow customers and suppliers to collaboratively drive sales for the pre-defined shipping windows.
- The next scheduled UNFI event is our Portland, OR Tabletop Show on May 5-6, 2020. Today, we’ve decided to replace this in-person show with a virtual show, also supported by web-based participation tools. As a result of this decision, suppliers will receive a refund of the majority of their previously committed booth fee.
- Future UNFI events include:
- Mohegan Sun (Connecticut) Tabletop Show June 10-11, 2020
- Minneapolis, MN Expo August 9-11, 2020
- Tony’s Fine Foods Show August 19, 2020
- Las Vegas Tabletop, September 30 – October 1, 2020
- If you have committed to attend or exhibit at any of these events, we ask you to consider not changing your plans at this time. UNFI’s promise is to continue proactively addressing future events in a timely fashion, and not put you in a position of incurring any unnecessary expenses.
As of today, we are pleased that we have not had any confirmed incidents in our warehouse or offices. We have created and are evolving business continuity plans including preparing for all situations, including outbreaks such as we’re experiencing right now with COVID-19. This means we are readying ourselves for a scenario in which we might have to temporarily close a facility or shift work due to environmental constraints (i.e. travel restrictions). To ensure we protect our associates and that full-scale facility operations continue without interruption, we’ve taken further preventative measures and made several key decisions this week, including:
- Social distancing – we’ve communicated and implemented plans to minimize participation in any large group meeting, as well as eliminated all non-essential business travel
- Remote work preparation – out of an abundance of caution we’re preparing those associateswho have the capability to potentially work remotely
- Minimizing office meetings with outside suppliers/customers – we are reducing in-person meetings at our offices and facilities to only those that are essential, and seeking alternate means of conducting business partner meetings
- Tacoma office closure – we’ve closed our Tacoma office and asked all associates there to work remotely for the next 14 days, as the state of Washington continues to be one of the more high-risk areas
- Engaging professional cleaning companies to conduct deep cleaning in our distribution centers and office facilities to help ensure a safe working environment for our associates
COVID-19 and the corresponding consumer behavior remain unpredictable but, with your help and
prioritization of our partnership, we’ll continue adapting to meet consumer and retailer needs. Thank
you.
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