UNFI Supplier Policies
Please review our updated Supplier Policies which are located on UNFI’s Supplier Support Site.
UNFI Press Release Policy
As specified in our Supplier Policies, without the written consent of UNFI, Supplier may not make or issue any public announcement, press release, advertisement, or marketing materials that refer to UNFI, to UNFI’s purchase of Products from Supplier, or to the subject matter of any agreement with UNFI.
All press releases and/or external announcements, including those from vendors, customers, community partners, and industry organizations, that use UNFI’s name, brand/logo, likeness, or description of our business or business relationships with others, must receive written approval from UNFI’s media relations team and that of either the Vice President of Communications or Chief Corporate Affairs Officer.
Approval of press releases are not guaranteed and must meet a business need that supports UNFI’s company narrative, be part of one of our strategic growth initiatives, or have SLT support and approval. Engaging UNFI’s media relations team early in the process will allow us to help navigate the best options for supporting any request. Press release reviews by UNFI require a minimum of four business days for review.
UNFI may edit any language specific to our company, or the context win which the business relationship is described. These edits must be accepted as part of the approval process. If a press release is approved for distribution, it must be done on a day/time that is also approved by the company, to ensure releases don’t overlap or interfere with other UNFI planned announcements.
Please contact these individuals with questions:
• Jeff Swanson, VP of Communications, 612-306-7768, jeffrey.s.swanson@unfi.com
• Mike Wilken, Manager of Public Relations, 612-940-3876, michael.wilken@unfi.com
Shipping & Handling Updates
UNFI is committed to building the best practices possible for our Suppliers and Transportation Carrier Partners. In moving towards a one company experience, aligning receiving policies has become a key focus. There are updates to the handling service fee structure to improve consistency, align with current market rates, and improve transparency for our partners.
The per case unloading rate will be 12.5 cents. All DCs will have the same per case structure and rate. Rates based upon “finished pallets” will be discontinued. As a result, some suppliers will experience lower overall costs, while others may see a modest increase. In totality, this change will result in an overall increase that is significantly less than the inflation rate.
UNFI will strictly enforce our Pallet Placard requirements. UNFI continues to receive many unlabeled/unidentifiable pallets. This leads to negative impacts to our join customers’ service level, potential shrink/loss of product integrity, and significant loss of productivity.
Please review this document located on UNFI’s Supplier Support Site for more information.
UNFI Webinar Series
UNFI is excited to announce our upcoming Climate Action Webinar Series. Join us, along with the team from Climate Collaborative and Shift Advantage, to explore the steps you can take to accelerate your climate action.
These webinars, informed by our Climate Action Guide, will cover the four stages of climate action: measure, commit, impact, and disclose. They are perfect for anyone on your team that wants to learn more about how to take climate action and will feature case studies of companies on the leading-edge of this work.
Please get the word out to your teams. Register now to attend or to receive the recording after these events. You must register for each webinar separately.
- MEASURE – Learn more about the why and how of measuring your footprint
- Register Now: October 17, 2022; 1pm EST
- COMMIT – Explore why it is important to set a climate target and the different organizations that you can make a commitment through
- Register Now: October 25, 2022; 1pm EST
- IMPACT – Understand the full impact of your climate actions so that you report against your goals, engage your team, and learn from your efforts
- Register Now: November 14, 2022; 1pm EST
- DISCLOSE – Whether you are disclosing to shareholders or reporting your impacts in your sustainability report, disclosure is critical to ensuring transparency and engagement with your efforts
- Register Now: December 7, 2022; 1pm EST
Supplier Diversity: Benefits of Diverse Certification
It is our policy that minority, women, and diverse-owned business enterprises (MWBE) have an equal opportunity to participate in every aspect of our organization. Suppliers who are MWBE and who work with MWBE will be viewed as providing added value to our organization.
Benefits of certification include free marketing programs, added trade show benefits, and additional customer opportunities.
Facebook Posting Program
UNFI has an exciting new advertising program that offers our suppliers the ability to reach consumers through participating retailers’ Facebook pages. Our Facebook Posting Program allows us to post supplier ads directly to consumers via a retailer’s Facebook page. The ad will appear in their newsfeed for all the store’s followers to like, comment, and share. More information can be found here on UNFI’s Supplier Support Site.
With questions, please reach out to your Supplier Merchandising Manager.
Supplier Merchandising Management (SMM) Updates
An updated list of UNFI SMMs, contact info, line, and category assignments can be found here on UNFI’s Supplier Support Site.
Procurement Team Updates
An updated list of UNFI Procurement Team contacts and assignments can be found here on UNFI’s Supplier Support Site.
Accounts Payable (AP) Updates
An updated list of AP contacts and assignments can be found here on UNFI's Supplier Support Site.
