Happy New Year to our valued supplier and broker partners! On December 7th, CEO Sandy Douglas and I hosted our second Supplier Success Series webinar. Among other topics, we touched on UNFI’s Q1 Earnings Recap, our progress towards our One UNFI goal as part of a multiyear transformation, and the UpNext program. I invite you to view a recording of this webinar here.
Supplier Deduction Dispute Management
As of
January 2024, all deduction disputes and inquiries are to be sent to supplierdeductiondisputemgmt@unfi.com. Any emails that would have been sent to deductions@unfi.com, deductionsexpedite@unfi.com, and/or merchandisingservices@unfi.com should now be directed to the new
alias to better serve you.
Northeast US Repack Initiative
The Northeast US Repack initiative launched in October 2023, and was one of the first significant transformative steps in implementing UNFI’s multi-echelon distribution strategy. This future state model will support UNFI’s objectives to provide our customers with a One Truck/One Invoice experience. This initiative has improved service level and increased network capacity while enabling UNFI to offer a broader assortment to our Conventional and Natural customers and expanding the market for our suppliers. Leveraging our unit pick automation system will continue to improve fulfillment accuracy, quality of service, and increase network capacity within our Northeast distribution centers (DCs) to support growth.
We have
completed our first two consolidations planned in this project with our
Dayville and Chesterfield DCs being serviced by Carlisle as our unit pick
re-distribution facility. The third
consolidation in Hudson Valley is planned for early 2024. We thank you for your continued support of
this initiative.
Shelf Execution Program (Home Store)
We are excited to announce the expansion of our Shelf Execution (Home Store) Program to a limited group of Independent Natural Customers, who have committed to doing this work with UNFI. In May, we informed you that our goal was to expand our offering in early 2024 to include this group. We are centering our focus on customers that purchase Natural, Specialty, and Organic products shipped from our Natural DCs.
UNFI is committed to supplying exceptional customer service and merchandising support to our retailers. The services include New Item Innovation, Express Lanes/Category Reviews, Remodels, New Store Openings, Re-Tagging, and New Customer Affiliations.
The program also offers several benefits, including:
- Improved consistency of reset execution through enhanced traceability and accountability
- Speed to shelf for new item introductions
- Enhanced planogram integrity
- Real-time reporting with image capability via a secure web portal for suppliers
To provide this support for customers, our suppliers will receive a service fee for merchandising work performed. The fee will be calculated using the previous year’s 52-week purchases on all UPC coded products which aligns with our current fee structure. The initial deduction will take place in February 2024. This marks a transition from exclusively relying on supplier and broker resources to support in-store activities and deliver our best-in-class execution program.
To
confirm a retailer’s participation and determine what level of support will be
required, please send an inquiry to retail.execution@unfi.com.
myUNFI Portal: Carrier Self Enrollment
We have
added functionality to the myUNFI portal which now allows users to self-enroll
as a carrier. This improved process will
allow for improved appointment visibility, automated appointment set-up, and
the ability to reschedule an appointment one time. For multiple changes, you will still need to
contact an Inbound Logistics team member directly. Learn all about these new
features and how to sign up here.
Supplier Policies
The most
up to date Shipping & Handling Policies can be found here on UNFI’s Supplier Support Site.
Shipping & Handling Policies
The most
up to date Shipping & Handling Policies can be found here on UNFI’s Supplier Support Site.
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.
