Grocery Wholesaler UNFI Reorganizes Pacific Northwest Distribution Network

UNFI, formerly known as United Natural Foods Inc., is reorganizing its distribution system in the Pacific Northwest, which will improve synergies with its completed acquisition of Supervalu.

The grocery wholesaler plans to build a new 1.2 million-square-foot facility in Centralia, Wash., and expand one of its current Ridgefield, Wash., facilities to 800,000 square feet. Currently, UNFI operates a total of five distribution centers (DCs); with the reorganization, the DCs in Tacoma and Auburn, Wash., and Portland, Ore., will close, as will the smaller second facility in Ridgefield.

The new Centralia facility and expanded Ridgefield distribution center are expected to be fully operational in the second half of 2019, with customer transition completed in early 2020.

“The construction of Centralia and expansion of our Ridgefield facility represents the first significant step in our optimization of UNFI’s DC network following the acquisition of SUPERVALU, allowing us to better serve all our customers throughout the Pacific Northwest,” said Steve Spinner, UNFI chairman and CEO. “These are two tremendous facilities that, once complete, will provide a great working environment for our associates, an improved and efficient layout for inventory management, optimized logistics route planning, and an ability to help us deliver on the long-term synergy goals we outlined as a part of the Supervalu acquisition.”

UNFI, based in Providence, R.I. and Minneapolis, is a grocery wholesaler and distributor offering a variety of products to customers throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent grocers, conventional supermarket chains, ecommerce retailers and foodservice customers.