United Natural Foods announces partnership with RELEX Solutions to enhance demand planning capabilities and procurement efficiencies

A key component in UNFI’s transformation, RELEX Solutions will consolidate, and ultimately replace, multiple buying systems, providing a data-driven approach to improve operational efficacy

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE: UNFI) (the “Company” or “UNFI”), today announced a new partnership with RELEX Solutions, a provider of unified supply chain and retail optimization solutions, to implement its industry-leading cloud-based procurement solution. When delivered, the system will consolidate and replace multiple UNFI buying systems and drive efficiencies in demand planning and replenishment. The partnership with RELEX aligns with the transformation of UNFI’s supply chain capabilities and is intended to deliver an enhanced customer experience, while enabling customer growth by integrating advanced data-driven solutions and improving efficiency in operations.

RELEX is expected to provide superior demand planning, ordering, and inventory management capabilities, giving UNFI a holistic view of operations, including future capacity and supply constraints, and streamlining its planning processes. The improved platform will ultimately help optimize inventory across all UNFI categories, including UNFI Fresh, reducing spoilage, improving service levels, and increasing data visibility between UNFI’s suppliers and customers.

Driven by AI and machine learning, RELEX will also consolidate multiple buying systems into one enhanced process, combining a more robust analysis of demand with a more granular approach to procurement. The new platform is expected to become operational at UNFI over the next 12 to 18 months.

“As part of UNFI’s multi-faceted transformation agenda, we’re continuing to implement cutting-edge technology to improve the customer and supplier experience, while increasing operating efficiency,” says Erin Horvath, Chief Operating Officer at UNFI. “RELEX offers a robust, reliable solution that maximizes UNFI’s capabilities, helps automate our network, and optimizes our procurement processes, ensuring the freshness of our products and quality of service to our customers.”

“RELEX is thrilled to be working with UNFI, as ensuring high service levels across all products, including fresh, is close to both of our hearts,” says Frank Lord, Chief Revenue Officer at RELEX. “We look forward to helping UNFI boost visibility across their supply chain so that they can hone the processes that work for them, their suppliers, and their customers.”

About UNFI

UNFI is North America's premier grocery wholesaler delivering the widest variety of fresh, branded, and owned brand products to more than 30,000 locations throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, ecommerce providers, and food service customers. UNFI also provides a broad range of value-added services and segmented marketing expertise, including proprietary technology, data, market insights, and shelf management to help customers and suppliers build their businesses and brands. As the largest full-service grocery partner in North America, UNFI is committed to building a food system that is better for all and is uniquely positioned to deliver great food, more choices, and fresh thinking to customers. To learn more about how UNFI is Fueling the Future of Food, visit www.unfi.com.

About RELEX Solutions

RELEX Solutions helps retailers and consumer brands drive profitable growth across all sales and distribution channels by maximizing customer satisfaction and minimizing operative costs. Our market-leading, unified supply chain and retail planning platform helps retailers and consumer goods companies align and optimize demand, merchandise, supply chain, and operations planning across the end-to-end value chain. We drive record-high product availability, increased sales, improved sustainability, and the best return on investment in inventory, space, workforce, and capacity. Leading brands like Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, Stokke, Rite Aid, Sprouts Farmers Market, AutoZone, and PetSmart trust RELEX to optimize their supply chain and retail planning. Go to relexsolutions.com for more.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding the Company’s business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and management estimates; actual results may differ materially. The risks and uncertainties which could impact these statements include those described in the Company’s filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 30, 2022 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 27, 2022 and other filings the Company makes with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. The Company is not undertaking to update any information contained in this press release to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances. Any estimates of future results of operations are based on a number of assumptions, many of which are outside the Company’s control and should not be construed in any manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. These estimates are subject to change and could differ materially from final reported results.