UNFI Amplifies AI in New Distribution Center

Natural food wholesaler scales up automation capability in sites in Pennsylvania and Washington

1/29/2024

UNFI's soon-to-open distribution center will feature an AI-powered automation system to ensure accuracy and speed operations.

United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) is elevating its automation capability with the installation of an AI-powered robotic system in its latest distribution center in Manchester, Pa. That 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center is set to open this summer, and is part of UNFI’s ongoing efficiency-based transformation initiative.

The AI-powered system is manufactured by tech provider Symbiotic and is expected to be fully in place by spring 2025. The end-to-end solution provides robotic case pick capabilities in the dry grocery area and automates the assembly of customer order pallets.

“We always want to make doing business with UNFI easier for our customers and suppliers, and that means investing in ways to make our supply chain more effective and efficient,” explained COO Erin Horvath. “Automating key distribution centers, such as Centralia and our new facility in Manchester, will help us improve order accuracy and deliver a better overall customer experience, while also reducing operating cost. Symbotic has been a great partner and we’re pleased that the Centralia installation is on schedule, allowing us to begin implementation of our next automation system in Manchester.”

This is UNFI’ second implementation of the Symbiotic technology. The first system is deploying soon at UNFI’s distribution center in Centralia, Wash.

In December, the company reported that operating expenses as a percentage of net sales increased during the first quarter of its fiscal year, driven by ongoing investments in transformation initiatives.

Providence, R.I.-based UNFI delivers a wide 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, e-commerce providers and foodservice customers. The largest publicly traded grocery distributor in America, the company is No. 20 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.