Warehouse & Logistics

Wholesalers & Distributors

Q&A: CEO Tony Sarsam says SpartanNash has set ‘different trajectory for growth’

Three-year plan designed to fast-track expansion for wholesale and retail businesses.

Retailers

UNFI's truck driver program Warehouse to Wheels gains traction

The in-house paid training program helps UNFI associates fulfill career advancement while building a pipeline of future truck drivers.

The food company, which is a retailer, wholesaler and distributor, sold the temperature-controlled production and distribution facilities to Provender Partners, which intends to lease them to other grocers.

The grocery wholesaler opened a 125,000-square-foot refrigerated distribution center in Londonderry, New Hampshire, to expand its capability to deliver products across the Northeast.

The new location, scheduled to open next Wednesday, will occupy one million square feet, continuing the natural and organic wholesaler's growth and capabilities in the greater Dallas area.

The retailer last month expanded its partnership with warehouse automation specialist Symbotic, which will see its tech implemented in all 42 of Walmart's regional distribution centers.

The distributor said the new 500,000-square-foot warehouse would serve Sprouts, Albertsons and other customers in the Phoenix and Las Vegas areas.

While COVID and related supply-chain and labor woes are directly affecting the wholesaler, UNFI's positioning also highlights its role as a solution, lifting optimism for fiscal 2022.

The National Grocers Association said the hours-of-service modifications, passed last year, are helping retailers weather ongoing supply-chain woes.

Advances in technology, labor pressures and the shift to digital have brought warehouse automation to the forefront, says Berkshire Grey’s Steve Johnson.

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