UNFI Updates May 2026

UNFI Team Update
As part of UNFI’s strategic focus on becoming a more effective and efficient partner, they are strengthening the Natural Merchandising organization to better support how they work with the supplier community. To deepen category expertise and improve coordination across teams, effective April 1^st Natural Merchandising will now be organized into three areas of focus:

• Supplier Experience Managers (formerly Supplier Relationship Managers) will provide dedicated support and guidance for supplier partners. Aligned by industry experience, sales volume, and partnership needs, they will serve as day‑to‑day contacts to help clarify processes, support planning, and resolve issues efficiently.
• Category Development Managers (formerly Sales Execution Managers) will support customers and sales teams with localized category expertise. They will help bring forward innovation, support promotional and assortment execution, and collaborate regionally to provide consistent, high-quality customer support.
• Category Managers will lead enterprise-wide, data-informed category strategies to deliver strong, customer-ready assortments across natural, organic, and specialty categories. They will partner closely with Supplier Experience Managers and Category Development Managers by sharing insights, guidance, and training to help ensure alignment from planning to execution.

UNFI Deduction Dispute Center
UNFI’s Dispute Center is a new way to submit and track natural deduction disputes. The Dispute Center is powered by Direct Commerce technology and accessed from the myUNFI Supplier portal.  To access the Dispute Center log into the myUNFI Supplier Portal. Click on the “Go To Dispute Center” button on the Supplier dashboard.

If you have trouble accessing the Dispute Center contact UNFI at myunfisupplier@unfi.com with your Full Name, E-mail Address and Supplier Remit Number. 

Visit the Direct Commerce helpdesk for guidance on how to use the Dispute Center, such as FAQs and Training resources  Direct Commerce – UNFI

UNFI Pack Change Alignment
To maximize customer fill rates during pack changes, suppliers should anticipate the following behaviors:

• Orders for both the legacy and new product codes may occur concurrently to ensure inventory coverage through the cutover date.
• Orders for the new product code may be placed earlier than historical timing to support truck‑building efforts and minimum order requirements.

How buyers will work with the supplier community:

• Buyers may leverage Order Exceptions to place orders that support continuity of supply during the transition.
• Suppliers and Brokers will provide the first available ship date when the pack change is submitted to UNFI.
• Ongoing collaboration is required to accommodate PO revisions, including potential shipments below minimums, to maintain service levels at cutover.

Joliet (JLN) DC Transition
As part of UNFI’s strategic focus on optimizing their network to more effectively and efficiently serve retailers and suppliers, UNFI is transitioning retailers/suppliers from the Racine, Wisconsin DC to the  Joliet, Illinois, DC, which has expanded capabilities to support long-term growth.  

Key Milestones Timeline for the Racine to Joliet Transition:

3/17/26 — Procurement Workstream Kick‑Off & Announcement Launch of the procurement workstream and formal communication to stakeholders.

3/23/26 — First PO to JLN Initial purchase order issued to JLN to begin the procurement cycle.

4/1/26 — Begin Receiving in JLN JLN starts receiving materials and inventory.

5/3/26 — Begin Phase 1 Shipping Phase 1 shipment activities commence.

5/31/26 — Begin Phase 2 Shipping Phase 2 shipment activities begin.

6/21/26 — Begin Phase 3 Shipping Phase 3 shipment activities start.

7/25/26 — All RAC Inventory Removed All RAC inventory fully cleared and removed.