SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsara Inc. ("Samsara") (NYSE: IOT), the pioneer of the Connected Operations™ Cloud, today announced United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE: UNFI), the largest full-service grocery wholesaling partner in North America, chose Samsara to achieve new sustainability and safety progress. UNFI has adopted Samsara Vehicle Telematics, Asset Gateways, Environmental Monitors, and Video-Based Safety.
“The safety, efficiency, and sustainability improvements UNFI will make with Samsara will help us change our business for the better. A core part of UNFI’s customer and supplier-centric strategy is continuous improvement and better efficiency,” said Gregory Tieder, Senior Director of Corporate Logistics at UNFI.
Reducing Emissions and Waste for a More Sustainable World
The majority of UNFI’s direct emissions are from its fleet, and by the end of its fiscal year 2030, the company has a goal to sharply reduce Scope 1 and 3 emissions from transportation. UNFI has developed an electric vehicle (EV) blueprint, covering multiple California distribution centers and fleets, to better understand where EVs can benefit its operations. It is also using technology, like Samsara Vehicle Telematics, to improve customer deliveries, and reduce fuel-wasting behaviors, like idling, in its existing internal combustion engine-powered trucks.
UNFI’s goal is to achieve zero waste to landfills from distribution centers by fiscal year 2030. The company transports about 41,000 pounds of food daily, and temperature control is critical for product freshness and safety. Each trailer has multiple temperature zones to accommodate the variety of products supplied to its customers on a single route. UNFI uses Samsara Environmental Monitors to ensure food safety and reduce waste from load loss. In addition to the sustainability benefits, these outcomes mean decreased costs for UNFI and a better experience for its customers who rely on UNFI’s products to nourish their communities.
From Forklift to Truck, Increasing Employee Safety Throughout the Supply Chain
Safety is a core value for UNFI and one of its goals is to ensure all 30,000 associates arrive home safely at the end of the day. UNFI believes this effort requires supporting associates with the best training and technology to increase safety.
"UNFI operates 24/7 to meet the needs of our customers. They expect on-time deliveries despite poor weather, heavy traffic, and other challenges we face on the road. High-quality service creates complexity, but we won’t compromise on safety. Samsara helps us to reliably deliver for our customers while also strengthening our safety practices,” said Tieder.
More than 2 million cases are delivered to its customers by UNFI drivers daily, which makes efficient utilization of transportation assets critical. By equipping its trailers with Samsara Asset Gateways, UNFI views their locations in real time. This improved visibility is expected to result in higher utilization of assets, cost savings, and timely service for its customers.
“UNFI is taking incredible steps to improve North America's food system, accelerate its sustainability efforts, and increase associate safety,” said Lara Caimi, President of Worldwide Field Operations at Samsara. “Every day, we see how transformative it is for large, complex organizations to use a single platform to manage and optimize their operations with Samsara. We can't wait to see what UNFI and Samsara accomplish together."
To learn more about Samsara’s platform, visit here.
About Samsara
Samsara (NYSE: IOT) is the pioneer of the Connected Operations™ Cloud, which is a platform that enables organizations that depend on physical operations to harness Internet of Things (IoT) data to develop actionable insights and improve their operations. With tens of thousands of customers across North America and Europe, Samsara is a proud technology partner to the people who keep our global economy running, including the world’s leading organizations across construction, transportation and warehousing, field services, manufacturing, retail, logistics, and the public sector. The company's mission is to increase the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the operations that power the global economy.
Samsara is a registered trademark of Samsara Inc. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
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 delivering value for its stakeholders, visit www.unfi.com.
