<p><strong>San Francisco, CA </strong><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> United Natural Foods Inc., has partnered up with Buyer's Best Friend to debut the world's first unified ordering system. Buyer's Best Friend is the largest direct vendor network and catalog. Grocery chains can order from direct vendors via iUNFI, as easily as distributed brands. The innovation saves buyers time and makes it easier to work with specialty, artisan and local brands, according to a press release. The new platform solves real logistics problems, for direct vendors, that impact sales and distribution.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> UNFI will begin to sell the iUNFI devices later this summer. For customers with their own iPhones they will be able to simply download the iUNFI app from Apple's App Store for free. Customers will be able to scan product using the iPhone's built-in camera or purchase a scanner that fits on the iPhone from UNFI. For smaller orders customers can just use the touch screen. The BBF solution will be available this Fall.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The partnership also enables buyers to order from the BBF network of over 109,000 SKUs and 1,700 brands, and enables new brands to gain access to BBF's network of 3,000 accounts that order direct. "Many iUNFI customers have asked for direct vendor support, and we are excited to partner with BBF to bring our customers this value added solution," said John Raiche, Vice President Marketing of UNFI. "This application delivers a high level of productivity for retailer buyers."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Because iUNFI and Buyer's Best Friend handle all the complexities behind the scenes, no new technology or training is needed for either the vendors or buyers. iUNFI has only been available to select stores until now.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> "Consumers want more local and artisan brands, but for grocers and other buyers, it can be difficult to manage dozens, let alone hundreds of direct vendor relationships," said Adam Sah, CEO of Buyer's Best Friend. "We built Buyer's Best Friend to bring new and artisan brands to a wider audience. Partnering with the industry leader is the best way to bring thousands of amazing up-and-coming brands into the hands of millions of consumers."</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.unfi.com/Pages/default.aspx" target="_new"> UNFI </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
