The food distribution industry has long been criticized for its laggard nature, slow to adapt, resistance to change, and lack of competitiveness in today’s rapidly evolving business environment. However, one company that has defied these stereotypes is Unipac, a leading food distributor that has embraced digital transformation and leveraged technology to drive value throughout the supply chain and enhance customer experiences.

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Traditionally the industry has relied on age-old practices characterized by manual processes, paper-based documentation, and limited visibility into the supply chain. This approach has hindered agility, responsiveness, and overall efficiency. The absence of real-time data has made it difficult to address demand fluctuations, optimize inventory management, and evolving consumer expectations.

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Recognizing the need for change, Unipac embarked on a digital transformation journey to position itself as an industry leader. Combining over 40 years of learnings with proprietary custom technology solutions the company has gained real-time insights into its inventory levels, demand patterns, and market trends. This data-driven approach enables Unipac to optimize its stock levels, minimize wastage, and efficiently respond to changes in customer demand in seconds vs weeks.

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Unipac CEO Mihir Mukherjee says, “In terms of what we have available to disrupt we need to be moving away from servicing demand…to aggregating demand, where we as as distributor can add value to the supply chain by talking to multiple customers, helping them forecast their demand and then aggregating that to give better buy and sell decisions for them.”

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Unipac continues to invest in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) to proactively identify new trends, streamline logistics and anticipate customer demands. This allows them to change their model from servicing demand to aggregating demand which in turn provides tremendous cost savings and availability benefits to its customers.

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The digital transformation journey started with the goal of maximizing value to its customers. By leveraging digital solutions throughout its supply chain, Unipac has enhanced operational efficiency, improved customer experiences, and positioned itself as a leader in a rapidly changing market. As other companies in the industry recognize the need for digital transformation, Unipac stands as a shining example of the immense benefits that technology can bring to the food distribution sector.

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