Food & Beverage

UNFI builds a predictive, prevention-focused safety program with Samsara

With Samsara, UNFI improves fleet visibility, reduces claims and injuries, accelerates investigations, and strengthens a culture of proactive, data-driven safety across a nationwide network.

Meet UNFI

7,500+ ASSETS

30,000+ CUSTOMER LOCATIONS SERVED

230,000+ PRODUCTS DELIVERED TO CUSTOMERS

The Challenge

UNFI needed a single, scalable solution to support their growing operations

United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) is North America's largest publicly traded wholesale distributor of natural, organic, specialty, and conventional foods. Supporting more than 30,000 customer locations and moving approximately 230,000 products, UNFI operates a vast supply chain that includes national distribution centers, third-party transportation partners, and a private fleet of over 7,500 assets.

As UNFI grew, scaling safety and operational visibility across their expansive network became increasingly complex. Existing telematics systems provided substantial data, but much of it was retrospective and difficult for frontline teams to translate into timely action. "Before Samsara, UNFI's safety ecosystem was fragmented. We relied on manual reviews and had limited visibility into our regional data, which made it harder to engage our drivers in a meaningful way," said Tehzin Chadwick, Chief Safety Officer. Coaching and investigations often required additional coordination, and delivering consistent training to a geographically dispersed driver population, many of whom do not regularly report to a central location, presented ongoing logistical challenges. UNFI looked for a single, scalable solution to unite and standardize their fleet operations.

Samsara helps our leaders better understand our frontline employee experience so we can continue improving the safety environments they are working in every day.

Tehzin Chadwick

Chief Safety Officer

The Solution

A connected platform to modernize fleet safety

To support their growing network, UNFI selected Samsara for its ease of use, real-time visibility, and ability to unify operations on a single platform. "Samsara took our separate systems and put everything in one platform. It's intuitive and simple," said John Begin, Director of Fleet Safety. The team deployed AI Dash Cams to deliver objective insight into safety events and accelerate investigations, along with Samsara's Fleet Telematics and ELD solution to support compliance and broader transportation operations. UNFI also introduced AI-powered coaching tools to enable drivers to independently review events and receive more timely, consistent feedback. "The million-dollar question every fleet manager asks is, 'How do we prevent incidents?'" said Begin. "The real 'aha' moment with Samsara was seeing how quickly data turns into action."

To drive adoption, UNFI took a thoughtful, phased approach to change management. Leadership emphasized transparency from the outset, positioning the technology as a protective tool grounded in objective video to help build trust and reinforce accountability. The company engaged frontline teams to provide real-world feedback, ensuring the platform reflected operational needs and encouraging stronger buy-in. By standardizing Samsara across departments and incorporating shared video learnings into driver meetings, UNFI fosters a culture of continuous fleet-wide learning.

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The Results

Reduced auto and workers comp claims alongside greater driver engagement

Since deploying Samsara, UNFI has achieved meaningful improvements across safety, operational performance, and culture. "Driver feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," said Begin. "They like to hear the recap of their week, what they can do better, and what they did that was instrumental in making their day safer."

Automated insights and AI-supported workflows allow safety events to be identified and addressed earlier with drivers. "With Samsara AI features, we're coaching earlier, more consistently, and with much stronger context," said Begin. Grounded in facts, these conversations have strengthened trust across the fleet and reinforced a culture of shared accountability. As a result, the company achieved an all-time high in fleet safety performance, marking a clear shift to a more predictive, prevention-focused mode.

Finally, access to video evidence has enabled faster claim resolution and driver exoneration, helping reduce unnecessary costs and streamline communication during investigations. "We've seen a reduction in our auto claim frequency, and more importantly, a reduction in the severity of those claims," said Chadwick. "We've also seen an improvement in our OSHA reportable injury frequency rate as well as stronger, more consistent driver Safety Scores."

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