SpartanNash issues code of conduct for vendors

Grocery wholesaler and retailer SpartanNash is implementing a “Vendor Code of Conduct” that delineates its expectations for compliance and commitment by its supplier and other trading partners. 

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based SpartanNash said the Vendor Code of Conduct will be distributed in the coming weeks to its more than 13,000 vendors, suppliers and contractors for acknowledgement and compliance. All SpartanNash vendors are expected to act in accordance with the code, which sets guidelines for how trading partners conduct their businesses, and sign an acknowledgement stating their intentions to comply, the company said.

“As part of our people-first culture, we hold our family of nearly 19,000 associates accountable for living our core values and adhering to our Code of Business Conduct,” Kathleen Mahoney, executive vice president and chief legal officer at SpartanNash, said in a statement. “We are committed to operating in a legal, ethical, safe, fair and environmentally responsible manner, and we expect our vendors, suppliers and contractors to do the same. By developing the Vendor Code of Conduct, we have created greater transparency for vendors into what our expectations are in working with SpartanNash.”

SpartanNash said its Vendor Code of Conduct requires its business partners and service providers to act ethically and with integrity, avoid conflicts of interest, and act in compliance with laws and contracts. On a broader level, the code also calls on vendors to protect privacy and data, source minerals responsibly, protect human rights, support vendor diversity and inclusion, and adhere to environmental stewardship efforts. The distributor's vendor conduct code will be made available on its website as well.

“SpartanNash partners with thousands of great suppliers, food manufacturers, vendors and contractors to fuel our supply chain and optimize our business operations,” according to Lori Raya, executive vice president and chief merchandising and marketing officer at SpartanNash. “Our teams will be reaching out to our partners to share and explain the Vendor Code in the coming weeks. Based on the relationships we have formed as the country’s fifth-largest food distributor and a leading distributor of grocery products to military commissaries around the world, we anticipate our partners will appreciate our transparency on conduct expectations.”

Totaling $9.35 billion in net sales last year, SpartanNash operates grocery wholesale, military commissary distribution and retail grocery business units, serving customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Djibouti. Its retail network encompasses 154 corporate-owned supermarkets under such banners as Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery and Dan’s Supermarket.