Spartan Stores, Inc. has reached an agreement with the Teamsters Local 337 related to the retailer’s decision to move its Plymouth, Mich., dry grocery operations to its Grand Rapids, Mich., facility.

Operations at the 415,000-square-foot facility are expected to transition to Grand Rapids by the end of Spartan’s fiscal 2010 fourth quarter, and the company expects to offer opportunities for Plymouth Teamsters employees at its Grand Rapids distribution center.

“We reached [an] agreement with our Plymouth facility bargaining unit employees and [will] offer job opportunities at our Grand Rapids distribution center,” said Dennis Eidson, Spartan’s president and CEO. “This agreement continues our longstanding and cooperative relationship with our collective bargaining unit employees. We are anticipating a seamless transition of operations to our Grand Rapids facility and, in addition to the operational efficiency gains, believe that our distribution customers will benefit from the consolidation initiative.”

The Plymouth transition furthers the Spartan’s supply chain optimization initiative, which is expected to improve operational efficiency by increasing inventory turns, warehouse throughput and capacity utilization while reducing inventory investment requirements.

“We are constantly striving to bolster our leading position as a low-cost, highly efficient and effective grocery distributor,” added Eidson. “When complete, this network optimization plan will further strengthen our position as the leading grocery distributor in Michigan.”

Grand Rapids -based Spartan distributes groceries to about 350 independent grocery stores in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, and also owns and operates 96 retail supermarkets in Michigan, including Family Fare Supermarkets, Glen’s Markets, D&W Fresh Markets, Felpausch Food Centers, and VG’s Food and Pharmacy.