'Green Light Receiving' Is Speeding Up DC Deliveries, Wegmans Says

ORLANDO, Fla. -- In an effort to clear up "dock congestion" at its warehouses, Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y., has engaged in a program called "Green Light Receiving" with The Hershey Co., Hershey, Pa., as part of a broader program to improve inbound receiving, said Mike Bargmann, senior vice president of distribution and manufacturing, Wegmans. Bargmann described the process yesterday at the Food Marketing Institute's Distribution/Supply Chain Conference here. "We just take the [shipments from Hershey] at our warehouse and don't count them," he said. "Our back-office systems check on accuracy and have not found anything that might stop us from doing this. I would like to do it with more vendors." Wegmans has achieved 99.96% accuracy in its Green Light Receiving, he noted. "We're finally doing something about dock congestion," he added. Also at the conference, Bruce Hancock, director of customer service and supply chain collaboration, Hershey, said "dwell time" of trucks delivering goods at Wegmans' warehouses is one hour and 16 minutes -- a "world-class" level. -- Michael Garry