BI Tool Reaps Dividends for Wegmans

MICHAEL GARRY

NEW YORK – One produce manager at a Wegmans' store increased sales of berries by 300% by tracking inventory and preventing waste with a business-intelligence system from iVedix, Rochester, N.Y., said Paul Wawryzniak, director of IT, Wegmans Food Markets.

“He looked at all movement trends and had such confidence in the accuracy of the data that he quadrupled the display space and brought in a tremendous amount of product over four to five weeks,” said Wawryzniak during a session Monday at the National Retail Federation’s 100th Annual Convention at the Jacob Javits Convention Center here.

The move raised eyebrows at Wegmans’ headquarters in Rochester. “A category merchant quizzed him, saying, ‘This has to be a mistake; you’re not going to go through this much product,’” said Wawryzniak.

The produce manager used the tool “as a sales forecasting too” rather than a “shrink- management tool,” he noted.