WEGMANS TO ROLL OUT ENHANCED INBOUND FLEET SOFTWARE

CHRIS O'LEARY

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Wegmans Food Markets here will soon roll out new logistics management software that will enable the retailer to maximize the number of full-truckload, consolidated vendor shipments it receives.

The 52-store retailer will reportedly begin implementing the new system as early as this month and may have the system on-line by the end of 1996, industry sources said. Wegmans confirmed it plans to use the software but last week told SN it had yet to decide on a rollout schedule.

"The application will enable us to plan the freight movements into our distribution facilities on a dynamic basis," Mike Bargmann, director of warehousing and logistics, said in a statement. "Our expectation is to reduce our inbound transportation costs as a percentage of gross sales."

Wegmans will use the new software to replace an older system that planned and scheduled inbound freight deliveries to its distribution center. While it gained a number of efficiencies through its current system, Wegmans said its new software will be more flexible and have access to a more extensive data base to further increase consolidated ordering opportunities.

Because Wegmans is pursuing initiatives like continuous replenishment and computer-assisted ordering, which often result in less-than-truckload orders, it becomes crucial to use a system that will find opportunities to consolidate orders and reduce the number of costly LTL vendor shipments.

"This system takes us to the next level because it optimizes the [incoming] freight, where our existing system does not," said Tim Murphy, logistics manager. "The [software] will look at the opportunities of combining shipments."

Wegmans anticipates the new system, provided by Manugistics, Rockville, Md., will provide a more complete and highly detailed picture of the contents of all its inbound deliveries, Murphy said.

For example, if a shipment had been scheduled as a full truckload in the past, distribution officials had to take the carrier at its word. In some cases, however, there was still room in the truck for additional order consolidation.

"In the past we may have missed that opportunity because we had the mindset that a 'full' truck is full," he told SN. "With [the new system] we'll have the opportunity to put something else in the trailer, and by doing that save on inbound freight costs.

"We see a lot of opportunities to combine LTL freight shipments and optimize all our inbound freight," he added.