Archived Items that are empty (AP Bin)

[targetry]

So today, I was working the Service Desk and I had a team member that found an empty package on the sales floor and she gave it to me. When I went to scan the item in the "Sort Items" feature and say its empty. My GSA said that she needed to to it thou the PDA.

Basically, the way my GSTL told me was to use the register to process empty packages (said nothing about using the PDA) and place the item/box in the AP Bin.

Now, I know there are multiple ways yo do thinks, but is there a right way to process empty packages for the AP Bin?

 

[redeye58]

Your GSTL is right: you can do it thru the sort function as long as it gets put in the AP bin.

 

[JustJoe]

I've used both. Using the register is significantly easier.

 

[forgetfulSDA]

At my store I ask/train my team to scan empty packages through the PDA since when you do it through the PDA it has you scan the aisle you found it on the sales floor. This is awesome for review/intelligence gathering since I can see through my report where everything was found without having to check each empty. The other plus is that I tell my team to throw the empties away since I already have all the information I need from the PDA.

 

[mrknownothing]

At my store I ask/train my team to scan empty packages through the PDA since when you do it through the PDA it has you scan the aisle you found it on the sales floor. This is awesome for review/intelligence gathering since I can see through my report where everything was found without having to check each empty. The other plus is that I tell my team to throw the empties away since I already have all the information I need from the PDA.

This. Using the PDA allows you to provide more info about where the empty package was found. We don't throw out the empties because then AP can see what the item should look like.

To log an empty package in the PDA:
1. Go to All Applications. Scroll down to the 3rd(?) page and go to Sort Stuff.
2. "Where are you sorting?" Other location.
3. If you have to select a sort set-up, select Sort All.
4. "Do you have a portable printer with red media?" No.
5. Scan the item.
6. Hit Empty Package.
7. "Where was the item found?" Sales Floor.
8. Scan the barcode for the aisle number. If the inline aisle number barcode is missing or doesn't scan, you can use the barcode on the corresponding endcap (or vice versa).
9. Hit Done Sorting.
10. "Done sorting? All carts will close." Hit Yes.
11. Bring the empty package to the service desk and deposit it in the AP bin (or if you're at forgetfulSDA's store, throw it out). In some stores, you may have to log the empty package in a paper log near the AP bin.

 

[JustJoe]

8. Scan the barcode for the aisle number. If the inline aisle number barcode is missing or doesn't scan, you can use the barcode on the corresponding endcap (or vice versa).

This is what bothers me most about using the PDA and trying to handle a bunch of these. Softlines TMs in my store love to just turn things in at the fitting room and expect the operator to process it. A while back I printed off a page of aisle location labels and put them in the fitting room binder so I could scan them. I had designated "aisles" for each section in softlines. It would be much easier if we could just type the aisle.

 

[Bosch]

We do through the register, but either write the isle and time on the package or the slips they have we can fill out and in the AP it goes.

And I did not know there was a PDA version of this. Thanks. I got my, learned something new for the day.

 

[daninnj]

For the longest time, our store made labels that said "Name: ____ Date/Time: ______ Aisle: ______" and we would scan in the empty, fill out a label, and stick it on the product and put it in the bin. They disappeared a year or two ago when a new ETL-AP came in, so I would still do it with receipt paper. I was told to stop and just scan it in using the register.

 

[mrknownothing]

For the longest time, our store made labels that said "Name: ____ Date/Time: ______ Aisle: ______" and we would scan in the empty, fill out a label, and stick it on the product and put it in the bin. They disappeared a year or two ago when a new ETL-AP came in, so I would still do it with receipt paper. I was told to stop and just scan it in using the register.

We were told not to use the register to scan empty packages, only the PDA. My AP team prefers to have the aisle locations in the empty package report.

 

[Nauzhror]

For the longest time, our store made labels that said "Name: ____ Date/Time: ______ Aisle: ______" and we would scan in the empty, fill out a label, and stick it on the product and put it in the bin. They disappeared a year or two ago when a new ETL-AP came in, so I would still do it with receipt paper. I was told to stop and just scan it in using the register.

We were told not to use the register to scan empty packages, only the PDA. My AP team prefers to have the aisle locations in the empty package report.

While that might be ideal, our store the salesfoor TM's just bring up the empty packages they find and dump them in the defect bin, so as a cashier we pretty much have to just use the register because using the PDA wouldn't offer any benefit since we'd have no clue where the items were found. Seems like the PDA'd be better if the salesfloor was using it rather than bringing it up to us in the first place.

 

[Noiinteam]

In my store, flow tm's were trained to bring empties to svc desk and telling someone where it was found

 

[commiecorvus]

In my store, flow tm's were trained to bring empties to svc desk and telling someone where it was found

At our store the AP folks would do presentations at the regular huddle and flow huddle (they had they own huddle) every week on something but usually it was how to handle the process for empty packages.
I would find them a lot doing signing and filled out the form every time.

 

[RedMan]

So when they take away our LPDAs (I have one hidden) how do we do the empty package on the MyDevice thing?

 

[mrknownothing]

So when they take away our LPDAs (I have one hidden) how do we do the empty package on the MyDevice thing?

Sort Stuff is a WebApp, so I would imagine it was/will be migrated over to the MyDevices.

 

[thetargetman]

we use the register. it is so much easier and faster. on the super slow days I grab a whole bunch from the "needs to be processed" in the AP bin and get it done.