MEGATHREAD 2018-2019 Store Modernization Megathread

[OPINION] How do you feel about these changes?

  • I like them.

  • I dislike them.

Results are only viewable after voting.
BigEyedPhish said:
So, are they rebuilding all DCs, Right now, and remodeling every single one of them, to meet demands, that they themselves set? Keep in mind, this is to roll out a year from now (not much time).

And your not even "sure", just "pretty".

That is alarming.
Click to expand...
They had a test progam Q4 last year to put product on pallets in trailers but now I hear that has ended. The only product grouped by department I see are mixed pallets of diapers coming in and going out PIPO.

There are over 8 miles of conveyor belts on the mezzanine in a Distribution Center. Although they all end on a circular sorter in the Outbound Wing, they begin at many different points so I'm not sure how departments will ever be presorted on a trailer. The best I can see happening is loading a trailer keeping certain departments to the left and others to the right. As long as product comes in mixed it will go out mixed and even if one trailer has one DPCI and another has another DPCI, as long as those trailers are being worked and thrown at the same time, those two DPCIs will be mixed into the same wall (or pallet if on a pallet), in a trailer, regardless if they go to opposite sides of the store.

I do have a question for the Store Unloaders... How many departments are there? Since each case has DPCI, can't departments be sorted when unloading at the store? I would try to make a store map with departments listed and keep departments together that go together in the store. Even if only dividing the store into 4 quadrants, it's better than nothing.
 
ManMythMachine said:
They had a test progam Q4 last year to put product on pallets in trailers but now I hear that has ended. The only product grouped by department I see are mixed pallets of diapers coming in and going out PIPO.

There are over 8 miles of conveyor belts on the mezzanine in a Distribution Center. Although they all end on a circular sorter in the Outbound Wing, they begin at many different points so I'm not sure how departments will ever be presorted on a trailer. The best I can see happening is loading a trailer keeping certain departments to the left and others to the right. As long as product comes in mixed it will go out mixed and even if one trailer has one DPCI and another has another DPCI, as long as those trailers are being worked and thrown at the same time, those two DPCIs will be mixed into the same wall (or pallet if on a pallet), in a trailer, regardless if they go to opposite sides of the store.

I do have a question for the Store Unloaders... How many departments are there? Since each case has DPCI, can't departments be sorted when unloading at the store? I would try to make a store map with departments listed and keep departments together that go together in the store. Even if only dividing the store into 4 quadrants, it's better than nothing.
Click to expand...

We already do this when unloading.
 
BigEyedPhish said:
We already do this when unloading.
Click to expand...
I wasn't sure how much you divided the freight when unloading it. How many areas do you sort it into?

I had a full load of small area rugs one time while working for an LTL carrier. Normally, even for two people it takes 8 to 10 hours to unload one of these if sorting by individual orders. I made a list of which order numbers went together into which doors and we flipped load racks upside down and filled them with rugs. We were done in 4 hours.

"Necessity is the Mother of Invention."

Load racks...

FixedSideTableTopTypefrontview.JPG
 
We sort right off the line to custom blocks. In my store, we have a stationary line about 40 +/- feet we connect accordion line segments to as we unload the truck. We have two (2) throwers, six (6) sorters, and 1 (one) to two (2) team members pulling out pallets about 15 min. after we start unload. Our Log ETL and Log TL are part of the eight (8) who participate in the unload process.

We currently utilize 32+ custom blocks in our sort. What I understand is that each store is different on the custom block choice. IMO, I never thought this was a good thing at all. We should be uniform in the custom block description.

Facing the dock doors on the right we have 9 pallets and 6 flats lined up from the end of the line up to the door (not in that order). At the end of the line we have three pallets. On the left side, we leave space to pull off pallets and line up a couple of pallets for transition and other backstock, then 10 Uboats, followed by three flats/tubs. We currently do not have enough sort space for the number of custom blocks.

Through research and your post, our DC's do not have the ability and/or capacity to pick pack shipments by the piece to the stores (eaches model). Is this correct?
 
No I in Team said:
We sort right off the line to custom blocks. In my store, we have a stationary line about 40 +/- feet we connect accordion line segments to as we unload the truck. We have two (2) throwers, six (6) sorters, and 1 (one) to two (2) team members pulling out pallets about 15 min. after we start unload. Our Log ETL and Log TL are part of the eight (8) who participate in the unload process.



Through research and your post, our DC's do not have the ability and/or capacity to pick pack shipments by the piece to the stores (eaches model). Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Not at the moment, no. You have 8 people unloading a very mixed trailer. At the DC we have about half that in ART. 1 to 2 throwers and 2 to 4 on the processing line.

We used to have HC which was CR that moved faster but we did away with it. Streamlined.

Do you think you have too many custom blocks, not enough custom blocks or just not enough space but the right amount of custom blocks?
 
ManMythMachine said:
Not at the moment, no. You have 8 people unloading a very mixed trailer. At the DC we have about half that in ART. 1 to 2 throwers and 2 to 4 on the processing line.

We used to have HC which was CR that moved faster but we did away with it. Streamlined.

Do you think you have too many custom blocks, not enough custom blocks or just not enough space but the right amount of custom blocks?
Click to expand...


Last question first, no on the number of custom block numbers given the size/volume of the stores. It makes it easier to sort to areas within the store which results in a quicker push.

As far as space goes, no we (I'll go out on a limb and speak for most of the stores) do not have the space required to unload the trucks with the addition of Uboats and other increased sort requirements. I have less that a foot between the Uboats and the line. We turn our Uboats at an angle to get that room.

We really need a Process Engineer (Industrial Engineer) to redo our unload process/space allocation with time measurements.

That being said, we haven't done a legitimate time study in regards to unload and push in a long time either. So every time we tinker with the process at the store and/or corporate level (job creep, additional unload requirements, +/- custom blocks, change the unload points along the line, etc.) we often create more work as an unintentionally consequence.

Almost a decade ago when I arrived at Spot's Dog House, we had one person to every three pallets/cart, two on the backside of the line for backstock/transition, three on the truck - two throwers and one scanning/pushing, and at least three pullers. The truck process went smoother and somewhat faster. If a person or two called out, it was tight. Now when that happens, we're screwed.

When we were finished, we were finished with everything back then. Now, the truck process lingers into to the afternoon or is finished another day due to the lack of team members (payroll).

Our process is more along the lines of an inverse funnel. The more blocks the wider the funnel or vice versa required along with the bodies needed to sort. So as the store's offerings change, so does the need for changes in the custom blocks and team members needed.

So if you all do not have the ability to pick/pack pieces into repacks/combos to support the stores' replenishment requirements, how in the world is this E2E/Store Modernization thing supposed to work? It's based upon the DC's being able to send eaches (pieces) instead of case pack quantities.

Have you seen the video on Targetred360.com where it shows the pallets and carts unloaded at the stores? They signed you all up for what appears to be non start. I believe it was March of 2017 video of how we were going to win.

We have a huge chasm between Minneapolis, DCs' and the Stores when it comes to understanding how things work and what we can do.
 
I'll try to check out that video, thanks.

At an All Team Meeting last year they mentioned eaches but said it was several years away. MBP would have to be the biggest area of the DC if everything was picked and packed by eaches. Even now when things are packed, they can be totally different things.

I worked for a grocery warehouse one time. The way they kept things together was by keeping products stored together in the warehouse that went together in the store. Pallets were built as we picked, then wrapped and put into a trailer. We wouldn't pick as small as 1 pack of gum but if a box of gum had 5 packs we would pick the box. If this is where Spot is going then major things will have to happen at the DC. Now we put stuff where we have room. Instead, the system would have to tell us where to put it. Now we pick mixed aisles that get thrown mixed and go to a door mixed. In the future we would have to pick an aisle where the system kept like items together and then straight to a door, because otherwise once they leave that pallet, they could be mixed. And we put stuff in carts. That would be eliminated unless the carts contained stuff that stays together and then the carts themselves go to the stores to be unloaded and sent back. In other words, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's gonna be a while.
 
A little late in response time... :oops:

The video can be found on targetred360.com. Log in using your team member number and password. Filter it to 2017, March, and look for the
March 21 video "How Target's Going to Win Part 2. You'll be surprised how far behind you really are according to Spot's leadership.

We are so screwed going forward.

Just because multiple processes are done simultaneously and/or under the same roof, does mean they can be combined into a linear process. Time and People are the primary factors that dictate when and how the process will be completed. If you don't have the time and/or the people to carry it out, it isn't getting done.

I wonder what the current success rate of E2E/Store Modernization is really. Too bad we didn't develop measurements of certain processes before and after. We're in the pilot stages now. It's a go from here on out.
 
ManMythMachine said:
I'll try to check out that video, thanks.

At an All Team Meeting last year they mentioned eaches but said it was several years away. MBP would have to be the biggest area of the DC if everything was picked and packed by eaches. Even now when things are packed, they can be totally different things.

I worked for a grocery warehouse one time. The way they kept things together was by keeping products stored together in the warehouse that went together in the store. Pallets were built as we picked, then wrapped and put into a trailer. We wouldn't pick as small as 1 pack of gum but if a box of gum had 5 packs we would pick the box. If this is where Spot is going then major things will have to happen at the DC. Now we put stuff where we have room. Instead, the system would have to tell us where to put it. Now we pick mixed aisles that get thrown mixed and go to a door mixed. In the future we would have to pick an aisle where the system kept like items together and then straight to a door, because otherwise once they leave that pallet, they could be mixed. And we put stuff in carts. That would be eliminated unless the carts contained stuff that stays together and then the carts themselves go to the stores to be unloaded and sent back. In other words, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's gonna be a while.
Click to expand...


That's what surprise me when I started. We still were unloading hand packed trucks and sorting them to different areas.

Everyone I knew in the grocery business was receiving palletized trucks. So I took for granted that retail had already moved there as well.
 
No I in Team said:
A little late in response time... :oops:

The video can be found on targetred360.com. Log in using your team member number and password. Filter it to 2017, March, and look for the
March 21 video "How Target's Going to Win Part 2. You'll be surprised how far behind you really are according to Spot's leadership.

We are so screwed going forward.

Just because multiple processes are done simultaneously and/or under the same roof, does mean they can be combined into a linear process. Time and People are the primary factors that dictate when and how the process will be completed. If you don't have the time and/or the people to carry it out, it isn't getting done.

I wonder what the current success rate of E2E/Store Modernization is really. Too bad we didn't develop measurements of certain processes before and after. We're in the pilot stages now. It's a go from here on out.
Click to expand...
Yeah, thanks, because I never knew that website existed. Now I can keep an eye on Spot while they're keeping an eye on me. Turnabout is fair prey. Woops. Play! Lulz.
 
ManMythMachine said:
I wasn't sure how much you divided the freight when unloading it. How many areas do you sort it into?

I had a full load of small area rugs one time while working for an LTL carrier. Normally, even for two people it takes 8 to 10 hours to unload one of these if sorting by individual orders. I made a list of which order numbers went together into which doors and we flipped load racks upside down and filled them with rugs. We were done in 4 hours.

"Necessity is the Mother of Invention."

Load racks...

FixedSideTableTopTypefrontview.JPG
Click to expand...

We need to utilize more specialty containers like that one for signing, rugs, and TV's. It would make movement so much easier, not to mention less damage during transit.

Any Supplier that ships odd/oversized items like signing on a re-occurring basis should be involved in the usage of these too.

You should see us wrestle with those long signing pallets.
 

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