MEGATHREAD 2018-2019 Store Modernization Megathread

[jenna]

I've done Plano and it's not hard, but it can be a lot of work in specific areas and during big sets. (Looking at you paper wall with your ridiculously deep shelves.) Anyway, some of the things corp does with aisles seems useless...does it really matter what side of the aisle detergent is on? Apparently yes because we had it all switch place once.

I figure Corp switches up the POGs so that aisles & shelves will actually get cleaned and zoned.

 

[jenna]

If you have ownership over 1 - 2 departments, it wouldn't be that hard to know your backstock.

 

[Ashfromoldsite]

Let's just say (in theory) that part of Target's "Retail Evolution" would be to eliminate POGs completely, hence no Plano Team. Let's just say (in theory) that if we have "experts" in each department; they know their product/merchandise so well.... they know when to fill tee-shirt, fill socks/basics, fill the gadget wall, fill boxed dinnerware sets, fill dvds, etc...
I worked in department stores before I came to Target, and there were NO planograms, period. Product/Merchandise had a "home", so to speak, whether it's an aisle or a table, or a wall. But it wasn't locked into an "official" location. Also..... there was NO backroom "locations" for product. You just knew what you had in the backroom. Sounds ridiculous, right? It can be done; and it works.
We are just accustomed to "one way" of doing things. We feel like we can't function unless it's done that "one way". I think @sigma7 is emphasizing that there is another way to do things; and it requires change and open-mindedness from EVERYONE.

I truly believe that this modernization process can work. My only complaint is the stock levels vs salesfloor sq. footage is waaaaaaaaay off. We have far too much backstock; it's tying up our profitability.

Could you imagine shampoo without a pog? There would be so much in back not represented on the floor.

 

[Ashfromoldsite]

So you think the stores making it work are waving their magic wand to make everything ok? They make it work because of better leadership, plain and simple. The people that come on here and constantly complain about how bad Target is and nothing ever works are from stores with poor leadership. I've been using E2E methods long before it rolled out at Target and it makes everything more efficient. No task at Target requires a degree in rocket science.

Hands on leadership

 

[SitSpotSit]

I figure Corp switches up the POGs so that aisles & shelves will actually get cleaned and zoned.

Ahhh, well, I can see that! Omg, some shelves are so disgusting aren't they?

 

[speedy]

You’re right. We might as well just all complain about everything and say the only solution is more payroll. Let’s not listen to anyone that says that modernization can work but you have to be even more radical than what the company is saying. Let’s just say they’re corporate shills and continue complaining and sticking to our old ways. Then next year we’re even further behind when the next wave of modernization rolls out.

Consider me done posting here. Have fun with the changes.

In some circumstances, it may be the need for "more payroll" or at least the reallocation of it. For example, B level store, Apparel and Accessories on truck days
there are 3 people working 5 hour shifts each for a total of 15 hours. These are the tasks that management wants completed in those 15 hours:

1. 1 person on the unload to handle repacks/casepacks for softlines and health and beauty. Also general merchandise repacks (unload 1 1/2-2 hours generally)
2. All infant and softlines autofills, including working them.
3. All infant hardlines from the truck, backstocking same and researching infant aisles
4. Sorting of repacks (folding/hanging) and making sure the folding is ready to go out to the floor.
5. Working all of and completing #4 onto the floor and backstocking excess.
6. All hanging placed on z's for others to place
7. 12 step when appropriate
8. Backstocking casepacks from the truck

Since they are also in the backroom, they are allocated a certain space, which sometimes is occupied by other freight from that day's truck. They seem to constantly be moving things around just so they can do their work.

No matter how much these 3 have tried ,they cannot complete all of the tasks given in the hours allocated. Management does not seem to understand why.

 

[copycopy]

Looks like my former district is in this pilot. Hope it works out for them. They are an overnight store so I’m wondering if they will be switching to 4am. Anyone know what that does to stores who run pog overnight? I have a few friends that are still there.

Any store under 75million will go 4am. But from my understanding, all pilot stores are going 4am.

 

[BigEyedPhish]

Let's just say (in theory) that part of Target's "Retail Evolution" would be to eliminate POGs completely, hence no Plano Team. Let's just say (in theory) that if we have "experts" in each department; they know their product/merchandise so well.... they know when to fill tee-shirt, fill socks/basics, fill the gadget wall, fill boxed dinnerware sets, fill dvds, etc...
I worked in department stores before I came to Target, and there were NO planograms, period. Product/Merchandise had a "home", so to speak, whether it's an aisle or a table, or a wall. But it wasn't locked into an "official" location. Also..... there was NO backroom "locations" for product. You just knew what you had in the backroom. Sounds ridiculous, right? It can be done; and it works.
We are just accustomed to "one way" of doing things. We feel like we can't function unless it's done that "one way". I think @sigma7 is emphasizing that there is another way to do things; and it requires change and open-mindedness from EVERYONE.

I truly believe that this modernization process can work. My only complaint is the stock levels vs salesfloor sq. footage is waaaaaaaaay off. We have far too much backstock; it's tying up our profitability.

You realize what this would do to the SFS team don't you?

POG's are not going anywhere, In fact I could see everything given a "General Location" in store.

 

[copycopy]

There are plano and e2e teams that actually update their sfq? Lol. I could only dream.

I agree. After the last set the beauty tm and team lead couldn't figure out why the face masks were full, but coming out every pull. I checked the sales floor capacity. 1175. Each. After the Plano TL emailed that they checked and fixed everything.

 

[hufflepuff]

I agree. After the last set the beauty tm and team lead couldn't figure out why the face masks were full, but coming out every pull. I checked the sales floor capacity. 1175. Each. After the Plano TL emailed that they checked and fixed everything.

Isn't it amazing? Nobody has really cared about sfq since my TL and I did the original blitz when it first rolled out.

 

[SrTLall]

What makes you so sure that the new process isn't inefficient, and that it only works in some stores because the leadership is that good that they make work?

I think it makes more sense to have an expert salesfloor and expert logistics. The extroverted people who can interact with guests without skipping a beat their entire shift? Salesfloor. The introverted people who are task-oriented and make sure everything is kept proper and organized? Logistics.

You're taking different types of people and working with their strengths. How could there be a more efficient process than that?

You're taking the extreme of each type of person and using that as an argument of why Store Modernization can't work. At $15/hr, you can't find someone who is task-oriented to ask a guest if they need help? You can't find the guest service expert who can concentrate on the task at hand?
As I said in an earlier post, any process can be successful with good leadership. There were stores loooong before E2E who were failing because of poor leadership. The process Target uses is awfully inefficient, the one before E2E. IMO, Logistics, Instocks, and Sales Floor can all be combined into 1 position. Each running on their own is where the inefficiencies come from. Target could have probably left POG and Pricing alone and merged them into one team, properly strategizing sets and markdowns to avoid major scheduling conflicts. But, that's not the direction they went. I'll work with what I'm given, and make it work. For those complaining about how it won't work, that's just ridiculous. Again, anything will work with good leadership, poor leadership is making the stores fail.

 

[Leonhart621]

We are ulv. Our flow team gets 16-20 hours in flow, then more hours as cashier, pog, or sfs. Our pog team has shrunk to only 3, so we set all day and the flow team comes behind and stocks it. Works pretty well. The slow ones move to cashier.

That’s the problem in my store, we have way too many TMs in Logistics it’s hard to move people around. I have about 23 TMs in my flow team yet they give me 15 TMs a truck?

Then we have just enough TMs for Backroom and SFS that I can’t schedule my flow on those centers.

I still don’t know how Plano and Market hours work but clearly not enough because we’re way backup on those too.

 

[Frontlanegirl]

Currently, there is far too much product in the back for anyone to "just know" it's back there. I can't believe how much excess product Targets keep in their backroom, and how much time and effort goes into managing it. It's like having a second store, that just doesn't get shopped. No place I've worked at, has as much back stock as we do.

And if the merchandise in the back is not located correctly then we do not know what we have back there.

 

[Formina Sage]

I don't think they are as integral as many of you think they are. Salesfloor can do the job. They basically are. Just in 3' or 4' sections at a time. Not hard to comprehend.

Unless the process of store transitions is going to change, you need a dedicated team to perform transitions as we know them.

Maybe everything will be a revision in the future. No more "reset all of grocery in 4 days". I'd love to see 2 TMs experts pull that off

 

[myDevice]

Unless the process of store transitions is going to change, you need a dedicated team to perform transitions as we know them.

Maybe everything will be a revision in the future. No more "reset all of grocery in 4 days". I'd love to see 2 TMs experts pull that off

Hey, what happened to the original post? I think it got removed. The one with the list of all the changes.

EDIT:I found it. It got moved to the bottom of page 3. what happened?

 

[PackAndCry]

Unless the process of store transitions is going to change, you need a dedicated team to perform transitions as we know them.

Maybe everything will be a revision in the future. No more "reset all of grocery in 4 days". I'd love to see 2 TMs experts pull that off

I don't think everything can be a revision considering how much they seem to like to sell prime shelf space lately. Let alone if you need a different fixture for new product or something. Of course, they could do what they do now and call things that should actually be transitions "revisions" so they can screw the team over on the hours. (We had a pog recently that was a "revision" with 100% change and about 25% new items...)

 

[Formina Sage]

Hey, what happened to the original post? I think it got removed. The one with the list of all the changes.

EDIT:I found it. It got moved to the bottom of page 3. what happened?

I think @commiecorvus merged an earlier "rumor" thread into this one, so posts from the earlier thread are now before what was the OP of this thread.

 

[formerulvwarrior]

We must work in the same store, lol. We could open up another Target store in the parking lot which carried only softlines. #endtoendsucks. #hiretms, #firesoftlinestl

The store I transferred to was just like that! We would have so much clearance we would put it outside in containers. That’s in addition to the trailer that was full of clearance. They didn’t try to sell it they would wait for it to go salvage.

Softlines was overflowing in the back we would have to spend 30 minutes an evening moving z racks and carts full of softlines... Every aisle in the back was full of hanging softlines on the end.. Grocery backroom was the same way. Half the time you can’t get into the fitting room backroom it is packed with smart carts and z racks. Last Q4 the solution to this problem was order more z racks lol.

 

[IcePeasant]

The way I see this failing is with TMs who don’t care, having Leads/Leaders and other TMs pick up the slack daily, and then it’s not work or coming clean, you’re playing catch up. Currently, if this pilot were to come to my home, we would be screwed. Catch up is an understatement, hours are out the door, and we still send people home? I don’t understand it sometimes and it gets frustrating when your ETLs are wanting such and such done, with whatever template was written out two weeks ago, and ensure that receiving is clean and clear. You feel defeated almost knowing all your hard work 2 weeks ago up until now all went to shit cause some other factors.
-mini rant over-
We already reallocate what mytimes divvys out, have been since I got to Spot. I had one ETLHR mention how we shouldn’t be changing the allocations and that Mytime is a very sophisticated system and should know who, what, when, where, why and how we should allocate; I thought that was irritatingly funny.
At my house, a lot of the TMs are set in their ways, are lazy, and can’t see the bigger picture, and like others have said, conversations about performance need to happen, and if nothing changes after multiple, then performancing out needs to happen. Current ETL doesn’t like doing this, and I just keep documenting, documenting, documenting, until they realize maybe this person has to go...
As a TL, I was trained PPTL, Salesfloor, and some Consumables during my initial SFTL training period. Setting workload is the most easiest yet time consuming, especially by yourself. I have a feeling the Plano team will get larger before it gets dispersed amongst the other teams. I show my team about researching and setting and tieing, especially if there is a closer and has time. I’ll usually come in with some batches that need to be pulled since they take it upon themselves to research, especially if they’re in a certain zone during their shift. I reiterate to only do it for my respective areas, as I have a large portion, since I don’t know what ____ TL would want. It helps me out with weekly scans and it’s one more skill TMs can utilize.
The basics of a SFTMs job is guest service, reshop, zone and responding to the front. Those should be a given, shouldn’t have to be told; it’s the newer things that they usually don’t do that needs to be implemented into their daily routines. I saw this at my training store, and I had hoped some of the TMs at my home started initiating this, but only a slight few have. I will say Patience is key...and it’s a key I keep losing.

 

[Thunderbird1956]

Stores are failing end-to-end not because it doesn't work, but because their leadership is weak.

I'm regularly at odds with my STL, they want short term solutions to long term problems. I literally have to plan for tiny changes each week that I do regardless of work flow or callouts just so things that were supposed to get hours allocated to them get done.

Sure you want green metrics, but you want to take shortcuts that actually increase the problem.

I understand why, but it's a short term solution that has been going on for the long term.

No place I've worked at, has as much back stock as we do.

One retail location I worked at did, but the supply chain was a different model. No grocery store I worked at has that much backstock.

 

[sprinklesontop]

At my house, a lot of the TMs are set in their ways, are lazy, and can’t see the bigger picture, and like others have said, conversations about performance need to happen, and if nothing changes after multiple, then performancing out needs to happen. Current ETL doesn’t like doing this, and I just keep documenting, documenting, documenting, until they realize maybe this person has to go...

I understand this COMPLETELY !!! And the amount of time it takes for YOU to observe, track, document these TMs over, and over, and over again is a massive time-suck. Your ETL needs a huge change to see the "big picture", first and foremost. You deserve their "executive" support and guidance. And your time is far too valuable to be wasting it on continuous performance issues.

My store is far from perfecting this modernization..... but I feel like we're making sound decisions and getting positive results. We're not just "masking" the problems with a quick fix. And..... if anyone is still unclear on this: it is ALL HANDS ON DECK. It sounds like you're the only one with a paddle on the sinking ship. Hang in there.

 

[YourPPTL]

From my understanding, they will be phased out (at least in an official capacity). Everything that's not a specialty center (beauty, electronics, style) or food falls under "general merchandise" which will be one team. Hypothetically, though, you could have distinct teams within that unbrella title and people could continue on as usual. I'm curious, though, if they will require stores that had an overnight or 4am plano team to transition dayside.

We had a meeting with our dtl. He explained what was happening in 2019. I ask point blank.. What is happening to the presentation team. He said they have the least amount of change their safe. Tell them not to worry.

 

[SrTLall]

What is the breakdown for sales to classify a store? Below 27M is low...
There's going to be 3 levels going forward?

Low is up to 27
Base is 27-72
High is 72+

 

[No I in Team]

We had a meeting with our dtl. He explained what was happening in 2019. I ask point blank.. What is happening to the presentation team. He said they have the least amount of change their safe. Tell them not to worry.

You have to take what your DTL says with a grain of salt.

If you proceed like that, you will be OK.

 

[Rock Lobster]

Again, anything will work with good leadership, poor leadership is making the stores fail.

That is not necessarily true, because there are plenty of environments that can be forced upon stores that will only fail. For example, I have seen leaders who are so drunk on kool-aid that they made their stores follow MyTime schedules (not just allocations, but an effort to only use the shifts it generates and according to its graphs for areas)... That was the biggest disaster I had ever seen, and even if a good leader is there, they couldn't keep the building together with that infrastructure.

The point is that, if Target wants to rollout something that will not work and force stores to do it, they very well can. I personally do not have a problem with these new org charts and do not see this as an issue. The problem is going to be the actual execution of it. Do I think that if I had a store, and was given this direction, but was allowed to allocate payroll and schedules however I wanted to make it work for my building that it would work? Absolutely! Do I think that if I was given this direction, but forced to run my building according to a computer program or to the whims of 3 different group leaders who all are desperate to get promoted and trying anything (even if it conflicts with what others are saying) that it would work? Nope... it will burn down and the store leadership is blamed.