Archived Ask any Instocks/Backroom Questions :)

[Voicetarget]

This is only true if the aisle is flagged for reset. New items will not carry into caf. Next time you set a new pog that is 100% transition, don't pull the batch. After 72 hours it will erase and not drop in to your cafs.

When this holds true, it only serves as a way to make sure you aren't doing double work, for example if you reset salsa, drop a new pog batch, it only pulls what's needed and it uses accumulator data to garner what's on the floor. The way it used to work, unsure if it works this way still, was when a normal pog is reset, while the batch is in, your caff pull would not trigger those items until the deficit is greater than what's called for in the pog batch, otherwise when you pull the pog batch, you will have backstock. This is why some drop into cafs.

So a 100% carry forward pog... no need to pull batch then? Usually any 'new pog batches' will pull most/everything from the back regardless of what is already out on the floor. Good example are permanent endcaps that always remain the same with little to no changes in products. So if I can avoid double work with pulling/backstock, I def want to start doing that.

 

[60SecondsRemaining]

So a 100% carry forward pog... no need to pull batch then? Usually any 'new pog batches' will pull most/everything from the back regardless of what is already out on the floor. Good example are permanent endcaps that always remain the same with little to no changes in products. So if I can avoid double work with pulling/backstock, I def want to start doing that.

A perm endcap should not trigger full replenishment if it was already tied previously, the same as an aisle. However it would most likely be a revision and not a full pog reset anyway.

Keep in mind I left Target in Nov. of last year, so this could have changed.

 

[Bosch]

A perm endcap should not trigger full replenishment if it was already tied previously, the same as an aisle. However it would most likely be a revision and not a full pog reset anyway.

Keep in mind I left Target in Nov. of last year, so this could have changed.

Still holds.

 

[Dekaf]

Interesting claims. How many hours are you getting for Instocks and backroom combined? My store gets a maximum of 200 weekly hours for both workcenters combined and sometimes as low as 150 for both. My backroom team is expected to pull and push autofill, and pull and push manual CAFs all night long in addition to pulling and staging any and all other batches that drop into the gun.

Higher volume stores are significantly easier to manage if you can turn the culture and turnover around. When your payroll is 1800 for the store for any given week and you can have green metrics across the board(I do)... then get back to me.

What size volume store are you and how many GM trucks do you typically receive each week? Obviously each store is unique but with so few hours it seems you're doing a great job!

Hours vary month to month on my end, but I'll use this summer as an example. typically sitting around 265 combined. Average truck carton size is roughly 2300ish. We pull all batches, including presentation. Research and outs are always completed within an hour. Backroom comes clean each night, swept, weekly ELR's and receiving ELR's completed each truck day. We're unique in which we don't push the AUTO's/CAF's.

 

[Dekaf]

For those of you looking for how to improve your OOS %, MySupport for additional replenishment. The form asks for DPCI's, instead type in just the department number in the first DPCI blank. Wait for the first response from the MySupport team, if it does not include an agreement to increase replenishment or a timeframe, escalate the case. If again no dice, forward the MySupport to your ETL LOG/STL and then have it forwarded to the DTL. As an instocks TL you're responsibility is a full store. I have a great relationship with my DTL as to where anytime MySupport denies a replenishment or beats around the bush, my DTL gets ahold of the account manager directly and we typically see department wide replenishment within 2 weeks. (Repacks ) but in the end, it makes the store look amazing, and it reduces your outs.

 

[asidius]

I heard the sales accumulator is going away. I for one welcome its demise and hope it brings an end to burning batches.

 

[Bosch]

I heard the sales accumulator is going away. I for one welcome its demise and hope it brings an end to burning batches.

If you are always burning batches your problems are not the accumulator.

 

[asidius]

If you are always burning batches your problems are not the accumulator.

Morning team backstocks a bunch of DVDs or other items.

Next CAFs, it wants everything that was just backstocked.

I dislike burning batches. It's a sketchy practice to do and is error prone.

 

[averagetm]

Morning team backstocks a bunch of DVDs or other items.

Next CAFs, it wants everything that was just backstocked.

If you know that then what you should do is go out onto the floor (or walkie a Salesfloor TM) about the stock on the floor. This way you can drive communication with other team members and make sure that those back stocked items aren't always flying back into the next CAFs. You can always pull and re-backstock if you KNOW it's not going to be going out. I helped my Market Backroom TM do just that because the system overestimates how much fresh produce should be out on the floor.

 

[Rarejem]

What size volume store are you and how many GM trucks do you typically receive each week? Obviously each store is unique but with so few hours it seems you're doing a great job!

Hours vary month to month on my end, but I'll use this summer as an example. typically sitting around 265 combined. Average truck carton size is roughly 2300ish. We pull all batches, including presentation. Research and outs are always completed within an hour. Backroom comes clean each night, swept, weekly ELR's and receiving ELR's completed each truck day. We're unique in which we don't push the AUTO's/CAF's.

Research and outs always completed within an hour?? How do you accomplish this and how in particular on your store all scan and/or softlines and/or entertainment scan days? How many RIGS do you get daily?? I have to know!!!

 

[mrknownothing]

Research and outs always completed within an hour?? How do you accomplish this and how in particular on your store all scan and/or softlines and/or entertainment scan days? How many RIGS do you get daily?? I have to know!!!

I think Dekaf was referring to pulling the batches, not scanning.

 

[Bosch]

If you know that then what you should do is go out onto the floor (or walkie a Salesfloor TM) about the stock on the floor. This way you can drive communication with other team members and make sure that those back stocked items aren't always flying back into the next CAFs. You can always pull and re-backstock if you KNOW it's not going to be going out. I helped my Market Backroom TM do just that because the system overestimates how much fresh produce should be out on the floor.

And capacity some of them are just stupid. Why you are seeing huge amounts of product going to straight to backstock. And using the SubT to backstock stops all that from coming back out. Sometimes you have to.

 

[asidius]

And capacity some of them are just stupid. Why you are seeing huge amounts of product going to straight to backstock. And using the SubT to backstock stops all that from coming back out. Sometimes you have to.

We were told not to use SUBT9999.

 

[60SecondsRemaining]

Morning team backstocks a bunch of DVDs or other items.

Next CAFs, it wants everything that was just backstocked.

I dislike burning batches. It's a sketchy practice to do and is error prone.

This happens because of how new releases are stored most times. Items come in, they are staged, not backstocked. POG is set, TM pushes staged merchandise, then remaining merch is backstocked immediately. These are not trapped transitions or flagged as new sets, so the system assumes you need that product, and immediately requests a fill for it.

Backstock your new release MMB and generate/pull batches when setting them, and this won't happen anymore.

 

[asidius]

This happens because of how new releases are stored most times. Items come in, they are staged, not backstocked. POG is set, TM pushes staged merchandise, then remaining merch is backstocked immediately. These are not trapped transitions or flagged as new sets, so the system assumes you need that product, and immediately requests a fill for it.

Backstock your new release MMB and generate/pull batches when setting them, and this won't happen anymore.

I'd really like to learn more about Plano since you're speaking a foreign language to me. .

It's not just DVDs though. It's just about anything. Happened a few weeks ago after I back stocked snacks. I was sitting with an hour long snack caf.

 

[60SecondsRemaining]

I'd really like to learn more about Plano since you're speaking a foreign language to me. .

It's not just DVDs though. It's just about anything. Happened a few weeks ago after I back stocked snacks. I was sitting with an hour long snack caf.

Snacks/Market is normally because the flow team isn't pushing the product fully and the backstock has sat for more than 12 hours, or there are endcaps tied but not set.

 

[Dekaf]

Research and outs always completed within an hour?? How do you accomplish this and how in particular on your store all scan and/or softlines and/or entertainment scan days? How many RIGS do you get daily?? I have to know!!!

Sorry for the misunderstanding, I was referring to the associated batches as mentioned by another member.

 

[Riffraff]

Backroom question:

Have you experienced a glitch/bug in the system, in which an item STO'd into a location will then show up located somewhere else instead?

example of what I mean: I'm backstocking a tub of items, and I STO candles into aisle 33 (the dedicated STAT aisle). 30 minutes later, I'm working on a different tub, and I get more of the same candle that I backstocked earlier in aisle 33, but when I scan it, I get a Previous Location in aisle 29 (HIPA). I'm thinking maybe its a similar item instead of the exact same item. I check the HIPA aisle for that misplaced candle so I can move it to its proper fillgroup, and find that its a ghost. I go to where I backstocked the candles earlier, and scan the ones that I STO'd previously to A) compare DPCI's, and B) see if its located where I scanned it, only to find out that it is the same candle, and somehow it did in fact scan into an entirely different aisle. So I fix the ghost, rescan the candles (with the new quantity) into the proper location, and double check to make sure it scanned properly into location.

I've personally experienced this a couple times, I've talked to other people who have had it happen as well, and we occasionally just run across something strange like apple sauce scanned into the shoe aisle (and it turns out to be a Ghost). I've reported the issue to various leaders over the years, and either it isn't being communicated up the chain so that it can be fixed, or it is and they just aren't fixing it.

 

[asidius]

I've ran into ghosts of items that are in entirely wrong locations. I've had to M-Delete it when it's during a CAF.

 

[Kroneru]

All I hear from every single brtm/tl is never use M-Delete because it "makes errors." As with anything not properly executed, yes, errors could occur. Can some elaborate or point in the direction on the M-Delete function.

 

[Riffraff]

All I hear from every single brtm/tl is never use M-Delete because it "makes errors." As with anything not properly executed, yes, errors could occur. Can some elaborate or point in the direction on the M-Delete function.

It doesn't make errors. What it does is make errors visible, i.e. they will show up on the location accuracy reports. It seems that a lot of stores out there prefer to use LOCU to fix errors, because it creates the illusion that there are less errors than there actually are, which makes the store look better vs other stores (nevermind how serious of an issue it is that Target pushes so heavily this competition between Target stores, when they should be focusing their competition towards other chains) and creates a culture of dishonesty

I can't say for sure whether M-Delete is currently "best practice", but it definitely used to be. At the end of the day, you're best off doing things the way your leadership is asking you to. If you have personal ethical objections to the dishonesty of using the LOCU method, then that would be a conversation for you and your leadership to sit down and have.

 

[LogisticsFox]

All I hear from every single brtm/tl is never use M-Delete because it "makes errors." As with anything not properly executed, yes, errors could occur. Can some elaborate or point in the direction on the M-Delete function.

It's not that m-delete makes errors, it just points them out. The reason it's taboo in a lot of stores is because a lot of TLs don't interpret the data and fix the issues accordingly. Exiting the bach and using LOCU skips the accuracy point deduction and fixes the error without dropping the loc in the audit. I like m-deletes because I can see who is likely causing the mistakes.

 

[LogisticsFox]

Backroom question:

Have you experienced a glitch/bug in the system, in which an item STO'd into a location will then show up located somewhere else instead?

example of what I mean: I'm backstocking a tub of items, and I STO candles into aisle 33 (the dedicated STAT aisle). 30 minutes later, I'm working on a different tub, and I get more of the same candle that I backstocked earlier in aisle 33, but when I scan it, I get a Previous Location in aisle 29 (HIPA). I'm thinking maybe its a similar item instead of the exact same item. I check the HIPA aisle for that misplaced candle so I can move it to its proper fillgroup, and find that its a ghost. I go to where I backstocked the candles earlier, and scan the ones that I STO'd previously to A) compare DPCI's, and B) see if its located where I scanned it, only to find out that it is the same candle, and somehow it did in fact scan into an entirely different aisle. So I fix the ghost, rescan the candles (with the new quantity) into the proper location, and double check to make sure it scanned properly into location.

I've personally experienced this a couple times, I've talked to other people who have had it happen as well, and we occasionally just run across something strange like apple sauce scanned into the shoe aisle (and it turns out to be a Ghost). I've reported the issue to various leaders over the years, and either it isn't being communicated up the chain so that it can be fixed, or it is and they just aren't fixing it.

YES! When I was in the back, I'd run into these errors a few times a week. I have followed the same communication chain but I don't think it's being looked into. I think it's just a matter of the PDA misreading the loc label.

 

[Kroneru]

Exiting the bach and using LOCU skips the accuracy point deduction and fixes the error without dropping the loc in the audit.

This. This is what I wasn't aware of.

It doesn't make errors. What it does is make errors visible, i.e. they will show up on the location accuracy reports. It seems that a lot of stores out there prefer to use LOCU to fix errors, because it creates the illusion that there are less errors than there actually are, which makes the store look better vs other stores (nevermind how serious of an issue it is that Target pushes so heavily this competition between Target stores, when they should be focusing their competition towards other chains) and creates a culture of dishonesty

I can't say for sure whether M-Delete is currently "best practice", but it definitely used to be. At the end of the day, you're best off doing things the way your leadership is asking you to. If you have personal ethical objections to the dishonesty of using the LOCU method, then that would be a conversation for you and your leadership to sit down and have.

So everything else I was already aware of. I stopped backing out of batches to LOCU some time ago since it became a common nuisance. M-Delete is my goto. I'm pretty attentive when I locu locations (check for hidden boxes in uppers/lowers, scan items in wacos individually to catch every dpci, etc...) yet I have the most baffles on the last two reports. I told my TL to consider the following; if I locu a location and someone after me places an item there without locating it that could cause a false positive. Someone starts scanning for the Caf and scan that unlocated item, boom, Kro forgot it. Leaving me... baffled. *drums* *cymbals*.

 

[LogisticsFox]

This. This is what I wasn't aware of.



So everything else I was already aware of. I stopped backing out of batches to LOCU some time ago since it became a common nuisance. M-Delete is my goto. I'm pretty attentive when I locu locations (check for hidden boxes in uppers/lowers, scan items in wacos individually to catch every dpci, etc...) yet I have the most baffles on the last two reports. I told my TL to consider the following; if I locu a location and someone after me places an item there without locating it that could cause a false positive. Someone starts scanning for the Caf and scan that unlocated item, boom, Kro forgot it. Leaving me... baffled. *drums* *cymbals*.

The trick is that if you find something that doesn't have a quantity (unless you know it shouldn't, ie women's clothing) answer Yes and pull all from location. That way, when the audit goes there next day there won't be an error there with your name on it. I used to also utilize U-pdate within STO and just update the baffle's quantity. I find that this also kept me off the report. Granted, this is all speculation but I was always the top batch puller and I would walk away with one or less baffles a week.