Archived Backroom Help

[cooper2414]

I am taking on a new challenge and switching to backroom. I am understanding everything so far, but I still have a few questions.

What is LOCU? When is it used and for what? Who usually does the empty loc reports?

Finally, we have a few aisles that are overflowing with items. One is sporting goods. I can't backstock anymore open or case stock. Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone!

 

[IhaveaDream]

Locu- Deletes all items in location then can rescan items to put back in location. Helps to delete ghosts
With the overflowing items situation, I would view a detail report and see how much is discontinued/clearance and if a significant amount then go ahead and remove all of that. If problem still not solved, then I would do a super ultra mega platinum zone. This usually solves the room problem but if still not solved then I would sto the rest of sporting goods/bike in the seasonal section starting from the back.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Don't forget to do your learning plan & get your certs for back room done, too.

 

[dabeastfromtheeast]

I concur with Dream that the first order of business would be to audit the aisle and see what comes up. If it's still packed full, partner with the BRTL. Your BRTL *should* have a set protocol for such instances, whether it be a designated overflow aisle, backstocking into the next aisle over, etc. As to empty location reports, the BRTL is usually the one doing them, though I used to do them all the time whenever I got bored and had the time. Just ask around how it's done at your store.

 

[tgtguy]

Locu is used to wipe out locations....delete everything that is currently located there. In my store, the back room team does the empty location reports. We try to do them on Mondays or Tuesdays....we will just print them off and divide them amongst whos back there....if one person does it ,,it can take a while. Divide and conquer . As for the over flow in certain aisles...first of all I think its great that you that you asked this question...many people just keep shoving more and more items into the aisle which in return causes a host of other issues ( ie errors, zone issues etc). My advice would be to partner with your TL and your etl log...this both points out to them that you are serious about keeping the back room brand and that you will come to them with issues as they arise also shows that you are willing to go that extra step that the logs. process needs. . I do know that if I am pulling and I come across wacos, that have items with the qty of 1, I will locu the Waco and send it out with the auto fill. I do this twice a week in the cooler/freezer and it opens up a lot of wacos and shelf space. Most ( not all) of the time you will get lucky and some of the items will go out . If the area is super packed I will sometimes locu several wacos...per shift and or a couple case pack shelves send that out with the autofill ...don't send out too much as to overwhelm whoever is doing the pushing. ( sometimes the backroom has to push the pulls). Finally, depending on how your stores BR is setup...Back to School may be part of the issue with your Sprt goods aisle...in my store...we have the lunch bags,down that aisle.. and even tho we have luggage on a separate aisle..back packs have also been BSd down there as well...so once they go clearance that will open more room as well. Also, a lot of the summer pool toys, floats etc just went clearance late last week so that may help as well.

 

[see spot save]

Where can I find more info on empty location reports? I've never heard of them.

Our BR TL wants us to LOCU whenever we run into a ghost during a pull. It's kind of a pain because I have to exit the batch and all apps...I hate wasting those 20 seconds

 

[tgtguy]

I always use the computer in the fixture room to pull up the empty location reports since in our store its right around the corner from the BR. They are useful for catching some errors ahead of time ...and making sure that the locations the system says are empty are actually empty. Also, sometimes you will come across locations that are empty and not on the report....you simply need to locu those.

We were recently told to stop using m delete...and to use locu. I don't like it either...when you are in the cafs every second counts and...using locu is kinda flubbing your numbers...but oh well they want what they want

 

[Unreturnable]

@cooper2414 When an aisle gets packed like that, it means that someone dropped the ball. The older stuff (discontinued merchandise) should have been pulled, or if there is that much active merchandise more room should have been made. Get with your backroom team lead or your logistics ETL to see what you do about that.

@see spot save You really shouldn't be using LOCU on ghosts. That's the easiest way to cheat and up your backroom location accuracy score, but it burns your productivity while pulling; there's a reason that you can't toggle to the LOCU app, you're not supposed to use it while pulling batches. Your backroom lead is cheating and trying to get a better score. Also, using LOCU on ghosts while pulling erases the errors and covers up who created them, so no one will be able to use the reports to see who burns batches and makes mistakes. If that's what your leader wants then go ahead and do it, just be aware what you're doing.

 

[see spot save]

@see spot save You really shouldn't be using LOCU on ghosts. That's the easiest way to cheat and up your backroom location accuracy score, but it burns your productivity while pulling; there's a reason that you can't toggle to the LOCU app, you're not supposed to use it while pulling batches. Your backroom lead is cheating and trying to get a better score. Also, using LOCU on ghosts while pulling erases the errors and covers up who created them, so no one will be able to use the reports to see who burns batches and makes mistakes. If that's what your leader wants then go ahead and do it, just be aware what you're doing.

I used to defiantly use M-delte to create errors so that someone would know that there was an issue. Otherwise it's exactly like you said, I'm just hiding the problem. My (former) BRTL wants us to LOCU, and what all the old time BRTMs do....so I kinda have to do it.

I'm almost 100% in the electronics backroom, I'm the only one who bacstocks in there. The only time I run into errors is when someone else messes up when pulling, and that just screws my score.

 

[tgtguy]

Using locu does flub the numbers but we have to do what we are instructed to do....if it was up to me I would m delete the hell out of the errors