Logistics Fulfillment Backroom INF metric?

[Dysprosed]

I know this is a long shot, but I am looking anywhere I can for this data. I'll probably be emailing a few different HQ partners, but want to make sure I've done my due diligence looking myself first.

When a TM pulls a batch like a One for One or Out-of-Stock, and they tell the myDevice that the item being requested at a given location is not there, this is an INF (Item not found). The system catalogues a backroom error, i.e. a ghost, and the item is deleted from the backroom location. This activity is well recorded in Greenfield datasets like Assets_Protection_EDABI.AP_BACKROOM_DPCI_PULL_BKSTK, StoreLogistics.MOVE_BRLA_FROM_BIGRED_MYDAYMYWORK, and surely others. With the right card and filters, its generally relatively easy to identify the source of the error.

By contrast, when a fulfillment TM picks a batch with items that have backroom locations, I can't find anything that record instances of them INF'ing the backroom location. But surely that is happening, right? The FF team, on the whole, interacts more with backroom than any other team. Over time, you'd expect them to encounter instances where the items weren't backstocked correctly or other times where the TM just didn't look hard enough. In my mind, it should create a ghost just like when a puller says item not found. Yet BRLA metrics are not impacted by FF TMs.

Now, I have really looked hard for this and recently found the following dataset: FlexFulfillment.BATCHING_METRICS_PICK_ITEM_DETAIL, which looks extremely promising when examining its dimensions and metrics. I spent time formatting a card to utilize it:


I thought great, I've got it! But as I began researching each INF activity, what I realized was that it wasn't showing INF from the backroom. Instead what it's showing are instances where an item was INFd after first having some of the quantity fulfilled from the backroom. Useless!

What I want to see is any time the picked BR quantity differed from the expected BR quantity. If anyone has thoughts on this, I would be extremely grateful.

 

[seasonaldude]

Corporate may know that but it's the lead that writes the reviews that remembers WHO they talked to about INF and more likely than not will not recall that day's circumstances. My mind is not changed because it's "easier".

I can't completely agree with. Yes, it's not always fullfillment's fault, but it often is. At least half of my daily audits are items that are right where they are supposed to be.

 

[Rarejem]

I can't completely agree with. Yes, it's not always fullfillment's fault, but it often is. At least half of my daily audits are items that are right where they are supposed to be.

The question often is not is not where they are supposed to be, but when were they supposed to be there.

 

[BackupTL]

Trucks shouldn't be acknowledged until after they're unloaded.

While ideally this is the way to do it, best practice is actually to acknowledge when you confirm the seal and begin unload. This can begin to create issues if you acknowledge after unload especially in stores that unload into the day time.

Say you're unloading the truck and a TM stocks your toothpaste boat. There was 0 before and the TM stocks 12 from the unacknowledged truck. If a guest buys that toothpaste, the count is now -1 in the system since the truck isn't in the count yet. Now when you go to acknowledge the truck, you think the system is going to just take -1 and add 12 to that number. What actually happens is the system autocorrects -1 to 0, then adds 12. You now have 11 of that item, but the system thinks there's 12.

This is intentional by the system as it was designed to correct negative counts when accepting trailers. It doesn't know that trucks are often acknowledged before unload by stores.

This is why a lot of stores have INF from items that are overstated by 1 OH.

 

[seasonaldude]

The question often is not is not where they are supposed to be, but when were they supposed to be there.

True, but I see these stupid INFs for items for items that weren't recently delivered and my department is not behind in freight. What I've come to understand through years of training people in fulfillment and do audits is that reading and understanding POG schematics is a skill some people just can't understand. (For example, our entire Beauty department.) When picking, they rely on pictures and INF shit we have in the right place. And don't even get me started on looking for style on the wrong floorpad.

 

[Rarejem]

True, but I see these stupid INFs for items for items that weren't recently delivered and my department is not behind in freight. What I've come to understand through years of training people in fulfillment and do audits is that reading and understanding POG schematics is a skill some people just can't understand. (For example, our entire Beauty department.) When picking, they rely on pictures and INF shit we have in the right place. And don't even get me started on looking for style on the wrong floorpad.

RFID guns are style pickers' best friends. I train our pick team on schematics as well and you are very right about some not being able to understand it, especially in aisles with multiple POGs. The pictures are often deceiving but they are useful when you need to enlarge to see details. Somewhat related, we are having issues now with what appears to be sales location tracking with different DPCI's for different locations, even though the items are identical. This used to be a thing (especially with batteries) that disappeared and is now present in OTC, personal care, beauty, chemicals, checklanes, and market. We checked toothpaste, sunscreen, candy and other items that had multiple locations for what appeared to be the same product but had different barcodes. Each location was stocked incorrectly with a mixture of DPCIs. This is a lose situation for fulfillment.

 

[GRC]

True, but I see these stupid INFs for items for items that weren't recently delivered and my department is not behind in freight. What I've come to understand through years of training people in fulfillment and do audits is that reading and understanding POG schematics is a skill some people just can't understand. (For example, our entire Beauty department.) When picking, they rely on pictures and INF shit we have in the right place. And don't even get me started on looking for style on the wrong floorpad.

Even in my area of consumables, which is nowhere near as confusingly laid out as style or beauty, I will have fulfillment TMs who have worked here for months asking me where something is in an aisle when it says right on their device where it is. And 95% of the time it's exactly where it says, they just don't read the location.

 

[smarthuddle]

I’ve noticed at least in my store, a lot of the FF TMs don’t know how to read a schematic which is the fault of their leader and training. If the item is in S72(5) 1-2-3 they will 99% of the time look in S72(1) 1-2-3.

 

[Dysprosed]

While ideally this is the way to do it, best practice is actually to acknowledge when you confirm the seal and begin unload. This can begin to create issues if you acknowledge after unload especially in stores that unload into the day time.

Say you're unloading the truck and a TM stocks your toothpaste boat. There was 0 before and the TM stocks 12 from the unacknowledged truck. If a guest buys that toothpaste, the count is now -1 in the system since the truck isn't in the count yet. Now when you go to acknowledge the truck, you think the system is going to just take -1 and add 12 to that number. What actually happens is the system autocorrects -1 to 0, then adds 12. You now have 11 of that item, but the system thinks there's 12.

This is intentional by the system as it was designed to correct negative counts when accepting trailers. It doesn't know that trucks are often acknowledged before unload by stores.

This is why a lot of stores have INF from items that are overstated by 1 OH.

Is that the only reason why that's best practice? I've actually never heard that. Does it change depending on whether you're doing push all vs. scanning the truck? Our store happily goes on about its life with plenty of negative on-hands. For replenishment purposes, I understand the negative OH is still treated as 0, but the deflated count will persist until manually corrected.

Consider the impact on Fulfillment and Guests seeking items that are still on a truck that the system believes have been pushed to the floor, or at at the least, are sorted on a uboat. That strikes me as more impactful than worrying about an on-hand to go below zero because you stocked it before acknowledging.