Archived Instocks question

[zoned2deep]

I am kind of a wannabee instocks TM, in that I, a Hardlines TM, check outs while I zone and push product, and I will pull product from the back to fill them (though I never reset counts, because I have been discouraged from doing so). I also zone to planogram obsessively, to a degree that other people don't. (And yes, I am not a fast zoner... see username...)

I also get really into 4X4s whenever I have the opportunity to do one. For example, I scan grey-dotted outs. The other day I scanned one and found that there were 3 on hand, all in the back. How is this possible? Wouldn't the system automatically push it out within a day? (When I did pull the item, the box was labeled as part of the February transition.)

 

[Spitfire]

Odds are that the product wasn't in the back when the aisle was set, so it wouldn't have come out in the POG fill. Or it was unlocated in the back at the time, and was since corrected and located but never pushed.

When it did come in, your flow team scans boxes off the truck and the PDA will tell you if it can go out to the floor or not. So it was likely an error on your flow team's part; it got scanned, told it could go out, but got put on the wrong pallet and got backstocked instead. Or it made its way to the floor and someone backstocked it for some reason; maybe they got lazy and didn't check the location, maybe they read the smart label incorrectly and checked another location and saw that location was packed out.

If it turns out that it was on the floor (say as a carry-forward product from the old aisle's POG) and was sold, it would have dropped in a CAF, so maybe someone burned a batch (pulled a CAF then immediately backstocked it.)

But here's no system for automatically pushing product out of the backroom if the product isn't selling. If the product was never on the floor, it wouldn't have sold, and therefore wouldn't have dropped in a CAF or in a manual.

There are other options, but those are the most likely ones in my mind. Essentially that's what instocks is for, though; as a checking system in case other areas don't work as expected.

 

[Circle9]

For example, I scan grey-dotted outs. The other day I scanned one and found that there were 3 on hand, all in the back. How is this possible? Wouldn't the system automatically push it out within a day? (When I did pull the item, the box was labeled as part of the February transition.)

From my understanding of the CAFs (I'm assuming that's the system you're thinking of) is not that clever. It basically goes "Okay, X of this product has been sold since the last CAFs were pulled. Better tell the backroom to pull some more to replenish the sales floor." If something's in the backroom but not on the floor and isn't being bought, it's going to sit there until a human being notices it.

So how'd it get in the backroom? Somebody, somewhere missed it and it ended up in the backroom.

 

[zoned2deep]

There are other options, but those are the most likely ones in my mind. Essentially that's what instocks is for, though; as a checking system in case other areas don't work as expected.

Of course, if it gets grey-dotted instocks is just going to ignore it indefinitely, so the problem never gets solved. Hence why I started scanning grey dots while doing 4x4s

I read the Instocks guide on here and I think I understand now what the sitch is, thank y'all for explaining.

 

[Spitfire]

Technically everyone should be scanning outs when they 4x4 (grey dots or not) and an instocks TM should be going through after the 4x4 and zeroing counts of locations that are empty but still have OH>0!

 

[zoned2deep]

Technically everyone should be scanning outs when they 4x4 (grey dots or not) and an instocks TM should be going through after the 4x4 and zeroing counts of locations that are empty but still have OH>0!

Yeah, I don't think most people at my store get that. 4x4s are portrayed by the leaders as just a very thorough zone and people tend to ignore the outs, I suspect.

 

[Circle9]

Of course, if it gets grey-dotted instocks is just going to ignore it indefinitely, so the problem never gets solved. Hence why I started scanning grey dots while doing 4x4s

I read the Instocks guide on here and I think I understand now what the sitch is, thank y'all for explaining.

No, instocks should not be ignoring grey dots. 3 days out of the week the IS team at our store is supposed to scan all outs, dotted or not. If your store's team is flat out ignoring dotted outs, somebody needs to light a fire under their asses.

 

[zoned2deep]

No, instocks should not be ignoring grey dots. 3 days out of the week the IS team at our store is supposed to scan all outs, dotted or not. If your store's team is flat out ignoring dotted outs, somebody needs to light a fire under their asses.

I'm not saying they should ignore them, I'm just describing what happens. I have found enough grey dotted items with OH to suspect that it's not being done, at least not thoroughly. But it's possible it's just being missed somehow.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

When product is pushed to the shelf, we are supposed remove the grey dot.

 

[Circle9]

I'm not saying they should ignore them, I'm just describing what happens. I have found enough grey dotted items with OH to suspect that it's not being done, at least not thoroughly. But it's possible it's just being missed somehow.

Have you checked the Last Research Date on those items? Does it have one (they go away after 2 weeks or something I think?). If you're finding a bunch of dateless, dotted locations, point them out to the ETL-Logistics or the instocks TL. Even "better" if there's backroom locations for that stuff. If they're any good, they are going to be pissed. I know this because at one time or another our instocks team was not scanning dotted outs and when the bosses find out...

Technically everyone should be scanning outs when they 4x4 (grey dots or not) and an instocks TM should be going through after the 4x4 and zeroing counts of locations that are empty but still have OH>0!

Technically 4x4s are one thing but everybody else only has the time and motivation for a different thing.

 

[zoned2deep]

Have you checked the Last Research Date on those items? Does it have one (they go away after 2 weeks or something I think?). If you're finding a bunch of dateless, dotted locations, point them out to the ETL-Logistics or the instocks TL. Even "better" if there's backroom locations for that stuff. If they're any good, they are going to be pissed. I know this because at one time or another our instocks team was not scanning dotted outs and when the bosses find out...

I did not, I'll remember to do that in the future.