Archived Outs/Research batches vs. Autofill/CAF batches

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Question for someone in the know - Which SHOULD be a higher priority for the backroom to pull - outs/research or Autofill/CAF? I know what I think, but I'd like to get a definitive answer on Best Practice and, if possible, where that info is written.
 
research pulls have to be pulled within ONE HOUR of the time they are dropped, or the process will be red. Therefore research pulls take precedent over CAFS/Autofills in most cases. Research pulls shouldn't be that big though.
 
Research and outs are more important because they aren't represented on the floor. The process acts as a backup for the things other processes miss. Thus, it's most important to push the priority pulls first.
 
I know we're all guilty of "false tagging" a vehicle. :D Sales Floor seems to respond better to yellow anyway!
 
autofill/caf should be pull and filled before they even do research

This wasn't what the question refers to. I am ONLY asking about the priority of the pull. I need to know where the reference can be found. I get the whole instocks process - have been a part of it probably longer than anyone else on this board. Our ETL-log and BRISTL believe that the backroom stops everything the second the CAFs drop. I think that filling an out is more important than replacing an item that sold an hour ago. When I question the priority I get mumblemumblemumbleOURNUMBERSmumble. If it's supposed to be that way, I will bow to whatever corp. reasons are, but I want to see it in writing.
 
Autofills are from the early AM or o/n logistics process in your store, so they should have been pulled and worked long before scanning even took place! Then you need to keep up with outs and research batches since they are next in line and then CAFs after that! Some stores however, will have their leaders make the decision to just ignore the research and go to the CAFs if the research was already late (better to at least have one green timeliness % versus none at all)
 
auto fills are usually done and finished by overnight usually around 6am at my store. Although overnight likes leaving 1 or 2 batches which of course is on the steel side. We usually let them fall into the 12pm cafs. The in stocks team shoots research until 11 am which is when the cafs drop. Our old team lead for the back didnt care which was done first but now our new team lead made a schedule so everything gets done and its always the same routine everyday.
 
Question for someone in the know - Which SHOULD be a higher priority for the backroom to pull - outs/research or Autofill/CAF? I know what I think, but I'd like to get a definitive answer on Best Practice and, if possible, where that info is written.

If your store is like mine, which is a six am store, indeed sometimes research pulls will overlap with autofills cafs......say backroom and instocks both start at six am. By six thirty or so, some research pulls will have dropped in the gun, and best practice would be have a team member moniter research pulls and pull them as they appear. There is a time limit of one hour, and your store is scored on the quickness they are pulled. There may also be times were the instocks team stopped scanning at eleven and for some reason the research pulls don't drop til 11:30/11:45. Well if a backroom team member starts pulling 12:00 pulls and there are still research pulls, I think the priority should be research pulls first, and then try to get the 12:00 o'clocks done within the hour. There should be enough staffing still that this can be accomplished.
 
If you run 3 guys like we normally do, it becomes near impossible to get Autofills > Case Stock > Backstock > Research/PTM > CAFS all done everyday. We've actually stop doing research for the most part until seasonal blows over. We will shoot EXF's if something is out, instocks will help push those. As far as entire store scanning goes, insanely stupid to even try.
 
If you run 3 guys like we normally do, it becomes near impossible to get Autofills > Case Stock > Backstock > Research/PTM > CAFS all done everyday. We've actually stop doing research for the most part until seasonal blows over. We will shoot EXF's if something is out, instocks will help push those. As far as entire store scanning goes, insanely stupid to even try.

Again, my question is not whether or not to scan outs or research. There is a best practice regarding this - which my store (usually) follows. My question is for the days when outs and research have been scanned after the a.m. autofills and freight are pushed and the research area backstocking has been completed. I know that there is a one hour time frame to complete the pulls. Again, that is not the question. What is BP regarding which type of pull takes priority? Scans are supposed to stop at 11. CAFs drop at 11. Dilemma or not?
 
Based on autofills done first, research, then cafs. I had asked & the process got changed today.
So is this BP? It just makes sense - which is so not in the current vocab of my store! Where would I find it? When I show them the written word, things are more likely to be done correctly.
 
It is listed in our backroom guide. Also, ck the backroom training book for new hires or backroom core roles, it should be in there I think.
 
This is kind of a trick question. The best practice referenced here is in regards to the proper sequencing of logistics processes. Each previous step should be completed 100 percent before the next step in the process; if everyone is following best practice you would never have to choose which pull to do first. (scan by 11 rule is a contradiction in best practice however, since the batch will obviously drop after 11am).

The question now becomes, "Pulling which batch first is the better business decision, given that best practice has already been violated?" and the answer is without a doubt to pull the research/outs first. pulling outs/research should take priority over all.
 
This is kind of a trick question. The best practice referenced here is in regards to the proper sequencing of logistics processes. Each previous step should be completed 100 percent before the next step in the process; if everyone is following best practice you would never have to choose which pull to do first. (scan by 11 rule is a contradiction in best practice however, since the batch will obviously drop after 11am).

The question now becomes, "Pulling which batch first is the better business decision, given that best practice has already been violated?" and the answer is without a doubt to pull the research/outs first. pulling outs/research should take priority over all.

Bingo!
 
This is kind of a trick question. The best practice referenced here is in regards to the proper sequencing of logistics processes. Each previous step should be completed 100 percent before the next step in the process; if everyone is following best practice you would never have to choose which pull to do first. (scan by 11 rule is a contradiction in best practice however, since the batch will obviously drop after 11am).

The question now becomes, "Pulling which batch first is the better business decision, given that best practice has already been violated?" and the answer is without a doubt to pull the research/outs first. pulling outs/research should take priority over all.

I'm with you on this completely. I have always thought it strange that we stop scans at 11 which is when our CAFs drop. Any word on how the pilot that has changed scans to later in the day is working out?
 
yeah if you scan research after 11 it will start messing up and showing up in the cafs and doing all kinds of weird stuff like if you backstock something it will show up in a caf every hour. My guess is target went with the lowest bid when looking for a programmer. Oh well you get what you pay for!!!
 
So they've opted to stay with the program "as is"? Will they start requiring the TL, ETL and STL to learn how the processes actually work together and schedule the flow and back room tms to actually meet the needs of the store? We haven't scanned in weeks and as far as everything else that instocks is supposed to do we just get blank stares and robotic "you will push the freight.....you will push the freight.....you will backstock now.....you will backstock now....." I used to love this job and all that I could do to maximize sales. I feel like a mindless drone and I hate going to work. Someone give me some of the kool-aid!!!! I'm losing it!!!!!!
 
I've gotten creative with my lost cause instocks position. I try to make everything into an event. Like "no scan mondays!"
 
I say this a lot both on here and in my store...

Just remember that Instocks is still a baby of a process and Target is still rethinking the best way to maximize productivity with it! Presentation and Price Accuracy are comparable processes that once were TLs duties and got put into a streamlined process, and they have had a few more years to form into their current state! Instocks is taking a bit longer than it should be be a strong process, but it will get there! Just go with the flow and make the most out of the process.. and brace yourself for any and all changes that may come down the pipe! I think the best thing Target could do is be VERY clear about how many hours they think should be spent on the process, and most importantly, make hours clear with PTM work! I think it is time for target to give us hours much like how plano receives hours... based on workload based on the upcoming transitions

With that said, it may make sense with how batches work because Target says to make sure all scanning is done by 11AM (10:59 I guess) and the CAFs don't drop until 11 hits, and they slowly drop until probably 11:03 or 04... So in theory (maybe not in practice), if all scanning is done by 10:59 you have a few minutes to finish off the last few batches before you actually should start pulling the 11s... just sayin :p
 
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I say this a lot both on here and in my store...

Just remember that Instocks is still a baby of a process and Target is still rethinking the best way to maximize productivity with it! Presentation and Price Accuracy are comparable processes that once were TLs duties and got put into a streamlined process, and they have had a few more years to form into their current state! Instocks is taking a bit longer than it should be be a strong process, but it will get there! Just go with the flow and make the most out of the process.. and brace yourself for any and all changes that may come down the pipe! I think the best thing Target could do is be VERY clear about how many hours they think should be spent on the process, and most importantly, make hours clear with PTM work! I think it is time for target to give us hours much like how plano receives hours... based on workload based on the upcoming transitions

With that said, it may make sense with how batches work because Target says to make sure all scanning is done by 11AM (10:59 I guess) and the CAFs don't drop until 11 hits, and they slowly drop until probably 11:03 or 04... So in theory (maybe not in practice), if all scanning is done by 10:59 you have a few minutes to finish off the last few batches before you actually should start pulling the 11s... just sayin :p

Some told me once some of the odd quirks in how some of targets software interacts is due to security protocols on the Point of Sales (POS) Sever. Before 11, POS probably provides provides data to the in-stocks software to improve data integrity. At 11am, POS needs to provide information the the sales accumulator so that CAFs can generate. I know nothing about security, and have no idea if this even make sense, but this is the explanation i got.
 
Some told me once some of the odd quirks in how some of targets software interacts is due to security protocols on the Point of Sales (POS) Sever. Before 11, POS probably provides provides data to the in-stocks software to improve data integrity. At 11am, POS needs to provide information the the sales accumulator so that CAFs can generate. I know nothing about security, and have no idea if this even make sense, but this is the explanation i got.

In a way this is true. Data flows sequentially to various platforms and systems in the store. POS provides trickling sales data to the store's ISP (In Store Processor) - this is the beast that houses the sales accumulator, autofills/cafs systems, etc. This is also the server that your PDA interacts with, both in the web based apps and RF Apps (which are simply a telnet connection)

HOST (the Target HQ mainframe) pulls data out of both POS and ISP servers at intervals throughout the day, and then at like 2am pushes all new data regarding inventory, retail prices, item descriptions, etc to the store ISP and POS servers.

Random tidbits:

The price scanners in the store use the POS servers to pull item descriptions and retail prices, not the mainframe at headquarters. Don't ask me why they don't work a lot of the time.

The store also has a SQL server which holds the ISIS (in store information system) database - keeps track of stock room locations, POG tie locations, sales floor locs, etc.

When CAFs generate, the ISP polls the POS server for items sold, cross examines the accumulator need and shelf capacity to determine how many items to send out.
 
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