Archived question on subt999?

[sjf10718]

During a training class for pfresh a stl brought on a constant problem that is happening in his store during remodel and turns out it is also happening in ours is that product is being "challenge"
to explain this is the problem...
-you set a pog
-you pull your pog and work everything that can be push to the floor ,
-you bring your backstock to the backroom and you backstock it
now the 11 o'clock caf drops and everything you backstock comes out in the caf pull...

now the elt log said you fix it by backstocking subt9999....he explain it but somehow i got confused ...i know you can fix the accumulator but again can some explain to me how it works

 

[talan123]

During a training class for pfresh a stl brought on a constant problem that is happening in his store during remodel and turns out it is also happening in ours is that product is being "challenge"
to explain this is the problem...
-you set a pog
-you pull your pog and work everything that can be push to the floor ,
-you bring your backstock to the backroom and you backstock it
now the 11 o'clock caf drops and everything you backstock comes out in the caf pull...

now the elt log said you fix it by backstocking subt9999....he explain it but somehow i got confused ...i know you can fix the accumulator but again can some explain to me how it works

When a pog is set, the stuff that is pulled is assumed to be the amount of stuff that will actually go out there from now on. So if it asked to you to pull sixteen cases of toilet paper for a pog that calls for six, it will continue to think that sixteen cases go out there. It will continually call for those out there until it is reset by pulling 9999 of said items, that will tell the accumulator that not only is that pog filled but every other location on the salesfloor is full as well.

It's not recommended to do the subt9999 unless you know for a fact that something is not going out there in the amount that you are pulling, there could be multiple locations for toilet paper, our store has them in six different locations.

 

[sjf10718]

thanks i do get that because the etl log said that it first has to be backstock then if the item drops in cafs.. and the same items have been fill to capacity in every available location on the floor and their no faked ties then subt9999 is when it supposed to be used..now my question is you just type in the pda subt9999 pull the item(that is challenge) and then do you backstock the item? or when you are pulling the item and it asked how many did you pull do you put 9999?... because what confused me is he said you backstock using subt9999...

 

[talan123]

You put in "9999" as the amount you subtracted. Don't put in "subt" again after you enter the program.

Subt9999 is just a shorthand name for it.

 

[MisterLogistics]

It doesn't HAVE to be STO'd first. Just scan the item under SUBT, hit 1, scan the location, put in "9999", then when it asks you if you pulled everything of that item from the location, enter "n" for "no", then enter the actual amount you're backstocking. If you're backstocking say, 3 boxes of Frosted Flakes, and the location you scan doesn't already have any in the location, just enter "3", BUT, if you scan a location that already has a quantity of that item in its location, you have to add that number to the amount you're backstocking.

 

[sjf10718]

will this somehow create errors?

 

[RedDog]

will this somehow create errors?

Nope as long as you remember that you must enter the amount of what you are adding plus any that may all already be in that location when using SUBT9999 and not just the amount you are adding like in STO.

 

[Formina Sage]

This is typically used for when salesplanners come down and all that merchandise is in the backroom waiting to be backstocked. Even though the tie is broken, that salesfloor location still exists in the system for a time, and so the shelf quantities associated with that location are flooding the accumulator. The gun continues to pull that merchandise after it's been backstocked because it's trying to satisfy an accumulator value that is too high now that that salesplanner doesn't exist on the floor.

It's not so bad with PIPO product like paper - the system doesn't keep track of quantities, just whether it's in a location or not. So if you STO a bunch of paper towels on a pallet in the bulk rack, on the next CAF, it will try pulling 20 or 30 or so, to satisfy the accumulator. You can easily fake it and return the accumulator to it's normal value by saying you pulled the amount it asked for, and hitting N-o to "Did you pull all from this location?", all while not actually taking product off the pallet because all the system cares about is whether it's there or not, and not how many are actually in the location. This effectively does the same thing as Subt9999 does for merchandise that does have the backstock quantity recorded.

The reason you have to subt9999 movies and groceries and toys, etc. is because the backstock quantity is recorded. If one copy of the Green Hornet movie is backstocked after the weekly MMB revision, the accumulator still thinks there is a need for, say, 10 copies on the floor, so - backstocked with STO - it will pull that 1 copy from it's location every hour until the accumulator value slowly decreases by 1 to its normal number. That's why you'd see that movie every hour in the pulls, and why the electronics guy would keep sending it back (although it's possible a copy would sell that day and therefore would actually be needed on the floor, chances are that the shelf would still have several other copies on it, so presentation minimum would be maintained and there would be no problem subt9999'ing it.)

Subt9999 resets the accumulator in the same way as it would have been "reset" in the Paper towel example.

 

[Rock Lobster]

Nope as long as you remember that you must enter the amount of what you are adding plus any that may all already be in that location when using SUBT9999 and not just the amount you are adding like in STO.

True but I believe it causes an error by skipping the STO step because you are telling the system you are pulling 9999 of a dpci that isn't in the location you are scanning (telling it you found a baffle there) and then by the last step it is alright... basically you get the same result by the end of it all, but you are causing an error to trigger during the process of it all...

 

[Formina Sage]

Rock, that was my original reasoning too, but I was later informed that errors are only registered through pulling batches. If you create a section in an uncommon fillgroup like LIQR or BRED and subt-9999 an item in, check the location accuracy sheet the next week and that fillgroup will be green. The best practice states to STO an item in, because that will give you "Item should be pushed to floor/Item is clearance/Item is on current MIR" etc warnings, if applicable.

 

[sjf10718]

thank you so much guysn for your help ..im hoping we dont have to used this step but with remodel we have our product being challenge all the time so now i know the way to do it

 

[Petey Pulls]

Rock, that was my original reasoning too, but I was later informed that errors are only registered through pulling batches. If you create a section in an uncommon fillgroup like LIQR or BRED and subt-9999 an item in, check the location accuracy sheet the next week and that fillgroup will be green. The best practice states to STO an item in, because that will give you "Item should be pushed to floor/Item is clearance/Item is on current MIR" etc warnings, if applicable.

Ah, that makes sense. They are making a big deal out of STO->SUBT for plano/endcap backstock and I could never figure out why.

 

[therealtd]

I recently went to another store to do some training and they used this function to backstock everything. Do any other stores do this?

I could only imagine how long it takes for them to backstock stuff.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Do you mean subt9999 or sto? If it is subt9999, that is wrong thing to do. Normal backstock is sto. Unless, the PDA says do you to backstock,etc? challegene it on sftm's. I do all the time! Look at end caps!

 

[RedDog]

I recently went to another store to do some training and they used this function to backstock everything. Do any other stores do this?

I could only imagine how long it takes for them to backstock stuff.

Its fine for everything other than that days truck. If they BS that days truck in SUBT then they will miss challenge and ruin the backstock percentage score.

 

[insiteful1]

You can save a keystroke and just hit 999. It does not have to be 9999. Every store is different on who is allowed to 999. My current store, 999'ing is a HUGE no no. The logistics ETL and TL are the only ones that do it and maybe even know it exists. It can really screw up the floor numbers if done improperly. Salesplanners that have been killed should always be 999'd. Other than that it should be done pretty limitedly (yes, I know that is not a word). Using 999 to backstock does create errors.....don't do it.

 

[Dynastic]

Its fine for everything other than that days truck. If they BS that days truck in SUBT then they will miss challenge and ruin the backstock percentage score.

It's the wrong thing to do period on all backstock like hlm said. If you subt9999 every single thing, after time, your salesfloor will start to look pretty barren on the endcaps and home locations because the accumulator thinks all is fine and dandy, and normal items that sale down won't get properly replenished until it is low enough to be hit by your instock team. I would safely assume this would mostly affect instocks workload in the long run.

 

[Formina Sage]

Using 999 to backstock does create errors

Where?

It's the wrong thing to do period on all backstock like hlm said. If you subt9999 every single thing, after time, your salesfloor will start to look pretty barren on the endcaps and home locations because the accumulator thinks all is fine and dandy, and normal items that sale down won't get properly replenished until it is low enough to be hit by your instock team. I would safely assume this would mostly affect instocks workload in the long run.

Also, this. Don't use it to normally backstock. There's no need and you will eff up the accumulator and create much more work for the Instocks team.

As far as subt-9999 truck backstock, my team only does it after we've given it a chance to even out and all that keeps pulling are persistant items that we only have 1 or 2 of in the back. What I mean is, we backstock all freight normally, and if things pull in the 11's and 12's that we know don't fit, we either send it out or just toggle over to STO and backstock it normally. This usually takes care of cases of 6, 12, 16, etc. After the 12's, any item that is still pulling from the truck backstock, we'll kill with subt-9999.

 

[therealtd]

My store uses STO like we've always used. But according to them, they use subt9999 when they are backstocking anything. Perhaps he misunderstood me when I asked him how often they used this function. He just told me they used it whenever they backstocked anything.

However, their main reason for doing it was to burn the 11 o clock pulls because it was just asking them to pull everything they had just backstocked. I have no idea why they would bother using subt9999 later in the day though. According to them though, their score is doing great.

I think he meant it can create errors...which it can if you're not keying in the correct number of items.

Specifically my training was PFresh for the fridge/cooler and truck deliveries. I usually work overnight, but on truck days, I'll be there for the 11 o clock pulls and if the same thing is happening (sounds like it already happens at my store), I'll be using subt9999 to backstock our cooler items and burning those batches.

 

[OvernightSlave84]

Whoever told our p-fresh team to use subt99999 to backstock was a moron. Our Loc Accuracy went from 98 something to like 94, and the sole reason we found out was due to them not doing it correctly. Needless to say our ETL-LOG had a talk with the guy, at first he flat out told our ETL-LOG he was not gonna use sto, but that quickly changed.

 

[RedDog]

Just a reminder using subt-9999 and when to use it is not some secret, it is best practice and if you or store have questions about it you can either print a copy or ask for a copy of how and when to use it.