Archived Softlines Flow TMs:

[JimmyTarget]

I am looking for a more efficient way to do breakout in softlines at my store. What does your store do that works really well?

Do you have copies of the VA's so you know where to put new items that come off the truck or do you just "flex them in" and hope for the best?
Do you use my devices or do you just "flex them in" and hope for the best?
Where do you do the breakout and what system do you use?

My store is very slow and the team doesn't understand the adjacencies that I worked so hard to set. I find tables (With locations.....) with items in the wrong spots (All the time...)

As you can tell, i'm a little bitter. Hanging items are more understandable, but folded shirts and socks should never be in the wrong spots.

FYI: My store does not backstock hanging softlines like some can do.

Thanks for the help

 

[sigma7]

At my stores I've seen two methods:

1) Shove it all out and run away before the store opens. Let dayside deal with that mess.

2) Spend 4 hours breaking out repacks and don't finish any area, so that you can come in tomorrow and work Zs.

Most successful stores use the horseshoe method and have a copy of each current adjacency available for any new product. An planogrammed product should be stocked correctly. If you have Mossimo vee tees, they should be on the mossimo vee tee table. If you have hanging license tees, they should probably go on the license tee convertible. You often get in random things or stuff starts coming before the adjacency is available. This is why you need softlines flow TMs that are visual merchandisers. Unless product is for a street dated launch, they should be able to move things around to places that make sense in order to make room for the new product. Or they should be placing the new product in places that make sense. Your flow process makes or breaks you. Logistics in general.

NO HANGING BACKSTOCK. EVER.

 

[Noiinteam]

I work soft lines as a flow tm. We do not push to adjacencys. We use to when I first started, but our Etl and tl said we don't have time for that. As far as hanging stuff goes, we try to keep it by brand. It's easier to do that in men's than women's. I can only speak to womens, men's, sleep ware and champion. I scan new boxes to see if it has a location. Obviously anything on hanger goes out. Everything in accessories goes out. We are not allowed any backstock. If I open a box not on a hanger with no location, it goes to backstock. If and this happens way too often, when I have a location in the equipment but it is not set, it goes in a box in the fitting room. I will never backstock it. I will tell my tl or sl tl or Plano tl what is going on. We were directed to do this by our STL. I push the same area every truck so I know exactly where everything is, until they set with the adjacency. My issue is people doing the pulls and reshop not having a fn clue where stuff goes. V necks mixed in with crew and all the champion clothing that looks alike but has 3 different price points. I do not flex onto the tables. I don't have room. I try to keep everything where it is suppose to be by zoning and pushing correctly. Hope this helps

 

[calimero]

I do both flow and adjacency !
We try our best to push to adjacency , but let's be real , we can't do it !
When we set the adjacency , we don't quite follow our books , because we have either too much discontinue items or not enough of the new items ( or both ! )
But how hard is it to push the folded stuff to the right place ?
Our biggest problems are the lack of the right fixtures/ tables etc !
We have to be quite creative in our very old store !

 

[Bullseyes]

Use the horseshoe method on work bench!! I'm not flow but I'm in charge of softlines breakout because, I don't even know why, I'm signing and it doesn't make sense but my whole team does flow for 2 hours on truck days, and if hours are light for signing I do softlines flow.

Anyways, I BASICIALLY use a modified Horse shoe method, I just have added a few carts because I have OCD and need a little more organization. You figure out what works better as time goes on. I also made signs since who I work with differs.

Anyways, no, on the days I do flow, I don't push to the adjacency. but on every z rack I have the adjacency map attached for each department so that we know what sections and what departments are divided into. After a while you just know it like the back of your hand, but keeping up with the most recent one is a must. Adjacency hours are not given to flow, so I just try my best to merchandise product together. Our DTL always commends how awesome our softlines looks compared to other stores.
(I'm not sure when the last time anyone did an adjacency either)
We don't backstock anything for tables or accessories, after truck days an etl Runs a report that tells her what's in the back room -_- if new product comes in we flex it on the table it corresponds too. If it's new we have to get shelves and "merchandise" them. Which use to be best practice, not sure anymore.

at my store softlines brand does accessories, jewelry and shoes push since it involves way too much to make it look good,

 

[JimmyTarget]

Thank you all so much! I wasn't aware the horseshoe was a standard thing. I'll look into it.
Great info on the time requirements of the VA when filling. TL expectations vs. reality have never really coincided anyway!

The VA is never a legitimate possibly to 100% set which is comforting. Every section pretty much gets 1/2 or a whole rack of discontinued product anyway.
Thanks for the insight!

 

[jenna]

Use the horseshoe method on work bench!! I'm not flow but I'm in charge of softlines breakout because, I don't even know why, I'm signing and it doesn't make sense but my whole team does flow for 2 hours on truck days, and if hours are light for signing I do softlines flow.

Anyways, I BASICIALLY use a modified Horse shoe method, I just have added a few carts because I have OCD and need a little more organization. You figure out what works better as time goes on. I also made signs since who I work with differs.

We don't backstock anything for tables or accessories, after truck days an etl Runs a report that tells her what's in the back room -_- if new product comes in we flex it on the table it corresponds too. If it's new we have to get shelves and "merchandise" them. Which use to be best practice, not sure anymore.

You don't backstock anything that's on a table? How does softlines maintain the zone?

And flexing out new merchandise to the point of adding shelves? Sounds like a lot of extra work. Doesn't the brand team member have to move it all when they set the tables? Seems more efficient to backstock the case pack, and then the items stay together (and neatly folded) for the brand team member setting the new table.

 

[Mhugh220]

I had my TMs use the horseshoe method and broke out according to department. My team was ex SL TMs who wanted more hours. We got a truck every night so they got 40hours a week because they could unpack, push to adjacency, and have back stock ready for backroom by 530am. Put the wrong TMs there and they'll never get finished.

Side Note: not the easiest product to push. Following adjacencies sucked. I'd rather push GM all day.

 

[Bullseyes]

You don't backstock anything that's on a table? How does softlines maintain the zone?

And flexing out new merchandise to the point of adding shelves? Sounds like a lot of extra work. Doesn't the brand team member have to move it all when they set the tables? Seems more efficient to backstock the case pack, and then the items stay together (and neatly folded) for the brand team member setting the new table.

If we have like 100 size mediums we do but that's it's. Years ago something similar best practice for PTM tables. I'm not sure if it still is.

We are an all push store, "Product won't sell from the back room." We flex over areas that in stocks usually puts flex labels in, as long as it's the same product just usually a different color; indicating a revision. and on rare occasions we do add shelves, for instance when Hanes comes out.

Our POG team sets all tables. Our brand TM are used for zoning and maintaining areas. If you've ever set a table you know that when a table re sets it is usually understood that all the product is just moving to a different place, therefore when we flex the product, it's not a big deal and we never have to touch product more than once. More space in the back room, nobody has to pull and we get the sales.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

http://www.thebreakroom.org/index.php?threads/hang-me-the-softlines-thread.4873/page-20#post-184100

 

[SFSFun]

The softlines flow TMs at my store are pretty experienced and they just seem to know where everything goes. They are awesome about helping me locate product I need to pick for FF orders.

They leave backstock on the z-racks if it will not fit out or if they run out of hours at the end of the week. They bring all z-racks out each truck day to try and work the backstock out. Once we get to 10 full z-racks cluttering up the backroom, our BRTL will say "fuck it" and just hang EVERYTHING above the main backroom aisles. And it stays there until I pick it for an FF order or a pricing TM takes out the items that have gone clearance.

 

[jenna]

If we have like 100 size mediums we do but that's it's. Years ago something similar best practice for PTM tables. I'm not sure if it still is.

We are an all push store, "Product won't sell from the back room." We flex over areas that in stocks usually puts flex labels in, as long as it's the same product just usually a different color; indicating a revision. and on rare occasions we do add shelves, for instance when Hanes comes out.

Our POG team sets all tables. Our brand TM are used for zoning and maintaining areas. If you've ever set a table you know that when a table re sets it is usually understood that all the product is just moving to a different place, therefore when we flex the product, it's not a big deal and we never have to touch product more than once. More space in the back room, nobody has to pull and we get the sales.

What about when the seasons change? Sweaters on the tables going clearance, and then new spring merchandise arrives?

 

[calimero]

We try to hang all clearance , because we need the tables / convertibles for the new adjacency ,
We put high capacities to hang everything !
In rtw,clearance is by the fitting room , even if adjacency states along the back wall ( not happening !!!!)
FRO is in charge of maintening rtw clearance !

 

[jenna]

We never have enough team members in softlines during the day. They can't keep up with the reshop, much less hang all the clearance from the tables.

 

[Bullseyes]

Once clearance goes 50 soft lines hang it. Price changs moves clearance together, and after Xmas there are always extra tables and what not to utilize.

 

[killa]

Several things: 1.) On our team we split up the sorting. We set up one area (about 11 carts) for all the 10 and 13 boxes and one team member worked that break out. The next one we set up (7 carts or so) was for all the 15. (15 are set up in lingerie 10/13 in maternity/plus.) The the z bars were a little further down. This works on several fronts because you aren't huddled around a stack of repacks talking away and constantly circling around and around to sort. You can also keep track of who is getting hit hard and needs help.

2.) My flow team NEVER sets an adjacency. Ever. We aren't even allowed to look at a planogram. I think it's the stupidest idea because WE are the ones that have to know where things are, or better yet, where they got moved to now.

3.) If the softlines team is NOT placing product in the right location (tables) that is because they are lazy and don't know how to read a tag. Teaching that, in softlines is harder then anywhere else in the store because are locations continue to move. (E24 is ALWAYS going to be where it is. M30? It moved to the aisle last week, but now it near C9 for girls.) Whenever we get new hires in softlines I insist they spend two days training in hardlines first just so they can learn to read a label.

 

[FlowChick]

Barely anything in my store is tied to an actual location. Whenever I helped in hanging or clothes in general, I'd scan it and one of my co workers would laugh and tell me nothing is tied over here. Don't bother.

The only thing that was tied was intimates and socks and underwear for guys and socks for kids. Everything else was a "put it where it makes sense" kind of thing.

 

[Softflow13]

Actually we do a certain way at our store with only 3-4 people. Hanging is done out near lingerie with a cage for boxes and racks set up on either side. As for the folded ect we are on the line in back room with basket lined up as underwear-socks-baby-toddler-girls-boys-womens-mens(shirts and pants)-then mens underwear with socks. We keep extra baskets for when things get hectic. We aslo have a flat for the shoes and accessories and get another flat when full. I was told this system will be used throughout a lot of stores. It seems to work well

 

[Ashfromoldsite]

Our softlines brand leads work the zracks. We switched to this when we moved to 6am truck unload. The brand leads set the adjacencies also. We are a 4 truck a week store.

They are scheduled in flow for 3 hours to do it. Sometimes it takes longer.

ALL HANGING MUST GO OUT. there is absolutely no hanging back stock in my store. All zracks are returned to receiving empty. Period.

Any folded nop is back stocked. If the softlines gals want to put out new product, they check the back stock flat first thing at 8am. The stockroom hates softlines and puts it off til last so they have plenty of time to steal it off the flat.

 

[sher]

Our dtl has been telling them to backstock hanging for forever because she wants everything finger-spaced, but the etl-log was against it so we never did. The DTL's boss visited a couple weeks ago so now hanging gets back stocked again in my store. It looks a lot better, but if stuff runs out I imagine everyone's still gonna be saying "oh no, we don't have that in the back... We put all the clothes out!"

Flow pushes the clothes anywhere, then they get fixed by the TLs... Eventually. Sometimes girls xhil ends up in rtw and the new boys msc was also in rtw... Then girls before it made its way to boys lol.