Archived What the heck is a CAF?

[jaycarts]

I just started at Target about a week ago, and the guy who trained me really didn't go over most stuff with me (I'm in hardlines). Can someone explain CAFs to me? I haven't been able to pull anyone aside and ask, and I feel like asking whichever LOD is on might throw myself or the guy who trained me under the bus somehow.
So I get that CAFs are things you pick up from the back and then put out on the floor, but what's the point?? Why do we do this??

 

[Bosch]

Its a auto or system generated replenishment batch of stuff that has sold during the day.. The check out system says you sold X amount of paper towels so it will pull X amount of paper towels from the back room to fill the shelf. Those are CAFs and the clips are green. Its not always right with the amounts since the space the system thinks it has isn't always what the shelf really has. So when you have filled all locations for that item, you may back stock what you have left over.

The yellow clips that look just like CAFs are research pulls which are for sure empty spots on the sales floor they are what your In-stocks(aka inventory) team does in the mornings they go around or are supposed to go around the store checking for stuff that is out on the floor but in the back room.. With research its even more important you check all locations for that item before you back stock things. Yellow clips should have minimal back stock, again sometimes the system doesn't have the shelf space correct.

In general I recommend always filling end caps and or 2nd locations first then home locations. Full end caps sell better.

And the point: If your shelves are empty you are not making any money!!!

 

[Rock Lobster]

Created AutoFills

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Here is a link to spot terms:
http://www.thebreakroom.org/index.php?threads/target-talk-definitions.157/

 

[Leonhart621]

It also generates every hour. It depends on the volume of your store. Ours starts at 11am and the last one is 5pm.

 

[BRguy]

Hmm I thought CAFs stood for Computer Automated Fills. Ah well same thing.

 

[mrknownothing]

It also generates every hour. It depends on the volume of your store. Ours starts at 11am and the last one is 5pm.

High volume stores also have CAFs at 7PM.

 

[Backroom81]

High volume stores also have CAFs at 7PM.

Not all of them. I jumped for joy when they got rid of our 7s. F---ing things were starting to beat the 12s in size and literally NO ONE would try to work them.

 

[tarZHAYnotTarGET]

Last year we had 7 PM CAFs only in Q4. After the holidays we went back to stopping CAFs at 5PM.

 

[qmosqueen]

how about just 1 day a week, we do NO CAF pulls.
Instead we have in-stocks do their job and scan out and actually pull what we need and the amount we need, doesn;t that sound logical ??

 

[Circle9]

how about just 1 day a week, we do NO CAF pulls.
Instead we have in-stocks do their job and scan out and actually pull what we need and the amount we need, doesn;t that sound logical ??

Instocks scanning things? With all the covering other work centers our store's IS team does, I don't know where there'd be the time for this.

 

[Backroom81]

how about just 1 day a week, we do NO CAF pulls.
Instead we have in-stocks do their job and scan out and actually pull what we need and the amount we need, doesn;t that sound logical ??

Well, the theory used to be that all research is supposed to be scanned and pulled before 11 am so the accumulator is properly updated on those items and it wouldn't interfere with CAFs. Unfortunately, that seems to have been dropped in favor of "SCAN MOAR!!! THE MORE WE SCAN IT, THE BETTER IT WILL FILL ITSELF!"

 

[eleuthreophile]

Well, the theory used to be that all research is supposed to be scanned and pulled before 11 am so the accumulator is properly updated on those items and it wouldn't interfere with CAFs. Unfortunately, that seems to have been dropped in favor of "SCAN MOAR!!! THE MORE WE SCAN IT, THE BETTER IT WILL FILL ITSELF!"

Years ago, my ISTL once had an absolute shitfit at me because I told her I stopped scanning by 11. Bitch that is best practice, do not freak out at me.

 

[Circle9]

I never quite knew why the "stop before 11" was a thing. Though at my store I also heard it as "scan until you have an hour left so you can push the research pulls/put up sub signs." Nothing about the accumulator. When all the processes changed and we stopped pushing and our schedules moved back, that kind of fell by the wayside. Now its definitely scanning until the last 10-15 minutes so you can take care of your cart of trash/reshop/labels.

Though when I'm scanning market I try to do it before CAFs drop. Which ones? That depends.

 

[dedicated]

I was confused about it too until I pulled some. Thanks!

 

[BigEyedPhish]

CAF!!! is the sound every Market Team Member makes at about 15 minutes after every hour.

 

[AmICrazy]

Last year we had 7 PM CAFs only in Q4. After the holidays we went back to stopping CAFs at 5PM.

I work at an ULV store and have 6pm CAFs.

 

[mrknownothing]

Last year we had 7 PM CAFs only in Q4. After the holidays we went back to stopping CAFs at 5PM.

I work at an ULV store and have 6pm CAFs.

I've never heard of 6PM CAFs. Do you have one of those super late flow processes that delays everything?

 

[AmICrazy]

Last year we had 7 PM CAFs only in Q4. After the holidays we went back to stopping CAFs at 5PM.

I work at an ULV store and have 6pm CAFs.

I've never heard of 6PM CAFs. Do you have one of those super late flow processes that delays everything?

Might be. We start our unload at 7:30. For the 4th quarter it is 6am on most days and 5am on other select days.

 

[mrknownothing]

Last year we had 7 PM CAFs only in Q4. After the holidays we went back to stopping CAFs at 5PM.

I work at an ULV store and have 6pm CAFs.

I've never heard of 6PM CAFs. Do you have one of those super late flow processes that delays everything?

Might be. We start our unload at 7:30. For the 4th quarter it is 6am on most days and 5am on other select days.

That would explain it. We used to have a STL on here whose store had an 8AM process (see: Z-volume). I sorta remember him saying that instocks had to scan later and the CAFs started after 12.

 

[dave white]

Super target reporting in.

We have 11-5, price change at 6, then 7pm pull.