Archived What's an item merge?

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It's when an item changes DPCI. The UPC barcode on the item is untied from the old DPCI and tied to a new one. These changes are uploaded to the store systems so when the item is scanned at the register/on the pda, the correct DPCI is read. HOWEVER, the Stockroom Location System is not automatically updated. When an item that is located (backstocked) in the stockroom changes DPCIs, the system hangs on to the old DPCI. This becomes a problem when the same item with a new dpci is selling on the salesfloor because the replenishment system asks for the new dpci in a pull, but all that's backstocked is the old dpci.

An Item Merge is a weekly report of items that are changing dpci's and need to have their stockroom locations updated so the NEW dpci is what is backstocked and therefore the system is able to pull it when needed. To work the report (which can be printed after 8 or 9am on Tuesday and should be completed same day but no later than Friday), you:

A.) Get a PDA and a portable printer with white UPC labels.
B.) Go to each OPEN STOCK location on the report. All you have to do is LOCU these locations. The item that's merging will automatically be backstocked with the new DPCI. Everything will be good
C.) For Upper/Lower casestock locations on the report, you must do one of two things. The UPC pick labels that are printed on each case are not the same UPC that's on the actual product. The pick label is printed with the fake 49-DDD-CC-IIII number that's unique to Target. This will ALWAYS scan to the OLD dpci so you cannot just LOCU these locations. You have to either remove the case of the merging item, open it, and take the product out and move it to an open stock waco, or use your portable printer to print a 49-DDD-CC-IIII label of the NEW DPCI for the item (this is shown on the report). Use the old DPCI on the report to locate the case in question, look at what the new DPCI is for the item, print a label with the new DPCI, and stick it over the pick label barcode. If there's more than one case, make sure to print labels for each case. Either stick the label over the old barcode or obliterate/remove the old barcode in some way so no one gets it confused. Make sure to LOCU the location after either one of these methods have been done.

Update each location on the report and give it to your TL to put in the Item Merge Binder. You're done! Repeat next week

One thing to note: Occasionally items will be listed on the report but will not scan to the new DPCI, instead remaining linked to the old DPCI. This should be mySupported. Sometimes it can be fixed at the store level with UPC maintenance, but it doesn't always "stick". Talk to your TL about becoming Item Merge Captain/Trainer. Good way to get noticed if you're interested in promoting.
 
b isn't at all accurate for me. I get at least 2 items every week that I need to print out a new lable for. Just check the pdt when you locu them back in to make sure the dcpi is the same. Also I would suggest just opening up the case packs and backstock them into open shelf locations, this saves any problems from arising.

Basically, I find it to be in the pain in the ass and the new and improved system is the suck.
 
What item merge is, is a pain in my ass. Every single week it seems like I have to sit at the signing or receiving computer for 15 - 20 minutes manually retieing the UPCs for half of the DPCIs on the report myself because they're still scanning as the old DPCI.

For some reason, this issue is almost exclusively limited to HBA and COSM items.

Although I do have to say that for the current report, I didn't have to do it even once.
 
What item merge is, is a pain in my ass. Every single week it seems like I have to sit at the signing or receiving computer for 15 - 20 minutes manually retieing the UPCs for half of the DPCIs on the report myself because they're still scanning as the old DPCI.

For some reason, this issue is almost exclusively limited to HBA and COSM items.

Although I do have to say that for the current report, I didn't have to do it even once.

If you are talking about the list that populates in an Excel worksheet, that has never worked for me. I always had to pull up the report under store reports on workbench.

But to the OP, a shortcut I use occasionally (equipment permitting) is to use two pdas. One that using the LOCU application and the other one on STO. That way you don't have to keep exiting LOCU, enter into STO, exit out of STO then enter LOCU, etc.
 
Oh, and another thing - recheck the item merge for the current week every single day of that week. Stuff may come in off the truck later in the week that will be a casepack of a DPCI that didn't have casepack locations on the report. This casepack will no doubt still have the old DPCI on it, so you'll have to go through the merge motions on it. If you don't, come next week, your previous-week report will be less than 100%, since old DPCIs came in after you did the merge.

If you are talking about the list that populates in an Excel worksheet, that has never worked for me. I always had to pull up the report under store reports on workbench.

The excel sheet is gone, the link under Logistics just sends you to store reports now, where the new-style item merge worksheet is. The excel spreadsheet was great in principle, but the goddamn thing never worked 75% of the time. I'd do everything right, then hit the find backroom locations button, and it'd immediately crash with an error letting you either stop the process, or debug the code - and the relevant code looked fine, especially since redoing the sheet on another computer would work. It was just a damn hassle having to roll the dice like that.

What I was talking about was the item's UPC still scanning under STO/SUBT/LOCU, etc. under the old DPCI instead of the new DPCI, meaning I have to go to the receiving or signing computer to store apps to do the UPC/DPCI Maintenance function to retie the DPCIs properly. Every week it's 8-12 DPCIs that I have to do this for, and it's almost exclusively HB01/HB02/PHAR/COSM. Except for this week, which was great, with none needing to be manually retied in the computer.

You can relocate items using LOCU.

Some logistics ETLs don't want people to update using LOCU. Some of them want you to erase the location using LOCU, but then put everything back into the location using STO so that they have a name they can look up and yell at on the Backroom Detail Report if something is wrong. LOCU doesn't show your name on the Detail Report.
 
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