Why isn't the truck IMMEDIATELY pushed to the floor ?

[Dream Baby]

I have yet to figure out why all merchandise isn't pushed to the floor as soon as it comes in.

I have asked management and they act like they have no idea what is arriving!

IMHO if the truck is completely unloaded by 8:00 AM everything should be on the floor by 4:00 PM. I am still putting stuff of away at 9:00 PM!

Another wrinkle is when the OPU team has to dig through repack boxes to find an item.

Thoughts?

 

[moninity]

Target doesn’t like that green they prefer to be in the red.

 

[SigningLady]

Target wants TMs to be jack-of-all-trades, able to do all the things. In order to do all the things, some tasks (like working freight) need to be spread out more.

Routines are important. Not having good ones makes the process less successful.

 

[happygoth]

When I was first hired, that's pretty much what they did. Softlines was actually processed on the sales floor in a designated area, and you had to go grab racks and put everything out right away. If you weren't getting it done you would be directed to get a move on. TLs would be calling out on the radio asking what the holdup was. We NEVER pushed freight after 4:00 pm.

With Modernization, we now have a breakout area in the back room. It works fine as long as people actually get their stuff, but sometimes we get really backed up. If reshop is crazy and the floor is trashed, closers often don't get to push. It is what it is. I have finally learned to let that stuff go, especially after seeing what some TMs get away with and are still here and still getting good hours. I do what I can but if I don't get to something, oh well.

 

[Dream Baby]

Before I was in grocery they used to drop all the perishables and freezer on the floor and immediately push it in the morning.

Now we store it, break it down and push it, and gets done whenever.

 

[dabug]

Write✍️that✍️down✍️Next✍️truck✍️don’t✍️push✍️. Got it

Well think about it lol. At my store, even if the closing market tm does nothing but push 141s for their whole shift, I will still come in the next morning with at least 100-150 eaches in dry grocery and 20-30 in the walk-in. That doesn’t mean the night person was lazy because I know for a fact they started their shift with 500+ eaches. So after 1-2 hours of pushing 141s in the morning, taking a 15, inevitably pushing 15-30 minutes of another department’s reshop(🙄), ad if it’s Sunday, possibly do an audit, go backup cashier, go backup starbucks, go get carts, go clean carts, and possibly even go go the moon if my etl screams loud enough, then I will be working on the truck

 

[PackAndCry]

Throwback when the store absolutely HAD TO look "great by eight". Now it's 5 and there's still vehicles everywhere and the floor looks like a Walmart clearance section.

 

[GRC]

What irritates me about doing the 141s before freight is that the later the freight gets done, the less accurate SFQ is and therefore the worse the next 141 will be. It's simply less efficient to do 141s first.

 

[Rarejem]

What irritates me about doing the 141s before freight is that the later the freight gets done, the less accurate SFQ is and therefore the worse the next 141 will be. It's simply less efficient to do 141s first.

Not sure how, but I actually managed to convince my tl of this and I do my freight first, updating sfq and scanning for true outs on the floor. My 141's are pretty small.

 

[vyrt]

My store got so backed up on freight because we had inventory and I tried to keep people on “routine”. Last few days it’s been just push freight. Get it to zero and we’ll do 141s again. So that’ll be tomorrow. I just wish they’d let the night crew do more 141s.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

The jack of all trades stuff is really screwing my store and I have never been so happy to just be the cart cleaner.

A week ago we had a really big truck and the next morning GS was FULL of reshop carts. Had to call people in.

So what's the problem?

1. Fast service
2. OPU + DU is god
3. Beginning of the year hours cut

All this together means we are rolling truck nearly every day because of having to run up to do various things. If OPU+DU get backed up, people get called for that too. They are not letting anything be late there if at all possible.

Add to that the hours cut...the only thing that gets you extra hours is circumstances like above where reshop was so bad they had no choice but to call people in.

Took a look back there when I came in at store open because I found makeup reshop and I was like, "Well I'm glad I don't work up here..."

 

[MxTarget]

One biggest part of modernization is day stocking...some departments should wrap by 5:30 at the latest, some are allowed to go almost to close. Before COVID-19, there was going to be a large push to schedule team members mostly around store peak times, which is usually in the early evening. Plus they were even piloting 10am unloads, but COVID killed all that for now.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

One biggest part of modernization is day stocking...some departments should wrap by 5:30 at the latest, some are allowed to go almost to close. Before COVID-19, there was going to be a large push to schedule team members mostly around store peak times, which is usually in the early evening. Plus they were even piloting 10am unloads, but COVID killed all that for now.

10 AM unload, HAHAHAHAHA...oh, that's a good joke.

Those poor unload people. They can never get a break.

 

[greenfield88]

Throwback to the 80s, when stores could receive, unload, push, and clear the floor by 9:30 a.m. every morning -- so we could open by 10. I still don't understand how we did it, but we DID IT with pride, and with less technology and less "process engineering."

It wasn't until Target tried to become Disney-level "distraction-free" that finishing trucks became every store's endless nightmare. Thirty years later, it seems the nightmare never ends!

 

[moninity]

Until the past couple of years it wasn't that bad with truck unload and finishing up for the day even in horrible months like Feb and Sept but I think as soon as this CEO bozo leaves it might get better. If the next CEO wants to say he came up with the idea for specific teams doing things I'll say yes you did. Amazon still has multiple teams to work on different parts of their business model and I feel we will return back to the old teams.

 

[Tessa120]

Throwback to the 80s, when stores could receive, unload, push, and clear the floor by 9:30 a.m. every morning -- so we could open by 10. I still don't understand how we did it, but we DID IT with pride, and with less technology and less "process engineering."

It wasn't until Target tried to become Disney-level "distraction-free" that finishing trucks became every store's endless nightmare. Thirty years later, it seems the nightmare never ends!

When I started at Target in 2016, there were three trucks a week. Doubles or a fourth day were rare.

When I left there were trucks every day except the occasional Sunday and doubles were common.

The building had no additions. There was not any more floor space added anywhere. I looked at population stats between starting and leaving, population in the surrounding area had actually dropped 10%, not increased. Items went from finger spaced and no hanging in the back to the racks so crammed full of hanger that the clothes were bulging out and you couldn't take something without knocking several down and hanging in the back equally squished beyond all reason plus a few z-racks permanently back there for the hanging overflow. I one time counted 11 or 12 of the same item/size, grabbed all but 5 (even though standard was 2) and found over a dozen more in the back when I backstocked them.

I'm betting other stores are the same way. I'm betting freight received has tripled or quadrupled without the infrastructure having a matching increase to accommodate it. By matching, I mean back room space and sales floor space and hours for working the insane increase. I'm betting that other areas with a stagnant population are also receiving a huge increase in freight, like my old store.

That's the problem, and unfortunately there's only two solutions that would be long term fixes, not bandaids. One, hire a contractor to significantly increase building size in all stores and increase payroll to levels needed to knock out freight in a reasonable time. Two, enable stores to refuse freight so the amount of product is manageable, force purchasers to buy on a 141 system and warehouses on a 141 system for choosing items to put on trucks, and impose consequences against purchasers who over-purchase items that sit in the warehouse since no store has room.

 

[happygoth]

When I started at Target in 2016, there were three trucks a week. Doubles or a fourth day were rare.

When I left there were trucks every day except the occasional Sunday and doubles were common.

The building had no additions. There was not any more floor space added anywhere. I looked at population stats between starting and leaving, population in the surrounding area had actually dropped 10%, not increased. Items went from finger spaced and no hanging in the back to the racks so crammed full of hanger that the clothes were bulging out and you couldn't take something without knocking several down and hanging in the back equally squished beyond all reason plus a few z-racks permanently back there for the hanging overflow. I one time counted 11 or 12 of the same item/size, grabbed all but 5 (even though standard was 2) and found over a dozen more in the back when I backstocked them.

I'm betting other stores are the same way. I'm betting freight received has tripled or quadrupled without the infrastructure having a matching increase to accommodate it. By matching, I mean back room space and sales floor space and hours for working the insane increase. I'm betting that other areas with a stagnant population are also receiving a huge increase in freight, like my old store.

That's the problem, and unfortunately there's only two solutions that would be long term fixes, not bandaids. One, hire a contractor to significantly increase building size in all stores and increase payroll to levels needed to knock out freight in a reasonable time. Two, enable stores to refuse freight so the amount of product is manageable, force purchasers to buy on a 141 system and warehouses on a 141 system for choosing items to put on trucks, and impose consequences against purchasers who over-purchase items that sit in the warehouse since no store has room.

Blessedly that has not been the case at my store at all. We have almost no hanging in the back and the floor is not overstuffed. Still a lot of folded backstock for boys/girls/infants and some mens/womens basics, but otherwise we are good.

 

[Ashfromoldsite]

I have yet to figure out why all merchandise isn't pushed to the floor as soon as it comes in.

I have asked management and they act like they have no idea what is arriving!

IMHO if the truck is completely unloaded by 8:00 AM everything should be on the floor by 4:00 PM. I am still putting stuff of away at 9:00 PM!

Another wrinkle is when the OPU team has to dig through repack boxes to find an item.

Thoughts?

Most of the depts in my store are pushed by 4pm. The only areas that seem to roll over is hba, some home, and some style.

 

[Boxman]

When I started at Target in 2016, there were three trucks a week. Doubles or a fourth day were rare.

When I left there were trucks every day except the occasional Sunday and doubles were common.

The building had no additions. There was not any more floor space added anywhere. I looked at population stats between starting and leaving, population in the surrounding area had actually dropped 10%, not increased. Items went from finger spaced and no hanging in the back to the racks so crammed full of hanger that the clothes were bulging out and you couldn't take something without knocking several down and hanging in the back equally squished beyond all reason plus a few z-racks permanently back there for the hanging overflow. I one time counted 11 or 12 of the same item/size, grabbed all but 5 (even though standard was 2) and found over a dozen more in the back when I backstocked them.

I'm betting other stores are the same way. I'm betting freight received has tripled or quadrupled without the infrastructure having a matching increase to accommodate it. By matching, I mean back room space and sales floor space and hours for working the insane increase. I'm betting that other areas with a stagnant population are also receiving a huge increase in freight, like my old store.

That's the problem, and unfortunately there's only two solutions that would be long term fixes, not bandaids. One, hire a contractor to significantly increase building size in all stores and increase payroll to levels needed to knock out freight in a reasonable time. Two, enable stores to refuse freight so the amount of product is manageable, force purchasers to buy on a 141 system and warehouses on a 141 system for choosing items to put on trucks, and impose consequences against purchasers who over-purchase items that sit in the warehouse since no store has room.

You're for getting about Fulfillment. I'm not saying it's THE reason, but one of the reasons stores receive so much freight is to feed the fulfillment teams. When Target decided to use their stores as leverage and double them as fulfilment centers is changed the ballgame. Having only DC's fulfill online orders didn't allow Target to be as competitive in the eCommerce/online shopping space. Thus the Ship from Store baby in stores was born.

It's nowhere close to a perfect model though. I've seen a pallet full of Instant Pots, Vacuums, Kidde Pools etc come in on a truck at 4am and the ENTIRE PALLET gets picked and packed and shipped out by 4:30pm that day. It makes me wonder sometimes about the whys and hows of the whole process.

Wouldn't it make more sense for the DC to have shipped out those Instant Pots? Granted they might not have known that the guest were going to order them, but the point is stores get killed with freight to support/FEED the ship from store departments.

 

[Tessa120]

If it's all for fulfillment's benefit, then why is it one day near the end of my time the ETL grabbed all of...yeah, we were style at that point, took us in the back and had us check all of hanging for salvage or clearance. We literally cleared out all 6 z-racks overflow and half the built-in hanging bars. Fulfillment sure as heck wasn't picking clothing hanging items at the rate that the clothing was coming in. It's not like the repacks, these were hanging, rfid tags attached, easy to get to.

And those couple dozen pairs of pants all the same size, fulfillment wasn't grabbing those at the rate it was coming in.

Lots of other items were the same way. Underwear and socks were flexed as in not being on the right peg but being in the right section/brand. Still easy to find.

It's not because of fulfillment. They weren't making a dent. The rate of stuff coming in was higher than the stuff leaving the store in every legal way at full or reduced price.

 

[Boxman]

If it's all for fulfillment's benefit, then why is it one day near the end of my time the ETL grabbed all of...yeah, we were style at that point, took us in the back and had us check all of hanging for salvage or clearance. We literally cleared out all 6 z-racks overflow and half the built-in hanging bars. Fulfillment sure as heck wasn't picking clothing hanging items at the rate that the clothing was coming in. It's not like the repacks, these were hanging, rfid tags attached, easy to get to.

And those couple dozen pairs of pants all the same size, fulfillment wasn't grabbing those at the rate it was coming in.

Lots of other items were the same way. Underwear and socks were flexed as in not being on the right peg but being in the right section/brand. Still easy to find.

It's not because of fulfillment. They weren't making a dent. The rate of stuff coming in was higher than the stuff leaving the store in every legal way at full or reduced price.

I didn't say it was the only reason. It's just a big contributing factor.

Sometimes shit doesn't sell. Oversaturated markets can have this effect. Like having 1 Target for every 1000 people in a 500 mile radius.

 

[Poofresh]

It's retarded really. Target cares more about public image that a pallet on the sales floor is not ok.. Meanwhile walmart is selling goods and making more money lining up their goods along the racetrack. Target likes to have a nice presented shelves and other nonsense design.

 

[Dream Baby]

I think the DC likes dumping product to the stores so to keep their inventories lows so they look good.

As of yesterday I have over 100 Bottles of an Ice Mountain water and my shelves (capacity over 40) is completely full.

It's retarded really. Target cares more about public image that a pallet on the sales floor is not ok.. Meanwhile walmart is selling goods and making more money lining up their goods along the racetrack. Target likes to have a nice presented shelves and other nonsense design.

Yet at my store they let our wine vendors put pallets on the floor all the time though they aren't wooden.

 

[happygoth]

It's retarded really. Target cares more about public image that a pallet on the sales floor is not ok.. Meanwhile walmart is selling goods and making more money lining up their goods along the racetrack. Target likes to have a nice presented shelves and other nonsense design.

Um, the R word is not cool, bro.

And as a lifelong shopper and retail worker, I can tell you that Walmart's crowded racetracks look like ass and make shopping there a very unpleasant experience. Nice displays are a good thing in retail, not a bad thing. Vehicles and piles of merch everywhere are an eyesore and make shopping difficult.

 

[azure]

It's retarded really. Target cares more about public image that a pallet on the sales floor is not ok.. Meanwhile walmart is selling goods and making more money lining up their goods along the racetrack. Target likes to have a nice presented shelves and other nonsense design.

If you lookup why target is so successful one of the reasons is because of how well laid out everything is and how nice everything looks.