Hey guys, store renowned beast-of-a freight thrower and all around proud worker MrFreightBoss here. Some of you will remember me from my previous post a few months back about what is expected of you on your freight crew.
Now, I'm sure you can all relate with me on what a pain in the ass those backstock nights can be. Let's talk about the main problem that can and will occur from a Grocery Manager not doing their part in reducing backstock, when us on the night crew are doing our part and more.
CAO... The CAO is a wonderful tool, as long as it is used correctly by all involved with it. Here has been my biggest issue with CAO and my grocery manager. To calrify, I want you guys to know that I've been the only freight boss at this store that has gotten the number in the CAO so well dialed out. I've got our allocations (Shelf amount for item) set 100% correctly across the board, and our BOH of each item is damn near perfect, 1 off if anything and this is always fixed asap, within a couple of nights. The reason behind the BOH getting changed by a bit is usually when a cashier will scan the same item for other items that are a different flavor. Take Gatorade, for instance: the cashier doesn't want to sort through 6 different flavors when they are all the same price, so they will scan the same bottle 6 times. That takes that one flavor down by an amount of 6, instead of accurately reducing each flavor by 1. PAIN IN THE ASS. Will the cashiers stop doing that? Probably not. Luckily, I stay on top of these things to avoid any serious issues.
Anyway, on to the bigger issue. We can't work backstock every single night. Just not a plausible option. I'm sure you guys know this. Depending on your crew size, you can't pull all of your wheelers on a load night, if any. We have a 3 man crew and typically get 800-1000 piece loads. Backstock is just... not going to happen on those nights. So the issue I've run into, is when the grocery manager is supposed to be replenishing the shelves during the day, the lows and holes. What I've been seeing instead, is he will go through, and if the shelf is low, with 1 or 2 of the product on it, even though my numbers in the CAO are correct and saying we have many more than that, he will zero it out. The gun says we have 8 or 9 of the item in the back, and say that's plenty to fill the shelf. I have this item on our printed backstock reports, and I have reports from months back for exactly this reason. All he has to do is check the report, not even sort through the wheelers. Just glance at the report, see that the item is on there, DON'T zero it out, and fill the damn shelf!!! This is the whole point of having a replenishment report and a pick list, but it is not being done correctly. By entering Function 0 and then Function 9 in the gun after I've scanned an item in either Item Maintenance or Backstock Review, I can check and see who changed my precious numbers. I've caught him doing it. I called him on it and let him know that it's creating a problem when he does this, because he will zero the item out and then we work that same item to the shelf from the wheeler to the shelf the next night, but when the load comes in after, we just filled the item and that whole case goes right back on the wheeler!!! Do you guys see the problem? Lazy grocery managers that don't want to even check a simple report. If it were me (and it might be soon, with the BS the grocery manager has been pulling), I would take the backstock reports with me during my order. Problem solved.
Let me know if you guys have had experience with this issue. I'd love to hear your input. MrFreightBoss, signing off.
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You had an employee bbq yesterday? Thanks for telling the night crew...
That does occur here in our area, and our grocery coordinator calls them out on it, speaks with their store managers until the problem is resolved. They are really tightening the reigns on standards, and following best practices. I've overheard verbal arguments with higherups about these things and it basically boils down to this statement. "Kroger pays us to do the job the way they want it done, end of discussion." Looking on the board, we usually have a grocery department bid sheet every week or so, they drop like flies these days. The expectations are high, and with that so is the stress.
If I were you, I'd talk to your store manager. You've talked to your grocery manager directly to no avail, it's time to move another notch up the chain until the issue gets resolved.
lol, you are spot on about the cashiers not scanning each flavor and day managers zeroing the BOH because they don't feel like checking the backstock cart. I think the day manager is trying to make sure the holes stay at a minimum so he doesn't have to get an earful from the store manager.
I have seen it at both stores I have worked in. One store was worse. I had newer people zeroing product that was on a wing shelf forever...When I showed them their error, they got pissed at me.
My current store isn't as bad. I work in a #1 in sales in the state. Several people have a primary aisle they run, condition, order, run and scan backstock. I have requested that no day clerks touch my backstock carts. I can get away with running backstock carts every 3 days. I will somehow make time to run them. They are too sloppy, disorganized and do not know how to stack. Or, they get called up to run registers and forget what they were doing, thus not running the most needed products off the backstock cart but saying they ran the whole cart.. My day manager trusts my BOHs. I asked him to order KMP cases to fill the holes and give me time to look for lost items before changing the BOH. It is usually the same products that get sorted into the Natures Market products and then get lost in the backroom only to show up a week later after it has already been zeroed out.
If we had time to run backstock everyday, it will go faster. It takes longer if we have to unclutter it after not working it for several days. Scanning residual backstock every night helps keep the backstock down. The weekly backstock scan is a double check basically. If your store has day/evening grocery clerks, they should be picking up the slack and helping run backstock for you'll. I don't mind our 3 evening clerks running other aisles. I can always use a good laugh when looking at the stack job. Or, how they stack Ovaltine 4 high on the top shelf on front edge of shelf desperately trying to make it go away off of backstock.
When I am running my primary aisle, I will make a mental note of items I think need to be pulled off of the backstock cart and put on shelf. When I am putting my residual backstock away, I will gather those items and fill the shelf or find them wherever they are in the store.
You could try this: There should be a replenishment report in a binder somewhere in the office. Check that daily to see what has been changed and unchange it if you are sure it is in the store. Not much you can do about a panicky day manager set in his ways.
800- 1000 cases is a lot for a 3 man crew even if there are pallets of water in the count If you'll can get that up, order, scan residual backstock and condition during a shift, you'll kick ass. We used to sort everything onto L carts, then spot it in the aisles. General rule was to run and condition 40 cases an hour(this was before the shelves were added and everything condensed, pre 2000). Or, 7-8 hours to condition and run 60 cases an hour (45 cases an hour when it is a grocery and KMP truck on the same night). No sorting pallets. Everything ran off of pallets. This is also in a perfect world. Now, every store is supposed to be stocking directly from the pallet. This does not work well in some aisles with some products.
I have no other suggestions. It sounds like you are doing everything you can the best way you know how.
There is nothing "aisle ready" about the pallets we receive. Every load night there is about 4 man hours that is needed to break down a truck. The only things that are "aisle ready" are the Big K's, and water. Occasionally if an absolute monster truck is brought in, then a pallet of vegetables will be there, otherwise everything is entirely mixed.
There is nothing "aisle ready" about the pallets we receive. Every load night there is about 4 man hours that is needed to break down a truck. The only things that are "aisle ready" are the Big K's, and water. Occasionally if an absolute monster truck is brought in, then a pallet of vegetables will be there, otherwise everything is entirely mixed.
True. ****ing. That. The clowns at distribution get paid twice as much as the average stocker and they go and stack a conservatively shrink wrapped pallet of juice on top of sugar and baking soda. It's obvious that arm of the company has no drug testing.
At least 3 times a week i will get my eggs on the bottom of the pallet laying sideways and already squished. Same with the juice. I have stock that is ruined off the truck everyday due to bad stacking or just plain stupidity.
On allocations: Kroger likes to change these district wide for absolutely no reason, forcing you go through all aisles if possible to change them back. Just putting this out there.
If no reset occurred, and a type of pot pie you know was ALO 72, and next week it's something ridiculous like 100, you know the company did it.
