I was under the impression softlines was already running on a mostly end-to-end process companywide, in which case, not much changes.
Hardlines will be completely different. I’m thinking we should start a thread that rather than speculating and complaining about modernization, explains the new processes. Basically, rather than workcenters that do a specific thing, they’ll own specific areas, and every aspect of them. The old way of of flow pushing hardlines truck, backroom pulling the hardlines CAFs, hardlines TMs pushing the CAFs, price change team doing price change, presentation doing the pog stuff goes away. Now, every person either owns a small section of the store, or they are the secondary owner of a small section of the store. Inbound will unload the truck and sort the product out, then the hardlines TM, now called General Meechandise Expert will push the stuff from the truck, backstock any backstock, pull their CAFs from the stockroom, push those CAFs, do their own price change, and take care of their own planogram revisions and endcap sets.
It sounds nuts, and it kind of is! But with this, gone are the days of separate teams making each other’s jobs more difficult. You don’t deal with anyone’s overpush but your own, no ones backstock but your own. During the day, you’ll zone things up as you push, and use the audit app to research any outs. You’ll do reshop, but just for your little section, so it won’t take long. Backup will be a thing, possibly overall, the level of backup needed is more. But everyone will be register trained and will be sharing the responsibility of backing up. Think about how many people don’t backup under the old way; backroom, presentation, flow, price change. Now everyone on the floor can and will be backing up. This can help in one of two ways: either a bunch of people backup at the same time and bust the lines very quickly, or fewer do, but there’s more people to take turns doing it. Either way, individuals spend less of their shift on a lane. You’ll work the same area every day, so you’ll have intimate knowledge of the product. Before long, you won’t scan most of your items with the zebra when you push because you’ll know where it goes. You’ll whip your area into shape and reap the benefits as the work gets easier. It’s actually really cool in theory. Just hope you get appropriate payroll.
