MEGATHREAD End to End team PILOT

[semantics]

Oh, sorry, I just remembered this... I was told that in Target, people averages 17-20 boxes an hour for push. They consider that slow. We are expected to push 50 boxes per hour.

17-20 boxes worked for every hour they are clocked in? Even that is too low my team does just under 30 boxes worked for every hour they are clocked in and routinely get around 75 boxes an hour if you're just talking about the time they are directly working bowled out product, some TMs in certain areas of the store departments can easily clear 120 boxes in an hour.

Some boxes yes are too difficult to do in that time frame but many other boxes are super quick, you're expected to avg out to that. It's as simple as working with people, teaching them how to actually open boxes while looking for the location, minimizing the times you touch anything, so if you touch your box cutter you cut all the box so you don't have to use it twice to open and collapse it, doing things like throwing boxes into your cart so you can always use both hands to stock. Showing them how to put their cardboard into the cart so when they dump it in a cage it only takes a couple seconds.

I've seen many leaders try to speed people up by coaching them about their performance. All I've noticed that comes from that is TMs get sour and don't work any faster. Tell them the expectation, break it down to them why that expectation exists so they understand why it's important, then show them how to go fast, going fast is still 60% effort but simple things can really speed up even the slowest TMs. Then all you have to do is give them timelines and remind them of the expectation every couple weeks. Then also work in the same aisle with different TMs everyday so they see you working just as hard as they do if not harder. If you TM doesn't respect and sympathize with you then they wont do much to change for you, I don't ask anything of my team I'm not capable of, I routinely show them that as well, push any and everypart of the store. I've heard complaints about how this is hard to do, I'm tried, I'm doing my best etc. but I've always leveled with my team about realistic expectations and if we can't complete a workload I tell them what we are expected to really get. When you ride a TM every day to speed them up and always move the bar on them expecting that will make them go faster and faster all they end up doing is quitting. The most frustrating thing I've seen is management ask a TM for a timeline about their workload, then undercut that timeline, that TM instantly feels they've been wronged and just ends up to learn to lie about how long it will take them.

 

[WinterRose]

I think my store or district is still trying to ironed things out. I don't think they know what exactly this rollout will look like. I still have a lot of questions like, what about reshop?, what about the autofills or CAFs?, what about McLane?, what about 1st impressions? etc. It might be we will be responsible for our own aisles but we'll have someone in the br dedicated to market (like they will pull and backstock specifically for market).

 

[graffiti]

We were told about the box/hr goal time thing late last year and they said they'd be monitoring how long we take between scanning each box to push. They didn't have an answer for how they'll be doing that considering the majority of labels have locations on the box and don't need to be scanned or how barely anyone even gets equipment in the first place. Nor how to account for repacks, guest assistance, backup, zoning... or basically any of our questions, lol.

And I honestly feel like it takes far more time handling trash and cardboard than actually pushing the product. Especially with my leads who take our cages away unreasonably early (long before we even open) and force you to spend even more time organizing your trash to stay put during the journey to the baler.

And yes, expect your BRLA and instock scores to tank. The market and softlines rollout killed ours almost instantly and it's only gotten worse with flow getting those tasks now too. This whole process seems so dumb because they seem to be pretending that this isn't still a high turnover kind of job but it absolutely is, and not everyone hired is able to handle learning every process in the store, or even worth training that extensively when they're only planning to earn extra cash for a few months.

I love backroom. I can even kind of enjoy flow. But make me basically be a salesfloor tm? nope. can't do it.

In my store there's still a need for a few backroom TMs to do bulk/transition backstocking and SFS, if you can position yourself to be one of the lucky few!

 

[Rock Lobster]

I think my store or district is still trying to ironed things out. I don't think they know what exactly this rollout will look like. I still have a lot of questions like, what about reshop?, what about the autofills or CAFs?, what about McLane?, what about 1st impressions? etc. It might be we will be responsible for our own aisles but we'll have someone in the br dedicated to market (like they will pull and backstock specifically for market).

First, we are talking about two different rollouts. The Grocery Operating Model is where the current flow process remains the same, but the hours are sucked out of Trailer Unload and into the Market workcenter for the actual pulling, working, and backstocking of anything food from the truck. They are unloaded onto u-boats on the line and staged for the market team, and the current flow team goes into GM freight right after unload is done. This is its own rollout.

End to End Pilot is a complete dismantling of the trailer unload team completely! I have yet to see the actual guide to this but I have heard about it from a few sources. There may be a small workcenter still for logistics in general (backroom/flexible/1-2 people to unload the trailer) but all hours go into Market/Meat/Hardlines/Softlines/Electronics for working freight and the challenge is to have absolutely no backstock at all.

There have been different versions of this. They have tested unloading the trailer at night (6pm-10pm) with 4-5 people only, and staging the freight out on the floor from 8pm on... then having a separate team come in. The final version appears to be designed around palletized freight.

Again, Grocery Operating Model is just a small portion of the End to End Pilot. They want ALL workcenters to own their own freight and get rid of log almost entirely.

 

[Rock Lobster]

17-20 boxes worked for every hour they are clocked in? Even that is too low my team does just under 30 boxes worked for every hour they are clocked in and routinely get around 75 boxes an hour if you're just talking about the time they are directly working bowled out product, some TMs in certain areas of the store departments can easily clear 120 boxes in an hour.

Some boxes yes are too difficult to do in that time frame but many other boxes are super quick, you're expected to avg out to that. It's as simple as working with people, teaching them how to actually open boxes while looking for the location, minimizing the times you touch anything, so if you touch your box cutter you cut all the box so you don't have to use it twice to open and collapse it, doing things like throwing boxes into your cart so you can always use both hands to stock. Showing them how to put their cardboard into the cart so when they dump it in a cage it only takes a couple seconds.

I've seen many leaders try to speed people up by coaching them about their performance. All I've noticed that comes from that is TMs get sour and don't work any faster. Tell them the expectation, break it down to them why that expectation exists so they understand why it's important, then show them how to go fast, going fast is still 60% effort but simple things can really speed up even the slowest TMs. Then all you have to do is give them timelines and remind them of the expectation every couple weeks. Then also work in the same aisle with different TMs everyday so they see you working just as hard as they do if not harder. If you TM doesn't respect and sympathize with you then they wont do much to change for you, I don't ask anything of my team I'm not capable of, I routinely show them that as well, push any and everypart of the store. I've heard complaints about how this is hard to do, I'm tried, I'm doing my best etc. but I've always leveled with my team about realistic expectations and if we can't complete a workload I tell them what we are expected to really get. When you ride a TM every day to speed them up and always move the bar on them expecting that will make them go faster and faster all they end up doing is quitting. The most frustrating thing I've seen is management ask a TM for a timeline about their workload, then undercut that timeline, that TM instantly feels they've been wronged and just ends up to learn to lie about how long it will take them.

They are talking about the total payroll it takes to work a truck, not actual timing of aisles. They are saying that from start to finish, the average store spends about 160-180 hours on a truck (unload, stocking, backstocking, trash, pulling etc). A 2400/160 hours = 15 cartons/hour of payroll. They are saying this is FAR below the industry.

Again, this is not necessarily a TM performance problem. Its an actual operational problem. The unload is FAR worse than the industry (despite old school brainwashing convincing people otherwise). Bowling is a bad habit at Target, yet the only way to handle the freight at higher volumes (I have a limited amount of pallets but an almost infinite amount of floor space, and 5500 pieces of freight coming down the line... therefore its getting thrown on the floor).

I have pointed this out before, but Target spends around 11 payroll hours just unloading the truck, 5-10 bowling it out, 10-15 pulling from the backroom, and another 5 backstocking stuff straight from truck to stockroom. That is 36 hours of payroll per truck being spent before a single box is ever even opened. Then you still have breakout hours for softlines and repacks to add in (sorting before stocking).... And you are getting close to 50 hours of payroll just to get product out of the truck and onto the floor so the team CAN stock it. Now imagine if it took half an hour of payroll to unload the truck and the team could just work right off of pallets sorted by efficiency...

 

[Apapaia]

Okay so here are the info I gathered today:

I would kill for an HrTL position

I would sell my un-conceived child for that

 

[LUR99]

Okay so here are the info I gathered today:

I would sell my un-conceived child for that

I'd sell my first born child for that

 

[indigo25]

Any mention of how POG's will be set?

Food team does endcaps, plano does in-aisle.

 

[Apapaia]

I was going to make a throw away account to give as much detail as possible but it doesn't let me authenticate it. My plan B is to give you some important information but I will try to protect myself a little so forgive me if I do not include a lot of details.
The document opens with:

"We are implementing business owners that will own a particular area within the store. Each team will be involved with every process as it relates to their specific area of the store creating elevated efficiencies and accountability."

The teams of salesfloor, backroom, instocks and flow will be unified under one team. The team will take care of 3 key areas: Essentials, HL, Stlyle, Front End. So the team will unify the roles and divide the areas they are responsible for.

Responsibilities:

• Service
• Zone/Brand including reshop
• Stocking Accurately
• Backroom replenishment (auto, manual, ptm fills)
• Inventory accuracy, planograms, revisions, sales planners
• price change, signing
• Ad prep, set, and audit
• Cashiering

This new approach is supposed to bring better results on the sales and instocks front. The guide gives some general lines on the scheduling but most of the planning and method of execution is left to the store at this time.
I believe that this method could work well IF the performance management is on point and if 100% of the team is performing well.
We are not clear if or when the paygrades will change. My wild guess is that they will not change for the TMs that are enrolled now or will be enrolled for the next months. If they decide to roll out the new system for the whole company then I foresee Target choosing a middle paygrade for the team (my guess is PG05) and adjust those TMs that are lower, leave the ones that have a higher PG at their current pay, and enroll the new one under the new PG. (Does that even make sense? I hope it does)
Our store is supposed to work on this new roll out for the next 8 months.
I have more info about org charts if you want but honestly the ETLS and TLs are not going to change their job by too much, they will just take responsibility for one area of the store (our LOG TL will be responsible for essentials, Salesfloor TL for style+cosmetics, etc).

I am super tired so I hope this is clear and makes sense. I will try to answer questions as I find out more information. Please keep updating if this happens in your store.

 

[HRZone]

Some boxes yes are too difficult to do in that time frame but many other boxes are super quick, you're expected to avg out to that. It's as simple as working with people, teaching them how to actually open boxes while looking for the location, minimizing the times you touch anything, so if you touch your box cutter you cut all the box so you don't have to use it twice to open and collapse it, doing things like throwing boxes into your cart so you can always use both hands to stock. Showing them how to put their cardboard into the cart so when they dump it in a cage it only takes a couple seconds.

This is my problem right here. Instead of hiring team members. We are looking for robots who can work fast.

Half of the "fast" flow team members at my store are the ones who ignore capacities or put product in the absolutely wrong place.

 

[WinterRose]

I dreamt this morning of a marshmallowy leech sucking my head, whether for my brain or for my soul, I cannot remember. Maybe this is a way my brain was trying to warn me...

The dream is true (felt so real... >.> ) but I'm telling this in a joking manner. I'm not upset now as I was earlier.

 

[Apapaia]

Btw you guys are amazing. I read what I wrote last night and I could barely understand myself. You're either super nice or super smart or maybe both!

 

[BoxCutter]

Very little backstock because the time spent unloading/scanning/backstocking on old process is now spent allowing experts to take excess product and use it to fill endcaps, sidecaps, trend runs, or dcode spots. Most stores are being challenged to not use their stockroom AT ALL.

Good luck to all you TMs doing Flex and SFS.

 

[Doglover89]

How does this work for TMs with limited availability? I'm open but have friends who only work a few nights or only weekends etc. Also, what happens to Plano and pricing teams? Do they become part of this too?

 

[SFSFun]

Btw you guys are amazing. I read what I wrote last night and I could barely understand myself. You're either super nice or super smart or maybe both!

The discussion kind of morphed into one about the grocery operating model, because that's what it sounded like this was.

 

[Bosch]

It's 1 box per minute. That is fact.
I can do about 75 boxes in one hour.

Everyone needs to move faster that's a fact Too many sloths

I will take a sloth who does it right over many of the assholes who make that box a minute and shove crap anywhere.. The amount of rework you don't do makes up for it.

 

[Redzee]

^ I'll raise you that sloth with a retiree with minor attendance issues.

 

[Bosch]

^ I'll raise you that sloth with a retiree with minor attendance issues.

I will take them, can they cull? We can teach, slower pace, with an eye for detail. If not can you FIFO? Maybe SDA? I can make it work..

 

[Redzee]

Wish I could send them your way.

 

[StockerAce]

I must be in a lucky store...nearly all of the "fast" stockers are pretty good about being fast and accurate (of which I consider myself both because I know I'm fast and because others have told me I am). There is one person (I think I know who, but not positive) that will put one or two items that don't fit into the space provided in a nearby empty space instead of backstocking it. That drives me nuts.

 

[WinterRose]

I must be in a lucky store...nearly all of the "fast" stockers are pretty good about being fast and accurate (of which I consider myself both because I know I'm fast and because others have told me I am). There is one person (I think I know who, but not positive) that will put one or two items that don't fit into the space provided in a nearby empty space instead of backstocking it. That drives me nuts.

Once in a while, I would find excess items on an endcap instead of backstocking them. If there is a lot (few items in different endcaps), I would blame (to myself) the people who pushed in the department.

 

[graffiti]

There is one person (I think I know who, but not positive) that will put one or two items that don't fit into the space provided in a nearby empty space instead of backstocking it.

It always feels 50/50 on whether leadership wants that ("No empty spaces! Flex everything to make the shelves look fuller!") or will yell at us for it ("No flexing over active items! But no equipment to check if it's dcode or to print flex labels if it is!") on any particular day.

 

[StockerAce]

It always feels 50/50 on whether leadership wants that ("No empty spaces! Flex everything to make the shelves look fuller!") or will yell at us for it ("No flexing over active items! But no equipment to check if it's dcode or to print flex labels if it is!") on any particular day.

We're (on the o/n crew) trained to backstock it if it doesn't fit in the right spot. No exceptions. I have no idea what they tell dayside and people that zone during the day (I find a lot of dayside zoning results in the wrong product filling an empty spot on the shelf). But then they say if the guest complains the price was different, to give them the price they said it was...which it might have been because it was in the wrong spot on the shelf. I'd rather have empty shelf space than lose money. Though I have no idea how common it is for guests to do that, again only working at night.

Edit: Oh, and the one that puts the product on the shelf next to the right space...those aren't empty spaces usually. It's either in front of the right product, or one spot behind the right product.

 

[Bosch]

It always feels 50/50 on whether leadership wants that ("No empty spaces! Flex everything to make the shelves look fuller!") or will yell at us for it ("No flexing over active items! But no equipment to check if it's dcode or to print flex labels if it is!") on any particular day.

We have dayside that is just as dumb as overnight.. One girl I have to follow behind cause they won't give her equipment but insist on scheduling her for "In-Stocks" to push pog fills. Yep they have 2 people pushing pog fills all day without equipment.

 

[Redzee]

I deal with flexes, misplaced stock after flexes, tls who want everything to pog, backroom challenges, some mysterious individual(s) who 'hide' whatever they can't locate, messy guests and the ubiquitous Target pest time flies.
*leaves for coffee* .