MEGATHREAD Flexible Fulfillment

[seasonaldude]

Is it worse to miss goal time or INF the item? Flex team members are stuck looking for command hooks that are clearly not in the Waco’s nor where they are supposed to be on the sales floor. It’s soooo frustrating.

It depends. How many total items will you miss goal time on if you keep looking for a missing item? If you're going to miss goal on 30 items, then it's not a great idea to keep looking for something small like a package of command hooks. However, if it's something expensive like say missing airpods, you might want to keep looking. It's also a good idea to have a general sense with where your store is at on both metrics and whether or not you can afford to miss one or the other. IMO, as a rule of thumb, it's more important to avoid INFs. That's better for our guest satisfaction, which increases the likelihood they'll order again in the future. But, goal time is important to corporate, so don't go looking for many needles in haystacks that will cause you to miss it.

Or how about looking for something that we have zero on hands for? Like why would it have even dropped in as opu?

When an item is ordered online, it is immediately deducted from your on hands, but not your floor or backroom counts. So let's say your store has 3 widgets. You might have something like 2 on floor, 1 in back (3 on hand). If someone orders all 3, what you'll now see is 2 on floor, 1 in back (0 on hand). When you pick the backroom widget, you'll now have 2 on floor, 0 in back (0 on hand). Once the 2 on the floor are picked, you'll have 0 on floor, 0 in back (0 on hand). But, let's say that you only found 1 widget on the floor and had to INF the other. In that case, your counts after hitting "can't find" will go to 1 on floor, 0 in back (1 on hand).

 

[RunForACallBox]

It depends. How many total items will you miss goal time on if you keep looking for a missing item? If you're going to miss goal on 30 items, then it's not a great idea to keep looking for something small like a package of command hooks. However, if it's something expensive like say missing airpods, you might want to keep looking. It's also a good idea to have a general sense with where your store is at on both metrics and whether or not you can afford to miss one or the other. IMO, as a rule of thumb, it's more important to avoid INFs. That's better for our guest satisfaction, which increases the likelihood they'll order again in the future. But, goal time is important to corporate, so don't go looking for many needles in haystacks that will cause you to miss it.



When an item is ordered online, it is immediately deducted from your on hands, but not your floor or backroom counts. So let's say your store has 3 widgets. You might have something like 2 on floor, 1 in back (3 on hand). If someone orders all 3, what you'll now see is 2 on floor, 1 in back (0 on hand). When you pick the backroom widget, you'll now have 2 on floor, 0 in back (0 on hand). Once the 2 on the floor are picked, you'll have 0 on floor, 0 in back (0 on hand). But, let's say that you only found 1 widget on the floor and had to INF the other. In that case, your counts after hitting "can't find" will go to 1 on floor, 0 in back (1 on hand).

Like, I get why it does it that way, I just freaking hate it. You can’t properly Audit because you have no knowledge a guest just ordered it that item.

 

[Yetive]

five gaylord boxes full of style reshop

WTF

 

[stanliu]

Is it worse to miss goal time or INF the item? Flex team members are stuck looking for command hooks that are clearly not in the Waco’s nor where they are supposed to be on the sales floor. It’s soooo frustrating. Or how about looking for something that we have zero on hands for? Like why would it have even dropped in as opu?

The bean counters would say INF if it's a cheap item, miss the goal if it's an expensive item.

 

[StyleMaven1]

At my store there are literally AT LEAST 200-300 Style repacks clogging the backroom and it has been this way for over a month! It is taking our INFs into the gutter, because even with the RFID gun it is near impossible to dig through a mountain of repacks to find the single repack it is reacting to in a timely manner. And there are some pallets of Style repacks up in the steel with the aisle blocked off by even more pallets of Style repacks so they are totally impossible to get to!

Is my store the worst ever, or do you guys have similar stories? I genuinely find it hard to believe that some stores might have it worse.

Whoa. I've heard of some stores that we're behind quite a lot but nothing like this. We had a really rough weekend and are currently behind in breakout by one half pallet of repacks and one pallet of case. Most of our green racks are full and half of the a racks are full, but that's only because we had SO many callouts. As style TL I usually do several projects over the weekend like purging backroom hanging, reworking shoe aisles, whatever. This weekend I pushed 14 z racks and covered all of the departments that called out, I'm exhausted!

 

[Nauzhror]

You guys have no idea what’s it like to have to help GM literally every time you come in for your Flexible Fulfillment shifts.

Sure we do, it's the same as every other position in the store. When scheduled for flex I zone, do reshop, push GM, help with driveups, service desk, backup requests, etc.

When scheduled at the service desk I do STS, RTS, push one spot, push candy, set endcaps, fill endcaps, help with flex and do reshop at night when the front end is slow.

I come to work expecting to work and make myself useful for the entirety of my shift however I am able, not to do the one task the schedule lists and ignore all else.

 

[Bosch]

Sure we do, it's the same as every other position in the store. When scheduled for flex I zone, do reshop, push GM, help with driveups, service desk, backup requests, etc.

When scheduled at the service desk I do STS, RTS, push one spot, push candy, set endcaps, fill endcaps, help with flex and do reshop at night when the front end is slow.

I come to work expecting to work and make myself useful for the entirety of my shift however I am able, not to do the one task the schedule lists and ignore all else.

Yeah you help out but you take care of your work first. The bullshit they are talking about is that your work center is left to twist in the wind and you get to make GM look good while your work center burns with no help in return. I am in store busy enough for flex where there isn't a lull where you are pushing reshop, or candy you are picking OPU's/SFS orders or you are trying to pack orders or doing the Inbound stuff or RTS. We don't get that break or if you get pulled for something you are coming back to over 50 OPU's while they keep dropping you will NOT catch up. You will NOT get help to catch up.

 

[happygoth]

Our night Flex person seems to have tons of time to flit about visiting TMs and flapping their gums. I've also never seen them helping in any other work center.

 

[seasonaldude]

Hey, I helped out the store today when I wasn't busy in flex. The front end was lightly scheduled and had a call out, so I did the STS for them. It was 4 whole boxes. I finished about 5 hours after I started because that's how busy I am just doing OPUs on a Monday in February. Hardly a peak day. It's gotten to the point where I don't even pay attention to what leads ask me to do between orders. They can say whatever they want. I know I won't ever have time to get to it.

 

[Antennae]

It doesn't help that leaders don't realize, and some don't want to, that OPU/SFS is becoming more of a thing much faster as each day passes. When I firat started we'd get maybe five items total for five orders in an hour, but now OPU orders at my store average four items and it's practically nonstop as when one finishes another one or two are waiting.

 

[vngoghlvr]

Our store cancelled the truck today because our softlines breakout was so backed up. It's spilled over into the line, the back of the line, and into our SFS area.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

Our store cancelled the truck today because our softlines breakout was so backed up. It's spilled over into the line, the back of the line, and into our SFS area.

Jesus, how many repacks were there?

I've never heard of a truck being cancelled because of SL breakout but I would believe it, we are always backed up with their repacks at my store.

 

[Bosch]

Jesus, how many repacks were there?

I've never heard of a truck being cancelled because of SL breakout but I would believe it, we are always backed up with their repacks at my store.

I have. The amount of repacks they are talking about is pallets upon pallets of repacks, meaning they are behind on setting probably way behind on getting clearance out of their backroom before they can put new stuff in.

A pallet left over is one thing, we are talking so many backed up there is no way to catch up even if you have people doing nothing but working the break out. I am also willing to bet that they have too few people working the break out they probably don't have people actually pushing what is sorted out. So the people doing the break out have no where to sort the stuff to.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

I have. The amount of repacks they are talking about is pallets upon pallets of repacks, meaning they are behind on setting probably way behind on getting clearance out of their backroom before they can put new stuff in.

A pallet left over is one thing, we are talking so many backed up there is no way to catch up even if you have people doing nothing but working the break out. I am also willing to bet that they have too few people working the break out they probably don't have people actually pushing what is sorted out. So the people doing the break out have no where to sort the stuff to.

I would bet the same...and there probably are people pushing them but between all the other stuff they have to do (including answer fast service calls) it's probably impossible to push it all.

I remember when I worked an earlier shift they would always tell me to work the repacks for my section because breakout took SO long that by the time they were done the evening people were drowning in them. I'm on a later shift now and it's still the same, there's always some left over, some days more than others.

 

[vngoghlvr]

Jesus, how many repacks were there?

I've never heard of a truck being cancelled because of SL breakout but I would believe it, we are always backed up with their repacks at my store.

One major issue is we have 2 regular breakout people who rock at it. One is on leave or vacation, and they transferred the other to hardlines. (who knows why, lol) And they got tons of repacks and spring transition. They just aren't keeping up. One of the leads and the VM have been coming in early to help and they are getting caught up now.

My store is not the brightest, last year they approved vacation for the two breakout people at the same time. Fort softlines was the result.

 

[GH1267]

Whoa. I've heard of some stores that we're behind quite a lot but nothing like this. We had a really rough weekend and are currently behind in breakout by one half pallet of repacks and one pallet of case. Most of our green racks are full and half of the a racks are full, but that's only because we had SO many callouts. As style TL I usually do several projects over the weekend like purging backroom hanging, reworking shoe aisles, whatever. This weekend I pushed 14 z racks and covered all of the departments that called out, I'm exhausted!

I'm jealous of your store. Only having a single pallet of repacks to RFID scan sounds like heaven. We have at least 20. 😭

 

[StyleMaven1]

Our store has come a long way. My sd has been in place for 2 years, when he got here he said it was a total disaster. Most leadership changed then. My fellow style lead and I just took over in this store after 2 paper pushers left. We have a very green team but we're building good processes and are both extremely hands on, which helps. I'm so sorry you have to dig through all of that! We were just saying the other day that you shouldn't be able to place an order for something until it's been in the system for 24-48 hrs. It's exhausting to deal with guests in store who want something at 9am that just came in on the truck and they're not even halfway done with breakout and they pull the "it says on the app if I order it will be ready in 2 hours" bullshit.

 

[RunForACallBox]

Our store cancelled the truck today because our softlines breakout was so backed up. It's spilled over into the line, the back of the line, and into our SFS area.

God I wish our store would cancel all out trucks so we can come clean for once.

 

[timelord78]

Is it worse to miss goal time or INF the item? Flex team members are stuck looking for command hooks that are clearly not in the Waco’s nor where they are supposed to be on the sales floor. It’s soooo frustrating. Or how about looking for something that we have zero on hands for? Like why would it have even dropped in as opu?

It subtracts what was ordered. If it shows 0 when looking for it then you really have 1.

 

[jenna]

God I wish our store would cancel all out trucks so we can come clean for once.

I wish our store had enough payroll so that we could actually come clean on everything within a reasonable amount of time.

We put out one fire (freight) only to have others pop up (pricing, huge 1-4-1s, no hours.)

 

[OrderSickUp]

I thought the addendum said March 8-14 was gonna be a sale week and we were going to get more hours? Instead, we all get even fewer, including cutting 4 hour shifts to 3.75 so we don't get a paid break, and times where there's no coverage at all. 🙄

 

[CassRoslyn]

My leadership gives 0 flips about opu/sfs, I swear.

Went on lunch today, alerted the proper authorities and etc. Heard several OPUs drop and braced for impact when I clocked back in because my leads never watch for them and just let me grab them when I get back. Which is not usually a big deal. Like, worse case scenario I've got 30min to do X amount of orders just like the old days.

Came back today to 67 eaches with more dropping. 30min left on the bulk of them. Walkied out. Radio silence. Finally the SD woke up and got some people to help me. My TL's response to all this? "Wow how did that happen?" as if OPUs magically stop when I'm not on the floor...Sighhhhh

 

[JustMeT]

That irritates the crap out of me, even when I'm not one of the "OPU Captains" and am just working regular batches, helping out with the OPUs if necessary. I'll go on my 30 and some OPUs will drop, and no one will pick them up. I always want to call out on the walkie and ask who is going to jump in, but feel like it's not my place because I'm not a TL, I feel like I would be overstepping? Especially since I'm still the newest team member of the group (started last July).

On an entirely different note, who decides what items go into what packaging?? There's so many soft lines items that are prompting to be packed in boxes, especially most of the swimwear, and it just gets annoying having to constantly select "wrong container type" when printing the labels.

 

[MrPerfectNot]

So, anybody shipping out hand sanitizer & soap? We shipped 150+ sanitizers and 100+ hand soaps yesterday, smallest batch was 10. All to California addresses.

Can you say coronavirus?

 

[CassRoslyn]

I always want to call out on the walkie and ask who is going to jump in, but feel like it's not my place because I'm not a TL, I feel like I would be overstepping?

I feel the same. And honestly, I used to walkie out when we only had 30min goaltimes and my leads never got coverage for me (shocker, nothings changed). Then HR talked to me about how it wasnt my job and I should enjoy my lunch so I stopped.

Now, it's an hour goaltime and honestly I can't muster up enough energy to care how they run things in my absence as long as I'm doing my own job properly.