How many DC's are transitioning to the new pod containers?

My building just started using some pods for a couple of stores. I don't think they are sorted by aisle yet...that requires a lot more automation that is a bit down the line. I hadn't looked at it much since it went live last week, so I'm not totally sure how things get sorted down there atm as each line has room for 10-12 pods I think.
 
BoxedIn said:
My building just started using some pods for a couple of stores. I don't think they are sorted by aisle yet...that requires a lot more automation that is a bit down the line. I hadn't looked at it much since it went live last week, so I'm not totally sure how things get sorted down there atm as each line has room for 10-12 pods I think.
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They very likely are if your building has the process live. Small formats have a unique pull process, it is likely this new process has the same one. Labels would be printed and pulled in batches based on aisle. Doesnt require any more automation. Speaking with someone from Oconomowoc he said they were running something dismal like 8 cartons an hour loading the pods.
 
Luck said:
The pods are (in theory) presorted by aisle. So no sorting on the line necessary anymore. Store guys just pull the pods off, and start working them.
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Pods are sorted to area called custom block. I believe there are like 60 custom blocks. (Not sure, not my department).
 
Luck said:
They very likely are if your building has the process live. Small formats have a unique pull process, it is likely this new process has the same one. Labels would be printed and pulled in batches based on aisle. Doesnt require any more automation. Speaking with someone from Oconomowoc he said they were running something dismal like 8 cartons an hour loading the pods.
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And this is the reason rss will not be expanded. (Also probably why Arthur v is “retiring”).
 
Dcnewb4now said:
Pods are sorted to area called custom block. I believe there are like 60 custom blocks. (Not sure, not my department).
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I worked store side I know what custom blocks are. Custom blocks are unique to each store and are just a tool they use to easily sort to different pallets/vehicle on the unload line. The first number indicates what section on the line (broken up by racking legs) the second indicates the vehicle in that section of the unload line.

Being presorted this functionality goes away however they are still useful as a generic tool to quickly mentally recognize which aisle a pod will go to. Especially since some aisles will likely not have enough volume to justify their own pods at times and some ares will have aisles contained in pods. Im thinking sports after christmas/new years before the summer and other low volume areas based on the time of year.
 
Grunt said:
Non-con
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Grunt said:
Huh?
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There were two different rollouts, one was noncon only, the other was all cartons.

The all carton setup required major modification of the DC and was slow. Last I heard the cph was 8 cartons per hour. I am not sure what exactly that CPH measured (entire building flow, WH picking, etc) but I dont think there is a single metric where 8 CPH is anything above abysmally bad. They were trying to increase efficiency (of course a new concept will need tweaking over time) but with the downturn in the economy who knows what direction they will go.

The noncon setup was supposed to roll out network wide last Q4 but apparently the distributor of the plastic pods had a major issue and again, with the tighter budget Target might decide to hold off if not scrap the idea outside of the DC it piloted in.
 
My Dc transitioned but only for the smaller volume stores in the district . Apparently my store is not on the list to get it now or anytime soon due to its volume .
So what’s the point transitioning if it’s not attainable for triple A stores ?
 
We installed chutes on the sorter for pods. 7 lanes, Sorter drops down to a lane where someone has about 10 pods on each side. Loads them according to zone I assume. Then nearby are pods setup for big stuff.

They blew a lot of money installing this so I doubt it's going away. Just like the ITM they installed.
 
vance said:
We installed chutes on the sorter for pods. 7 lanes, Sorter drops down to a lane where someone has about 10 pods on each side. Loads them according to zone I assume. Then nearby are pods setup for big stuff.

They blew a lot of money installing this so I doubt it's going away. Just like the ITM they installed.
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Love to see it in action. I wonder what kind of volume those 7 lanes get.
 
Grunt said:
Love to see it in action. I wonder what kind of volume those 7 lanes get.
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Barely any from what I can tell. Most nights they only have 2 or 3 team members who look bored out of their mind. According to sorter report, 8 hours of runtime and average of 250 cartons dropped
 
vance said:
We installed chutes on the sorter for pods. 7 lanes, Sorter drops down to a lane where someone has about 10 pods on each side. Loads them according to zone I assume. Then nearby are pods setup for big stuff.

They blew a lot of money installing this so I doubt it's going away. Just like the ITM they installed.
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250 cartons each chute? I assume the stores associated with those chutes have another, regular chute (they can’t be that slow).
 

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