Archived Outbound Tracking (Winter PDA update)

[Unreturnable]

If this rollout was extremely reasonable and clearly explained I would probably be worried that I didn't work at Target. As it is, every day is an adventure and I am never bored.

 

[Unreturnable]

So I was having a problem with coming back from a weekend and finding the salvage pallet over-full, with too much to fit on one pallet. Found a solution from re-reading the info on Outbound Tracking. First, make sure every batch is scanned into the current pallet label. After making sure everything is tracked to that pallet label, wrap whatever you can and take the remainder that won't fit. In Outbound Tracking toggle to "remove from pallet" and scan all of those items off the original label, then start a new pallet and scan them in piece by piece. It sucks and takes a little time but that's the only current way to generate a 100% accurate electronic BOL for the sweep. Obviously, leave the boxes of small stuff and just move big single items to the new pallet if possible.

Also, @FivemagicS the original info I read said receiving scans the GS batches into the pallet. If you can get GS to take care of that it would probably be easier, but getting someone from the front to come to the back with the boxes of salvage *and* a PDA *and* the know-how on how to do all this is strictly not an option at my store. All we get is a cart attendant sent back late in the night, in a rush to drop off some recycling and the boxes he only knows are color coded - green stickers go on one pallet, yellow stickers on the other. Seems to be working OK for me to scan their stuff in, we'll see how it plays out.

 

[FivemagicS]

Yeah, that's how it's been going. I just hate the fact of opening up a sealed box to check the contents, resealing. That's the time consuming part.

 

[PureZero]

@vendordontmesswithme, @Unreturnable, @FivemagicS, @Going with the Flow

So I must ask all of you now...have you been able to work this into your daily tasks? I seem to be doing OK, but DO NOT like how we have to remove items off a pallet. Still really seems like a waste...

 

[vendordontmesswithme]

It seems so pointless to have to scan food donations and price change salvage. Your right about having to remove items from pallet. I try to check with price change to see just how big their boxes will be. Been having alot of issues this week defective number genator not working, unable to to create receipts and today not able to scan price cange salvage. I just have to see which fuction is working for the moment.

 

[Going with the Flow]

First off Mondays suck because they just let everything pile up all weekend. God forbid an LOD track a damn box to a pallet. Second it would be great if guest Service understood what Salvage means, it means the item is Salvageable..go figure. So broken mirrors and dish sets and tables that no longer have legs etc. should never be in a salvage batch. Third I am also sick of price changes crap but I do have them doing almost all their own tracking now, so that's getting better my PATL has been a great partner in the whole thing. As far as donations that's going ok except for a few days where there more than usual. This is also another opportunity for GS to screw things up and not think about whether over ride should maybe used. I'm working on them though. By far my biggest pet peeve has been the Monday disaster I walk into every week. Also I have just been removing the rare item off of a pallet via the outbound app, is there another way?

 

[Unreturnable]

@Going with the Flow If you walk in to a Monday morning disaster the best bet is just to pick large items to remove until you can fit the boxes that were already tracked to that pallet. My new pro-active solution, which all depends on your sweep or salvage pickup schedule: If the pallet is getting close to full on Friday, I'll just pull it out, shrink-wrap it, and start a new one. I'd rather send out a not-quite-full pallet than have to clean up a disaster on Monday.

I am also constantly pulling broken furniture, etc. off the salvage pallet; I would love to show those things to each GSTL and their ETL and say "This is not salvage, this is wasted payroll hours!" but instead I just say screw it and fix the problem myself; at least I have compactor keys now, I can just take the piece of junk and go destroy it right away. Also our price change still can't manage to track their batches either, so I just say screw it and do those as well. All in all it doesn't waste too much of my time, and my store is such a disaster that no one would notice either way, I just try to do my best to keep things in order amid a sea of idiots bent on wrecking everything.

So far the idiots are winning, but I have my pride, a better hourly wage, and weekends off. So there.

 

[Going with the Flow]

@Going with the Flow If you walk in to a Monday morning disaster the best bet is just to pick large items to remove until you can fit the boxes that were already tracked to that pallet. My new pro-active solution, which all depends on your sweep or salvage pickup schedule: If the pallet is getting close to full on Friday, I'll just pull it out, shrink-wrap it, and start a new one. I'd rather send out a not-quite-full pallet than have to clean up a disaster on Monday.

I am also constantly pulling broken furniture, etc. off the salvage pallet; I would love to show those things to each GSTL and their ETL and say "This is not salvage, this is wasted payroll hours!" but instead I just say screw it and fix the problem myself; at least I have compactor keys now, I can just take the piece of junk and go destroy it right away. Also our price change still can't manage to track their batches either, so I just say screw it and do those as well. All in all it doesn't waste too much of my time, and my store is such a disaster that no one would notice either way, I just try to do my best to keep things in order amid a sea of idiots bent on wrecking everything.

So far the idiots are winning, but I have my pride, a better hourly wage, and weekends off. So there.

Fortunately my sweep is Tuesday so I have started getting the CRC and Salvage wrapped and ready to go Mondays after lunch. Ya Mondays are just never going to change there,between this and ESIM I have learned to expect the worst just so I'm prepared for anything haha! But I agree I have my hours and weekends off and I make more than a lot of them and I'm good at my job so they leave me alone, its not a bad place to be : )

 

[Redheadedstepchild]

You know, I hate to say it, but its rather comforting that all you other receivers are just as frustrated with this new system as I am. I always try to do things exactly as they ask but its kind of a punch in the gut that you're now the person they hold responsible for scanning the batches to the pallets and magically knowing, "The crap that GS/price change said was in this batch is actually in the boxes and I am acknowledging it is here!" when you are CONSTANTLY having to fix mistakes made by GS, having to fuss at price change not to use massive empty storage tote boxes filled to the brim with candles or whatever the hell heavy ass shit they want to shove in there when you have a 4.5 foot tall pallet that now apparently MUST be 6 feet tall, and listening to your AP exec bitch because you have a red crc error score. I can't help it that the idiots at the front don't know how to tape a package closed so half the components aren't loose and rolling around in the box by the time it gets to the crc, or tap "reprint ticket" when one prints out unscannable from the label printer the first time. I even typed up a guide for all these things and printed copies and handed them to every gs person i know. Because the GSTLs don't care enough to make sure they do the shit right I have to be all like "Pretty please! I simplified the training for you so its in an easy to read format".

It just irks me that I am now tieing my team member number to their crap and saying "Yep, I verify this" Maybe if I wasn't running around trying to make sure vendors knew what they were supposed to be doing on the sales floor cuz no one else will talk to them, cleaning up the windex that spilled all over everything in the ESIM sort bin because someone couldn't screw the top on before they bagged it and zip tied it and cleaning up after the flow team who is told to just "Leave it, don't worry about it" whenever they make a mess on the line cuz the flow TL knows I'll clean it up and he has payroll to watch. When all this new stuff first went down and I asked the HR exec if I could get some time to train my backups and explained the new system to her she said "And you actually have to do this stuff? Can't you just not?" Makes me wonder if all the" removing the item" from the salvage pallet cuz it doesn't fit, making sure that price change doesn't split their batches on two pallets, and defecting items and then having to rehandle everything to track it is really worth it.

Sorry for the rant, I just get so damn fed up at wanting to do my job right and my ETLs/TLs acting like I'm stupid to stress these things. Oh, and the kicker really was when the system first rolled out the ETL-GE and Pricing Team Lead expected me to train them on the stuff they do before the shit even ends up anywhere near my area. "How do they open and close boxes at GS you ask? Uh, I think they were supposed to be doing that for a very long time now. You mean they've never closed a box and the batch includes the last 3 or so years of defectives? Yikes" "How do you know what to choose for price change items when it asks compact, salvage pallet or donate? Um, I guess its the same as it was before. Yes, seasonal candy is not considered food. No, its really not. No, don't seperate it, seriously, it goes on the pallet, no really, seriously. I'm not making this up"

I guess I should just take it in stride. My ETL Log and BRTL think I do an awesome job and tell me the only thing I need to work on is my attitude. Hah.

PS
How many times have you come in on Monday and found defrosted rotting meat in your Food Donate bin from GS Friday night because they couldn't understand thru common sense or the handy dandy signs you put on the lid of the totes that frozen stuff should be overridden from donate to destroy and even if they forget that they still should toss it rather than contaminate actual donateable food.

Oh how I look forward to clocking in about 4 hrs from now. Target, you're the best!