Archived Project Viper

[Viktard]

They do that so sales floor people can scan and make pulls and then go pull it themselves the whole point of viper is no backroom people, more accuracy in pulling and filling which in spots world makes for a better more full shelves... So yes they do get trained in backroom.

 

[qmosqueen]

They do that so sales floor people can scan and make pulls and then go pull it themselves the whole point of viper is no backroom people, more accuracy in pulling and filling which in spots world makes for a better more full shelves... So yes they do get trained in backroom.

I have been saying this for 2 years now. get rid of auto cafs and just do research cafs, someone must have been listening.
Fill only what you need, stop pulling stuff that will just come back as backstock over and over again.

 

[PugMuffin]

Problems so far
Half ass training - Tl's have no idea who knows what
Not enough equipment - Pda's older than some new hires, low on walkies, actually ran out of dots.
Bad scheduling - Putting tm's in areas they've never done, clopening, different zone each shift, ect
Too many Tl's - Since backroom, flow and sales merged the Tl's did too and they all want things done different.
Over payroll - One would think this would be easy, 7 hour shifts x 9 people x twice a day but somehow we are over what they estimated.
Physically demanding - 80 year old tm + cat litter = ?
Retention - doing this much work anywhere else pays more
Steep learning curve - It's a lot to take in for new hires, some things are just learned through repetition.
Truck unload takes too long - 6 to 12am sometimes


Overall this would work better than the old system IF done right. In only a few days the store is looking much better product-wise. Shelves are fuller, endcaps look good and we got tm's all over to help guests. If the tm's were scheduled in the same area each shift and have consistent shifts like opening mon-fri ect they would eventually take ownership on that area. This would prevent people from taking shortcuts / leaving work for others. As of now we are shuffled around and no one can be held accountable so things are half assed.

So, in other words, when we move everyone to the salesfloor, we still have all the same problems the curent salesfloor has plus added new ones? Shocking...

 

[Nauzhror]

Viper has arrived at our store.

Begins the week after next.

They're not calling it Viper, but there's a notice on the schedule that workcenters have changed in the manner that they'd change for Viper.

 

[dave white]

Annnny updates???

 

[greydot]

guessing we are getting this. trucks are slated to go to push-all. anyone in a super high volume have this and a review?

 

[IHeartCarts]

I think it's more that we've grown to be extremely skeptical of the decisions the people up top are making.

 

[RedDog]

I think it's more that we've grown to be extremely skeptical of the decisions the people up top are making.

This is so true. How many fully tested programs have we seen rolled out over the years that were complete disasters only to be quickly done away with.

 

[Bosch]

And when they hit the stores there is no way to support the way it is supposed to be done vs the way it has to be done cause the store has only a tiny fraction of the hours it says it needs to do the project. So it is a disaster that we have to muddle through and fake it. So when I see corporate support an idea the way it is supposed to be, I might stop slamming those ideas.

 

[Viktard]

I work at a store that is on viper. Not that bad and Kind of good. Overall I like it

 

[Rock Lobster]

I work at a store that is on viper. Not that bad and Kind of good. Overall I like it

It sounds like a good idea to me. The biggest issue is scaling it to all volumes of stores. This is your replenishment of your salesfloor (the team members ARE the accumulator) and therefore you can't just cut them out for months on end. They better be aware of that! They also need a very good understanding of how much payroll is realistic at each volume threshold, because right now it probably is not accurate.

I do think VIPER sounds smart though. From 11-5 the team is force fed pulls (half of which are unproductive and not following just in time inventory) which means we are not focusing on service. VIPER does have the potential to fix this.

 

[jenna]

I searched and couldn't find any discussion on this pilot.

A new pilot launched to a total of 3 stores, code-named "Project Viper" begins April 29th. This project basically removes the Instocks team and the Backroom Day team and places them on the sales floor.

The store is divided into 11 zones, and each zone is to have a dedicated team member working at all times to provide AMAZING guest service, zone the floor, fill endcaps from home, scan outs and low products, pull their own batches, and of course back-up cashier.

The goal is obviously to greatly increase the number of team members visible on the floor to provide AMAZING guest service, and allow the removal of some additional leaders (backroom, instocks, ETL-LOG).

Any questions I'd be glad to try my best to answer, there's obviously a lot more to it, but these are just some of the basics.

Re: bashing viper.

How on earth are they going to find 11 [or more] competent team members to do all of this, every day? Without paying them TL wages? And removing the Backroom Day team is a horrible idea.

In my store, they started having random people in the store scan research (rather than a dedicated team of 3-4.) Do you want to know how our Instocks scores are, right now? Flaming red.

Do you want to guess how bad our drastic count report sheet is? Or how often I am finding negative OH counts?

 

[Bosch]

Ours is never more than half a page.. At its worst when I had to take a leave, another TM had an accident and it left two people to do all the In-Stocks for over a month.. It just skimmed 2 full pages cause they just didn't look at it..

It takes a seasoned hand to look at a shelf and the numbers and feel why it should be zero or cancelled when you scan research. Random people don't understand for example in entertainment that DVD location that is empty you are looking at with an on-hand count of three is probably because of the three other locations that the PDA doesn't show in research mode.. We know that, they don't care to figure that out. Or that count of 40 for that video game is a shipper that is still sitting in the steel, or the 45 boxes of cat litter - nope they hit 0 and move on.. We take a second, walk in the back locate the pallet then zero it out so we can fill the shelf..

But in-stocks is a brainless job.. Sure it is... Let me know how that works our when you backroom is bursting and your sales floor is empty and your AP ETL is freaking the fuck out over missing all the Dyson's.....

 

[Bosch]

There is no in-stocks process or team with Viper. The only thing team members shoot in is stand-alone outs or occasionally exf. All research is done by the Lods and a select few. There is no task list, just rigs.

You also do not need to find 11 competent team members, you need to create an entire stores worth. This happens through insane amounts of training and good leadership.

Those are not things that will happen across the company.. All it takes is a couple ETL's that don't have respect of their people and the process is broken. And LOD's shooting research - again see my post about the backroom bursting and the shelves being empty.. And that little drastic count report.. Ask the LOD's how many mis-picks they find? None is not the correct answer, how many times a week to they locate pallets in bulk steel? At least one every couple days...

RiGS are a task list...

 

[FZRider]

There is no in-stocks process or team with Viper. The only thing team members shoot in is stand-alone outs or occasionally exf. All research is done by the Lods and a select few. There is no task list, just rigs.

You also do not need to find 11 competent team members, you need to create an entire stores worth. This happens through insane amounts of training and good leadership.

Do you work at Target? These are not things Target does well.

 

[redeye58]

This happens through insane amounts of training and good leadership.

Ain't nobody (from corp) got time for THAT!

 

[Circle9]

There is no in-stocks process or team with Viper. The only thing team members shoot in is stand-alone outs or occasionally exf. All research is done by the Lods and a select few. There is no task list, just rigs.

You also do not need to find 11 competent team members, you need to create an entire stores worth. This happens through insane amounts of training and good leadership.

LODs doing research? The same ones at my store who for example: think grocery research is done just by RIGs? Who think flexing over active outs means moving lower priced things into similar yet higher priced locations, no need for labels or label holders? Just two examples of fun things I've learned about my bosses this week, would not be surprised there's more.

 

[jenna]

Aye yai yai - don't even get me started on Flexing.

And LOD's doing research?

Yikes.

:runs and hides:

 

[bullseyekindaguy]

Aye yai yai - don't even get me started on Flexing.

And LOD's doing research?

Yikes.

:runs and hides:

Our STL required lods to scan all outs. If she saw an out during the walk, better hope it had a dot on it or she'd call you out on it. Hope to god a guest didn't grab the last item on a shelf..

 

[Rock Lobster]

Ours is never more than half a page.. At its worst when I had to take a leave, another TM had an accident and it left two people to do all the In-Stocks for over a month.. It just skimmed 2 full pages cause they just didn't look at it..

It takes a seasoned hand to look at a shelf and the numbers and feel why it should be zero or cancelled when you scan research. Random people don't understand for example in entertainment that DVD location that is empty you are looking at with an on-hand count of three is probably because of the three other locations that the PDA doesn't show in research mode.. We know that, they don't care to figure that out. Or that count of 40 for that video game is a shipper that is still sitting in the steel, or the 45 boxes of cat litter - nope they hit 0 and move on.. We take a second, walk in the back locate the pallet then zero it out so we can fill the shelf..

But in-stocks is a brainless job.. Sure it is... Let me know how that works our when you backroom is bursting and your sales floor is empty and your AP ETL is freaking the fuck out over missing all the Dyson's.....

But the MyDevices make the job easy. All you do is scan the item under MyWork and hit "Fill from Stockroom" and you slide to the location you are scanning (so it shows multiple locations) and enter how many are left (and underneath lists how many are pulling). That is all the "zones" will be working on. This process is designed to replace your accumulator first and foremost. The team is not choking on pulls all day. There are not 40 CAF batches in your noons that everybody is freaking out over. Your team comes in when sales start to pick up, they go to their area and work out some reshop, zone some aisles, scan the outs/fill from the backroom, work the pull they generated (so no backstock and having to subt9999) and then go home when it slows back down.

Rsch is accessed by switching the MyWork function over, and instead of "Fill from Stockroom" it says "Update Counts"... If the LOD or TLOD is the only one who wants to access this, then the TM just needs to call them over when they try and fill from stockroom and it says (40 OH but none in back) and they can go track it down.

 

[oath2order]

But in-stocks is a brainless job.. Sure it is... Let me know how that works our when you backroom is bursting and your sales floor is empty and your AP ETL is freaking the fuck out over missing all the Dyson's.....

I'm not gonna lie, shooting research or EXFs in cosmetics and hair care, at least for me, is probably the most mind-numbing thing in the world.

 

[oath2order]

There is no in-stocks process or team with Viper. The only thing team members shoot in is stand-alone outs or occasionally exf. All research is done by the Lods and a select few. There is no task list, just rigs.

You also do not need to find 11 competent team members, you need to create an entire stores worth. This happens through insane amounts of training and good leadership.

LODs doing research? The same ones at my store who for example: think grocery research is done just by RIGs? Who think flexing over active outs means moving lower priced things into similar yet higher priced locations, no need for labels or label holders? Just two examples of fun things I've learned about my bosses this week, would not be surprised there's more.

One thing I never knew: What the hell is a RIG

 

[Guest]

Project This Idea Sucks Ass

 

[mrknownothing]

One thing I never knew: What the hell is a RIG

Research Investigation Group(?). RIGs are for items with "suspicious" sales activity. In the past, they would often result in rain checks being set up.

 

[jenna]

But the MyDevices make the job easy.

Whelp. Lot's of things are "easy" at Target, but the human element makes room for tons of errors.

Take Pick labels. Those things are VERY easy to read. And people still stock stuff in the wrong place.

Or DPCI's on products - on the front of the product, no less. And people still stock stuff in the wrong place.

Registers and scanners make the job easy, but I still see cashiers ringing stuff out incorrectly. 12 Yogurts = scan 1, qty 12, rather than scan each flavor. I actually had a return where a cashier scanned out a stack of cloth kitchen place mats as ONE unit. Must have been 4 - 6 mats in the stack the guest returned.

ETA: The guest brought back a stack of place mats to return, but only 1 was on her receipt. I actually had no "logical" explanation to give to the guest [as to why the cashier made this mistake and under charged her] other than the thought that raced through my head "that cashier's an idiot." The guest was really nice about it, but it didn't make sense to her, either.

--

I still say the average store is going to find a very hard time finding that many self driven competent people who are willing to do that kind of work for that kind of money.