Archived Retail under pressure

[Backroom81]

I literally am sitting on a months worth of inventory for many SKUs, and take 7 trailers a week!

That was literally my first thought when I started at Target almost 20 years ago. I took one look at the grocery stockroom and thought "My last boss would have fired me for ordering too much before I even had 1/3 of this amount of backstock". This was back when only about half of dry foods was through our replenishment system; the other half was manually ordered and we had an ETL that pushed for us to order about as much as we would have been sent if it was from our DC. When I would pull the order batches, I kept a second PDA on hand to cancel any item from the grocery order that we had in our backstock.

The worst part of our current system is dairy. We get SO much extra stock that it's almost impossible to sell through half of it before it expires, much less properly rotate. Some asshole buyer is so dead set on trying to make the gross margin as high as possible that he ignores things like "shrinkage" and "payroll".

 

[SoCalMama]

That was literally my first thought when I started at Target almost 20 years ago. I took one look at the grocery stockroom and thought "My last boss would have fired me for ordering too much before I even had 1/3 of this amount of backstock". This was back when only about half of dry foods was through our replenishment system; the other half was manually ordered and we had an ETL that pushed for us to order about as much as we would have been sent if it was from our DC. When I would pull the order batches, I kept a second PDA on hand to cancel any item from the grocery order that we had in our backstock.

The worst part of our current system is dairy. We get SO much extra stock that it's almost impossible to sell through half of it before it expires, much less properly rotate. Some asshole buyer is so dead set on trying to make the gross margin as high as possible that he ignores things like "shrinkage" and "payroll".

We use up all of the dairy at our Starbucks.

 

[HRZone]

can you cite examples? When I scour the job ads I always see listings from Amazon. Their starting pay is way better than Target because they're responding to the market and paying competitive wages to retain workers. Target doesn't do this and they shed just as many workers as they hire. Maybe if Target focused on better pay for those of us on the bottom of the ladder doing the grunt work they might fare better in the market. Right now they seem to have a bloated corporate environment, have an overpaid CEO, have spent a shit ton on remodels and have been cutting costs left and right at the expense of its workers. That to me is a sign that Target is desperate

Amazon pays better than Target but it's a pretty awful company to work for. I live near their head quarters and their warehouses are kind of a joke. They are all about numbers and the expectations are realistic. If you perform well they keep raising the bar until you fall under the weight of your own performance.

Their turnover is worse than ours.

It's fine if you like a no nonsense balls to the wall job all the time. But I consider Target a fairly fun place to work.

 

[ColonelAngus]

Amazon pays better than Target but it's a pretty awful company to work for. I live near their head quarters and their warehouses are kind of a joke. They are all about numbers and the expectations are realistic. If you perform well they keep raising the bar until you fall under the weight of your own performance.

Their turnover is worse than ours.

It's fine if you like a no nonsense balls to the wall job all the time. But I consider Target a fairly fun place to work.

awful in what way? i've read that the working conditions are less than desireable, but perhaps that's why the pay is better than most other companies. I dunno though, turnover at our store is pretty bad so Amazon having a high turnover doesn't surprise me either.

 

[HRZone]

awful in what way? i've read that the working conditions are less than desireable, but perhaps that's why the pay is better than most other companies. I dunno though, turnover at our store is pretty bad so Amazon having a high turnover doesn't surprise me either.

Warehouses are hot, the tempo is unforgiving and really you just are another number. While Target fosters a collaborative team culture, Amazon kind of treats their workers like ants.

 

[SFSFun]

Warehouses are hot, the tempo is unforgiving and really you just are another number. While Target fosters a collaborative team culture, Amazon kind of treats their workers like ants.

Honestly, you just described the typical flow team.

 

[Stubio]

Target Express stores are the future, some of the stores in my district are getting remodeled next year, but most of the stores being built in my region are all expresses.

 

[HRZone]

Target Express stores are the future, some of the stores in my district are getting remodeled next year, but most of the stores being built in my region are all expresses.

I am conflicted about this. Express stores are great in urban areas but I am not sure they are the way to go in the suburbs or rural areas where basket size is larger and people want more choice.

Express stores are cheaper to run. That is their main benefit.

Honestly, you just described the typical flow team.

True, if I had to choose between flow at target and being a fulfillment worker at Amazon I may choose Amazon but I feel like the salesfloor or backroom positions at Target are much more fulfilling than an amazon warehouse.

 

[Flow Warrior]

We have 2 young women (late teens and early 20s) who just push the product. I was in Cosmetics shooting RIGS and those two just kept talking with one another and never interacted with the few guests who were shopping in the Cosmetics aisles. I don't know anything about Cosmetics but even I can tell they are not experts.

(late teens and early 20s) ladies don't have the experience to do what was being suggested. Which is why they weren't selling. Sales people make money. Teens rarely do.

 

[Flow Warrior]

To be honest though, how long does it take for someone to learn to talk about the product? Not long. If someone is willing to learn, that's most of the battle right there.

And daily life counts for a lot too. Don't mix pink and red, don't mix two patterns, you'll have to open a port and set up a static IP address if you want to host Ventrilo on your computer instead of paying for one, AMD is better than Intel because performance is roughly equal but AMD is tons cheaper, and don't go too pale when trying to achieve the nude look because you will look like you are ill.

what port? and how exactly do you set up a static IP on a mac book pro?

Popping off the stuff you can google impresses no one. Can you explain why its a bad idea for a person from a coastal african country to buy a tv here without a converter. Can you explain to a visiting british person who thinks his phone is broke because it won't charge? Can you explain the actual difference between 1080p and 480?

These are basic questions I get when I great guests in electronics. Its always why I can cover it when needed.

daily life can't cover for you when selling. I don't cosmetics But I bet a makeup artist could do the exact same thing I did with electronics. This is what Target wants. This is not what they will ever get because they don't pay enough of it.

 

[Flow Warrior]

can you cite examples? When I scour the job ads I always see listings from Amazon. Their starting pay is way better than Target because they're responding to the market and paying competitive wages to retain workers. Target doesn't do this and they shed just as many workers as they hire. Maybe if Target focused on better pay for those of us on the bottom of the ladder doing the grunt work they might fare better in the market. Right now they seem to have a bloated corporate environment, have an overpaid CEO, have spent a shit ton on remodels and have been cutting costs left and right at the expense of its workers. That to me is a sign that Target is desperate

Go look up the NYT article they did on amazon culture. The one that upset Amazon people. Thats why they are always hiring. They have too high churn.

 

[BoxCutter]

(late teens and early 20s) ladies don't have the experience to do what was being suggested. Which is why they weren't selling. Sales people make money. Teens rarely do.

This is why retailers who want and hire true salespeople pay commission. That separates employees from salespeople.

 

[Tessa120]

Popping off the stuff you can google impresses no one.

Actually I didn't Google those, I've had to do all that in daily life. And since Electronics also cover toys and sporting goods, can you explain the difference between carbon fiber, aluminum and steel for a bike? How does aluminum and steel feel when riding on the road or riding off road? What is the drawback to a suspension fork? Which weights are best for someone told to do home exercises for tendonitis? What is the production run for the latest Minecraft and Star Wars figures, so potential rarity can be determined?

I bet you aren't an expert in the entirety of your work center, and often have to use daily living experiences for questions.

 

[Flow Warrior]

Actually I didn't Google those, I've had to do all that in daily life. And since Electronics also cover toys and sporting goods, can you explain the difference between carbon fiber, aluminum and steel for a bike? How does aluminum and steel feel when riding on the road or riding off road? What is the drawback to a suspension fork? Which weights are best for someone told to do home exercises for tendonitis? What is the production run for the latest Minecraft and Star Wars figures, so potential rarity can be determined?

I bet you aren't an expert in the entirety of your work center, and often have to use daily living experiences for questions.

I can. And the reason I can, is I also write professionally and I love essoteric trivia.

 

[ColonelAngus]

I can. And the reason I can, is I also write professionally and I love essoteric trivia.

you write professionally but apparently you can't spell. It's spelled 'esoteric.'

 

[commiecorvus]

you write professionally but apparently you can't spell. It's spelled 'esoteric.'

Happens to the best of us.

 

[Redzee]

I see your essoteric and raise a professional. 😉
Oops it's corrected.