MEGATHREAD Signing Tips, Tricks and Quips (along with howls of despair)

[jenna]

They've at least gotten better since I joined Target. Used to be 2 or 3 weeks out. Now it's 4 to 10 days.

Not for me.

 

[CaptJBird]

And they wonder why we have INF's.
They'll be asking for Halloween in 2 weeks.🤣
Just a thought, but I think the merchandise should not start flowing till mid week the week the pog's are due.

Last week on the Target app they were advertising Halloween. They said something like “Get celebrating Summerween!” And it showed you what’s to come for 2025. It was wild.

 

[SigningLady]

And they wonder why we have INF's.
They'll be asking for Halloween in 2 weeks.🤣
Just a thought, but I think the merchandise should not start flowing till mid week the week the pog's are due.

We received our first Halloween PJs last Friday.

 

[BKop16]

The problem is mostly during BTS because so many of the key items are dually located. So when that crayola pallet comes in and gets trapped in the steel the system can still generate massive SFS orders for it because it has a tied location in Stationery. At least during the other seasonal sets the fulfillment logic waits for a sale, a POG tie, or the set week to end.

 

[Alexbegt]

Not even halfway through BTS set and have people with a school list going through.

first day we set back to school 'ugh back to school already?' then I catch them shopping it. lol

Like lady you said something about it, but now I find you buying notebooks

 

[RunForACallBox]

So for those doing the Guided Pog Process, how were the pre-ties for seasonal? Spot-on? Had to make adjustments?

I only came across one Intended Location terribly wrong other than that I’m unsure as I didn’t pre-tie

 

[Alexbegt]

I only came across one Intended Location terribly wrong other than that I’m unsure as I didn’t pre-tie

Did they suggest the aisle numbers for you - or did you still have to think about them when it comes to seasonal? I know for us we try to use all of the numbers in the block between the two main aisles that stay. Hoping we can still do this instead of corporate suggesting the numbers that don't make sense.

 

[RunForACallBox]

Did they suggest the aisle numbers for you - or did you still have to think about them when it comes to seasonal? I know for us we try to use all of the numbers in the block between the two main aisles that stay. Hoping we can still do this instead of corporate suggesting the numbers that don't make sense.

Unfortunately I’m unable to answer that one. I know my TL had so sit down and map them out and we still ended up omitting and aisle for this set. So we go from F75 to backwall F77

 

[Alexbegt]

Is anyone else missing the backer paper for mini seasonal, and the furniture bins for the chairs?

 

[BKop16]

Toys transition doesn't look too bad. The sequencing guide seems to give a pretty good idea of which POGs have product moving between them. Previous sleuthing had suggested that they wanted to make this a much larger transition (like storage) but pushed that back to potentially next year. You can still see some of the overall goals of that planned move with expansion of Tonies, Legos, and Stuffed Animals.

 

[Alexbegt]

Set my first guided planogram, wasn’t too bad granted I had already did it all before it launched so my time is probably off.

However a few things:

I wish it did SFQ before you pull, I had some backstock from that.
Automatically could print the label batch after prompting for which printer instead of having to choose it yourself from the list
Automatically entered the pull instead of just directing you to pull and backstock

 

[BKop16]

Set my first guided planogram, wasn’t too bad granted I had already did it all before it launched so my time is probably off.

However a few things:

I wish it did SFQ before you pull, I had some backstock from that.
Automatically could print the label batch after prompting for which printer instead of having to choose it yourself from the list
Automatically entered the pull instead of just directing you to pull and backstock

I know this is just step one of what they want to do with it over the next few years. I'm sure they'll be asking for feedback from stores over the next few months.

 

[BKop16]

Happy Start of the POG Guided Work Era! Pizza and soda bourbon for everyone who sets POGs in the breakroom.

 

[RunForACallBox]

Set my first guided planogram, wasn’t too bad granted I had already did it all before it launched so my time is probably off.

However a few things:

I wish it did SFQ before you pull, I had some backstock from that.
Automatically could print the label batch after prompting for which printer instead of having to choose it yourself from the list
Automatically entered the pull instead of just directing you to pull and backstock

I’ve just used the “Jump to Scan” option and update my SFQs that way as a workaround.

 

[OldSchoolVet]

I’ve just used the “Jump to Scan” option and update my SFQs that way as a workaround.

I'll try that tomorrow. I had to place a blank label (with the correct on hands written) to flag the ones that I needed to update. Annoying that I can't correct the shelf quantity and/or on hands right away.

 

[jenna]

silly question - what does this visually look like re: POG Guided?

can I get two zebras, and make adjustments with the second zebra?

For example. Setting Books

HQ's POG says CAP = 24, actual store's CAP =3.

Can I change the CAP before the pull so I don't get too many books?

 

[RunForACallBox]

silly question - what does this visually look like re: POG Guided?

can I get two zebras, and make adjustments with the second zebra?

For example. Setting Books

HQ's POG says CAP = 24, actual store's CAP =3.

Can I change the CAP before the pull so I don't get too many books?

Yes. While you are in the Re-merch /or build Planogram section of the checklist, scan the item and update SFC.

 

[FlowTeamChick]

I know this is just step one of what they want to do with it over the next few years. I'm sure they'll be asking for feedback from stores over the next few months.

Did my first ones today with end caps. My feedback is that I don't need babysitting. This would probably be pretty useful for someone who hasn't don't many POGs. Or someone like a former TM who felt intimidated by the whole POG process.
But I've done quite a few and have kind of worked out how I like to do things - it gets done, looks great, works well. I don't think it helped me be more efficient or faster.

 

[jenna]

I found a previous post that had photos of the Guided Pog update.

I am thinking if I just skip through everything, corporate will somehow find a way to cut payroll (ie the time to complete the POG won't be tracked accurately, but I don't need all these extra steps.)

 

[BKop16]

I found a previous post that had photos of the Guided Pog update.

I am thinking if I just skip through everything, corporate will somehow find a way to cut payroll (ie the time to complete the POG won't be tracked accurately, but I don't need all these extra steps.)

The greenfield card shows what percentage of steps (per store/district/ect) are getting completed in just a few seconds. I suspect that's where the pushback will come down if this is what they actually want us to do.

 

[Sisyphus]

Did my first ones today with end caps. My feedback is that I don't need babysitting. This would probably be pretty useful for someone who hasn't don't many POGs. Or someone like a former TM who felt intimidated by the whole POG process.
But I've done quite a few and have kind of worked out how I like to do things - it gets done, looks great, works well. I don't think it helped me be more efficient or faster.

I am inclined to believe most people would agree with you. But I also think this is more about time stamps, and ultimately as usual $. And corporate must expect a lot of turnover in stores so this is just a cheap, quick, easy on-the-fly way of training people to do the routine.

What they don't understand is checklists don't work for every personality. Not everyone can clearly see the little numbers on the Zebra and printing out the plano is frowned upon. This is going to drive some ADHDers bonkers. People who have been setting plano's for a while will feel like the CEO being required to take a BUS101 class. But none of these problems and others, is corporates problem its the stores problems and ultimately the individuals.

Ultimately, they didn't spend an incredible amount of time and money to make the system more efficient only to take it away because the team didn't like it.
With time this system will become like the Montel's; everyone HATES them but no one complains about them anymore because what's the use?

 

[Alexbegt]

I am waiting for when we have to do the meat transitions with the guided workload - Because it said it was only meant to take 3ish hours to do the lunchables (swapping to the grid instead of shelves), but it took an entire shift for one person.

Also HQ did not send enough fixtures for it, but thankfully my store kept the old ones so one aisle will just become a mix of old and new fixtures.

 

[Sushi2Go]

I have some questions about the guided workload.

1. How far deep do you update SFC/SFQ? If the revision is for 6 sections, but it's like 1 or 2 items changing. Do you update every item in that aisle??? It seems kind of stupid spending ~30 minutes doing SFC/SFQ on let's say the Hotwheel/action aisle if it's only a small change.

2. Do you do PPA for every transition/revision/spl??

3. Does the timer stop when you exit out the set? What if you started the set and have to finish it tomorrow?

I feel this guided pog is more complicated then it has to be and less efficient. I question whether Target can even afford to give extra hours for how much longer it's taking us to set this way.

 

[LuvMyPack]

I have been setting with it for several weeks. I always grab 2 devices now. For books, I start one pog on my main device and click thru to “built” so that I can do sfc/sfq and audit in one. On the second device, I start a different pog and just let it run for however long corporate says it should take. When done setting the first pog, I jump into the one I was fake setting and finish it off. Meanwhile, my second device has started a new pog. For me, this is the easiest way I have found to do pogs and not have to pull/backstock things I don’t need , or count the same item multiple times for different steps

 

[Sisyphus]

So I had to change the location on a planogram when I completed it nothing scanned with the new location. Waited a while and went back through the steps and it worked. Anyone else have this problem?