Archived The Big & Dandy Backroom thread!

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yeah my team lead taught me to use ONLY SUBT! Since theres too much stuff in our backroom from overnight he wants nothing to come out unless it has too! Now that i know i probably been causing my own errors with using subt in backstocking and sometimes burning the cafs like im told to do, I just STO them from now on!!!!
 
Your team lead needs to get slapped around a little bit
 
Josh, no offense but your TL is waaaaaaaaaay wrong. That is not best practice or anything that resembles it. Keep it simple. When you put things in WACO's you STO. When you take stuff out of WACO's you SUBT. Ta. Da! You are now backroom certified.
 
This really depends on what you are back stocking. If are back stocking something from a truck in the last 24 hours then you should be using STO. If it is not from the truck and you back stock using STO it will then repull in the next CAF pull and do this over and over and over. Targets answer to this is back stocking using SUBT 9999. This then resets the accumulator and the item does not repull until it is needed. To better understand this process search for it on work bench they have answered question on this in pretty good detail. Now best practice is to in fact STO the item then SUBT it with 9999 funtion. However despite what best practice says skipping the STO part will not cause an error for you as errors are only detected and recorded in generated batches like pulls. I suspect the issue is this. When back stocking in STO you count the number of items you are adding then enter it. However when back stocking with SUBT you must enter the number of all the items with the same DPCI in that location plus what you adding. So if you had 10 pens and were adding it to a WACO with 5 pens already in it you would then have to enter 15 when using the SUBT 9999 funtion. This is a common error I see when I am asked to look into other stores logistics issues.

So to sum it up. STO should be used when back stocking that days truck. SUBT 9999 should be used for pretty much everything else so long as you know the floor has been filled.
 
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My store never has issues with 11am and 12pm CAF items getting repeatedly pulled throughout the day... unless they're actually selling. We backstock it normally without problems... I don't get why other stores would always have this product coming out.

In my store the ONLY time we (need to) use subt9999 is when an endcap is killed and all that product comes to the back (after filling the home loc).
 
After reading a couple of your posts and being a self proclaimed logistics genius I have came to the conclusion that you should not be working in the backroom.
 
Formina Sage said:
My store never has issues with 11am and 12pm CAF items getting repeatedly pulled throughout the day... unless they're actually selling. We backstock it normally without problems... I don't get why other stores would always have this product coming out.

In my store the ONLY time we (need to) use subt9999 is when an endcap is killed and all that product comes to the back (after filling the home loc).
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FS is right. If the system is working correctly, the ONLY time you should have to subt999 is when a "non-home" location (salesplanners, mini-seaonal, flex, etc.) has been taken down.
 
This issue is the ongoing battle. I personally use subt 9999 when Plano brings me stuff they don't need or when end caps come down. I DO NOT sto first. I have been told I need to, but don't think it matters, so I don't do it. I mean either way you are telling the computer to pull 9999 of an item out of location when obviously there was not that many to start with, so why would it matter if there was any sto'd to start?

Not using subt 9999 to backstock after the cartwell is re-set = way too many angry backroom kids who have to continue to pull 96 bags of chocolate chips for a location that is already full!!! I can't imagine using subt 9999 ALL day long though, that would take FOREVER!!! Our store is toooooo busy for that.

Glad to hear everyone else in the backroom has the same issues.
 
Oh, look, somewhere I can vent.

I've been backroom for more than 3 yrs, and within that time most things have just gotten worse and worse, both corporate side and local. I could get way into detail, and I could quite literally write a book about it, but the thought just gave me a headache.

To sum up most of my feelings, I'll say. . . The biggest problem is: too many people that don't know anything about what they're managing running the show, not enough allowance for common sense, and there's no true appreciation towards the people that do the real work, move merchandise out the doors, and make profit for the company. I've gone from having true work ethic and caring too much, to upset that those above me don't provide the means to get things done and pleading to deaf ears, to defying the commands given to me when I know things could be done better, to being almost completely cynical, tired, agitated, to surrendering to the work habits of everyone else who have criticized me for not sweeping the mess under the rug.

I never expected the compensation for doing my job to NOT be a joke, but I at least wanted to be able to enjoy doing a good job, and be recognized for it.

Now, I'm at an empase since the afternoon backroom guy got a new job and they just stuck me back in that position, the one they took me out of due to the process of using me as a scapegoat for the reasons things weren't getting done to make it look like they were trying to make changes in the eyes of a new DTL. To boot, almost all the management in my store has just been replaced, and the people that have stayed have painted me as someone who won't do my job correctly, and was told that I'm "under the microscope, so I better get things done, because they(person who doesn't really care if I go and is more than willing to blame everything on me) would hate to see me get fired or have my hours cut down to 15 again.

But that's my side of 3 years of my life wasted, feel free to join in on the skepticism smiley face.
 
backroomcrew said:
This issue is the ongoing battle. I personally use subt 9999 when Plano brings me stuff they don't need or when end caps come down. I DO NOT sto first. I have been told I need to, but don't think it matters, so I don't do it. I mean either way you are telling the computer to pull 9999 of an item out of location when obviously there was not that many to start with, so why would it matter if there was any sto'd to start?

Not using subt 9999 to backstock after the cartwell is re-set = way too many angry backroom kids who have to continue to pull 96 bags of chocolate chips for a location that is already full!!! I can't imagine using subt 9999 ALL day long though, that would take FOREVER!!! Our store is toooooo busy for that.

Glad to hear everyone else in the backroom has the same issues.
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I used to use this all the time for things that the system would have me pull over and over again. However, my former flow etl who definitely knew what they were talking about, told me they got an email saying that we weren't to use it(I'm sure this wasn't totally fabricated), and was coached when someone saw me using it later. So, for most of my time in backroom, it's become a game of burn-it-but-oh-no-i-never-told-you-to-burn-it-thats-bad-why-cant-you-ever-get-your-pulls-done-time-to-cut-hours.

As far as sub9999 before sto, i'm pretty sure you would be totally raping the location accuracy since you're telling it you pulled it from that location, when it wasn't located there. I could be wrong though, I don't get to talk to people that know what they're talking about.
 
insiteful1 said:
If the system is working correctly
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el oh el, define working correctly =P The fact that the system has people that pull CAFs pull EVERYTHING that was just backstocked 100% of the time leads me to focus on those few words of your comment. God I wish I could have a word with the people responsible for the way things don't work. Not even a hostile word, just honest suggestions from someone who actually uses the system on a regular basis.
 
uncorporated said:
el oh el, define working correctly =P The fact that the system has people that pull CAFs pull EVERYTHING that was just backstocked 100% of the time leads me to focus on those few words of your comment. God I wish I could have a word with the people responsible for the way things don't work. Not even a hostile word, just honest suggestions from someone who actually uses the system on a regular basis.
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I've heard flow TMs complain about their pulls. "BR didn't even backstock this. This is all my backstock from last night. They just put a pulll clip on it & brought it out." Since I work BR & flow I tried to explain how the system is flawed, but they don't believe me.
 
Bull, keep trying & don't give up. I do explain that to sf tm's who complain all the time. Then they shut up when I shown them the other location for product without a PDA. Duh!
 
Hardlinesmaster said:
Bull, keep trying & don't give up. I do explain that to sf tm's who complain all the time. Then they shut up when I shown them the other location for product without a PDA. Duh!
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Well yeah, I battled that for a while and gave up. When they push truck, some of them may look for end caps, but no one is allowed a PDT, and so most of them just backstock the item if it doesn't fit in the home location(unless I'm working flow and make people look). And then there's the common incidence of people just not pushing things correctly, putting it on the shelf wrong, not looking for "clone" locations(like the shelf above, or multiple P-hooks, etc). It comes back, and they backstock it either which way, because if they challenge it, no one pushes it. When I worked backroom mornings, I would put challenge on a tub, put the proper clip on it, and tell flow team leader. But I was treated coldly for doing it, and I was the only one doing it, so I quit. So then I'd just take the item and walk it right out the door and push it myself. Of course I was scolded for doing that. Any time I voiced concerns for things that weren't getting done right, the backroom leader says, "I knoooooooow" and that's it. I've been trying to fight people to get things done right for over 3 years, and I've only been treated badly for it. No one cares.

The last morning truck I worked, they started pushing some dollar spot stuff that came out in grocery back to be backstocked. I stopped them and took it myself and pushed it, took care of the trash, and rejoined team. I was asked what took so long and was treated like I was goofing off.

And so, now that I'm working evenings again, I have to burn items, because there's no way I'm going to get them all done. The reason they pulled me out of that position before is because I couldn't get all the pulls pushed by myself(they only work 1 backroom tm in evenings and make them do everything). Basically, I was hinted that I need to find a way to get it done or I was going to get coached for not getting it done. They compare me to other people that get things done only due to burning pulls, so if I don't do it myself, I look bad. That's the way it's been since I started. It's a stupid situation. I don't want to say anything about the other people, because they're only doing it because management isn't giving them any other option. If I say anything, they'll just write them up, but still expect them to get things done in the same way.
 
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I'm with Formina on this. You should never, ever be using SUBT9999 to backstock. Your team should be using the STO app only. The only time we ever have issues with the same item being pulled repeatedly is with salesplanners that are not untied and with old planos that are not untied. So my team will tell me about a problem item and we fix the planogram.

I feel everyone's pain about not having enough hours in the day. They have slashed hours until it hurts. Now when someone calls out it becomes a crisis where it would have been a barely tolerable mess.

And they just don't see the problem.
 
I have a few things to ask.

When the trailor is unloaded are all the pallets mixed up that go to the backroom?? I mean I got so sick of going to the line during the morning when we are pulling auto fills that I am now scheduled on the line to do pallots 25 to 31 so I can organize them so when they are dropped in front of an aisle I all the product goes in the aisle.

What about transition repacks? Usually for us Plano is two weeks ahead so when we started getting Halloween off the truck, I'd take those repacks and NOP all the items. I'd have empty repacks infront of me and i'll sort them for Plano. So in turn all Plano has to do when they pull is come to the transition area and pick up the repacks for the aisle. Is there another way? I don't like B/S it when plano comes in and pulls it anyways.

What audits do you guys do? We do our normal empty loc audits, suspect date and a daily audit that is in the gun. Do you guys do all these or do the LOD's do it?

This happened to me about two years ago and its been terrible since. Is it common practice to have the BR/Instocks TL be a senior team lead. Ever since that's happened or TL can barley find the time to get back there, hell our ETL's would schedule them on night shifts.

Thoughts?
 
coolcatmom said:
I'm with Formina on this. You should never, ever be using SUBT9999 to backstock. Your team should be using the STO app only. The only time we ever have issues with the same item being pulled repeatedly is with salesplanners that are not untied and with old planos that are not untied. So my team will tell me about a problem item and we fix the planogram.
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Boy I wish that was our only problem. I think our problem is that we start unloading trucks at 5:15am, open at 8am. At 8, they're still pushing things, and most of the backstock is still unlocated. On truck days, 12pm comes and its just pulls a ton of crap that was just backstocked. It's a little better than it used to be though, it used to keep having me pull the same stuff every hour. 1 person given the task of pulling 2 hours of pulls and expected to push them within that hour, makes sense no?

I feel everyone's pain about not having enough hours in the day. They have slashed hours until it hurts. Now when someone calls out it becomes a crisis where it would have been a barely tolerable mess. And they just don't see the problem.
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Nah, they want it that way so people call off less. We're all slackers that need to be whipped into shape. We were told by our HR that we weren't to call off unless we felt like we were dying. If we were throwing up, use the bathrooms. The way I see it: Stock has to continually go up, they have to contend with Wal-Mart's prices, so they have to take the profit from us one way or another. Get the most out of your people until they crack, then replace them. If you want to contend with Wal-Mart, you have to play the game like they do. I worked at Wal-Mart and Sams Club, and from my experience Target has been getting worse than them with this. Which, they have to, Wal-Mart is a frickin empire.

OldSchoolTarget1 said:
When the trailor is unloaded are all the pallets mixed up that go to the backroom?? I mean I got so sick of going to the line during the morning when we are pulling auto fills that I am now scheduled on the line to do pallots 25 to 31 so I can organize them so when they are dropped in front of an aisle I all the product goes in the aisle. What about transition repacks? Usually for us Plano is two weeks ahead so when we started getting Halloween off the truck, I'd take those repacks and NOP all the items. I'd have empty repacks infront of me and i'll sort them for Plano. So in turn all Plano has to do when they pull is come to the transition area and pick up the repacks for the aisle. Is there another way? I don't like B/S it when plano comes in and pulls it anyways.
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We try to organize staged transition as much as possible. In the morning, all repacks are taken out, sorted, any transition is sent back to be backstocked usually. We usually only palletize boxed transition, but I guess it depends on how much repack transition we get. It would be nice to sort everything, repack items and all, but we're just not given enough manpower or hours to do so. But this is coming from a low volume store, so we always get hosed, not sure if its that way for larger volume stores. Sorting everything beforehand would save a lot of time and effort, but they don't seem to think so. Either that or it's too much for them to think about.

What audits do you guys do? We do our normal empty loc audits, suspect date and a daily audit that is in the gun. Do you guys do all these or do the LOD's do it?
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My TL usually does it(less work involved). Empty location audits are done every once in a while, but we usually don't have time to do it. They usually hand a bunch of people from flow team a section to do when there are hours. I used to religiously look for outdates while pulling and pushing, but I was told again and again that that takes too long, and I gave up. I check what I push out and that's it. If I have time and notice something, I'll grab it, but I don't normally have time.

This happened to me about two years ago and its been terrible since. Is it common practice to have the BR/Instocks TL be a senior team lead. Ever since that's happened or TL can barley find the time to get back there, hell our ETL's would schedule them on night shifts.
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Our flow team lead became a senior a little while before he left. After he became a senior TL, he spent way more time in the office. I don't really know the details on the subject. Seems to me it just means they get a higher pay and more email to check.

It's been my experience that those above have little knowledge at all about the backroom, and frankly don't really care. They care about appearances. Thus, they rarely look at the backroom unless all hell breaks loose. I work at a low volume store though, and haven't worked anywhere else. But I've been there going on 4 years, I've been through 2 DTLs, 3 STLs, and a handful of ETLs and TLs. Nothing has ever really changed. When there are visits, they rarely EVER come to the back room. Why? Because appearances are everything, which means salesfloor is more important, and they wouldn't know what they were looking at anyways if they went to the backroom. A couple times they even had us ZONE the backroom. No, not "Low and Productive," no one seems to care about that anymore. They just had the whole flow team go to the back to make the shelves look neat because they were getting a backroom visit... Meanwhile, half the backroom could probably be pushed, a good percentage of it probably wasn't even located, outdates probably hadn't been checked in half a year, and the freezer was probably inaccessible.

Getting back to the point: Yes, it's messed up, backroom will always get the screw because those above don't seem to understand it's importance. In my opinion, making sure things are pushed to the floor properly comes first though. After that, a functional backroom is key. Zoning is important, but if more importance was placed on pushing items from the backroom and more people shared that task, zoning could be a part of pushing. As it is, the backroom/flow is so taxed for time that they can't stop to make sure things are in the right place, that grocery items on the floor aren't out of date, etc. Instead, they have one or two people doing all the pulling and pushing, while several people are on the floor zoning/pre-shopping/talking/avoiding guests.

My biggest problem has always been Sundays. They schedule about 2 people for hardlines, and, well, there's always only one person for backroom/pull/push/receiving. Monday is always our big truck day, and it's always even bigger than it should be because the backroom isn't cleaned up as much as it could be. For almost 3 years, I was scheduled only 6 hours backroom on Sunday night, and then I'd have to come back in at 4am or 5am to unload/throw the truck. So, I couldn't even stay over to get the backroom shaped up if needed.
 
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goodtimes in the backroom

I'm curious how other backroom tm's workload and daily schedule compare to mine! Does anyone want to share a typical day?

I go in at 5am
help with autofills (when team is not overnights)
tie POGS for that day of the week that TL's or whoever have planned on a list my TL gives me every monday for that week workload
drop a batch, pull them, label them and stage them in designated spots
then I work on the location audit and the date audit

on monday I print and put up the MPG labels
on tuesday I do the merge report and help TL pulls the MIRs
If there is a sweep, I help with that
on wednesday I fix/audit/maintain our ever messed up bike wall (my TL helps because for some reason its always awful)
on thursday I work on "My" backroom asiles (aLL tm's are assigned some) week one of month i do date checks, week two detail report, week three empty locs, week four of month I pull dcode... not always in that order i guess

I also help with any backstock from the truck, do constant clean up, moving trash, picking up after flow, sweep, make a bail whatever needs done in the mornings.... i do it.

As the morning goes on I pull outs and research as they drop into the gun, thoes random autofill in meat, dairy ect that drop in around 7:30 and pull the 11, 12 and 1 caf pulls

With recieving being short handed, I help out where i can there, especially when our TM goes to lunch. I am not fully trained and there never seems to be time for me to learn everything back there! Our goofball ETL's are always dropping EXF batches and then call back to me in a urgent manner... i pull the stuff, let them know and then it sits untouched all day..... why they won't let instocks do their job is beyond me.....

home at 1:30

Im tired!! Sometimes I feel like we have other BR TM who get paid the same as me and do squat spot!! ..... oh and I have broken arm right now.... so i'm doing the best i can, but I can't help be a little disappointed that some of the backroom team can't step up and be a little faster or care just a little to help me out..... but no, they know i'll do it, so they take all the sweet time they like to pull batches and let me be the top puller while i'm injured.... which is pretty sad..... whatever, i do like my job and I like knowing I rock my little stockroom. I would never want to go back to salesfloor!
 
I thought this was going to be about how much fun the backroom is. Except for whenever it's time for the TM's with the worst taste in music to take their turn with the the TL's iPhone. Then it gets sketchy. I personally love going back there for a dance party while I wait for someone to pull something for me!
 
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