Answered Unloading Truck in 2 hours?!

[Margo]

I’m sure this is a topic that has been posted several times, but I need to ask anyway...
how is it possible to unload a 2,000 piece + truck with 6 people in two hours? Yes, our team could go a bit faster. The repacks seem to slow us down, as I’m sure they do for anyone. But can everyone please give me some suggestions and ideas to help “fine tune” our team? Thanks in advance!

 

[Margo]

Are you still on breakout ?

“Breakout”?

 

[allnew2]

Thank you for this. We have four people on the line, one pushing and one in the truck throwing. We feel that there are a lot of combo repacks to sort and that they slow us down. But it sounds like we have the same amount that you do. I just want to try to figure out what we can do to help speed things up and make it flow better. Today we had a 2100 piece truck that took us three hours without a break. Hearing your responses is making me realize that a two hour truck IS possible,... so we just need to figure out how to make that possible. Your responses are very helpful, thank you and please keep them coming.

Why you have a pace setter? The pushing person could be trapping plastic and paper and still be able to push since the unloader is pushing your freight as he throws it on the line

 

[allnew2]

“Breakout”?

As in a&a

 

[allnew2]

... 12 to 14 trucks a week?! Yikes, you must be at a Super Target! Could I possibly pick your brain on your method a bit more? I really wish I could see a video of how your truck team is run and you briefly explaining the setup and what each person’s responsibilities are. It might be helpful!

I’m a Triple A store with an offsite too. If I show a video I would be giving myself up. Even tho not many stores have an offsite lol. The main thing is to let the team know that just because they are assign on a bay or certain custom blocks doesn’t mean they are stuck there and if the person down the line gets stuck they have to jump down the line and help the one that struggles . I also broke my custom block to certain aisles that only belongs to a certain dbo ie the person that has furniture, candles, h&h and door mats has 81,82,84 custom blocks so that’s 5 flatbeds for that person .Person that owns beds and bath , has 73,80 and stock zone 3 which is domestic repacks has 3 flats.
To cut down on time my unloader just moves all Pipo to one side of the truck and I call for the dbo or the Tl to come and pull it out.

 

[Margo]

As in a&a

Oh, thanks for that. I started there but I’m pretty much strictly truck now.

 

[allnew2]

If you have any other question please feel free to ask

 

[NLE Shoppa]

Feel free to ask and get a bunch of keyboard warriors who stalk this site all day every day tell you how awesome they are. Oh yea I do that every day with 10 trucks a day....fuk outta here.....passing a wine cooler to you dorks

 

[Shmoople]

I've been a flow/GM lead for about 3 years and anything above 2,200 typically takes us 1.5 - 1.75 hours with 6 people on the line. Our store is at a disadvantage too because our skates have to go around a corner. Anyways, most of it is just hustle man but here's a few things:

• You know those wooden pallets in the truck that the DC stacks all the heavy shit like cat litter and beverage on? Don't have your unloader unload those pallets. Pull them out with as much product on them as possible (safely) and stage them for your people on the line. When your unloader gets skates in or something goes wrong then have the team on the line unload those. Even when there's gaps in the product coming down you can have your line people start unloading because it keeps the freight flowing.
• If you're not a leader then ask your leader to bring the skates in for the unloader and pull your unloaders PIPO pallets. Again, it's important to keep the freight flowing so the unloader should continue to throw boxes at all times.
• I myself spend most of my time throwing with our 1 unloader and possibly taking care of something bulky like plastics.
• BE FLEXIBLE! If you know you're going to get something heavy off of the truck like a lot of beverage then don't let it slug all the way down to the end, it's a waste of time and energy. Line set up is important but it's not perfect. If you have to add a flatbed to the front of your line near the truck doors to trap all the beverage coming off then do it. It'll help keep the skate clear.
• Most importantly work together and let the slackers know they're not welcome. Hold your peers accountable if they suck butt.
• 
  
  
• Edit: Oh, and I typically save the combo sort until after the truck. I have my sorter keep the line clear of boxes so the thrower can keep chucking, unless the line is empty and then he starts sorting. This gets everyone out of there quicker Hope this helps.

 

[allnew2]

I've been a flow/GM lead for about 3 years and anything above 2,200 typically takes us 1.5 - 1.75 hours with 6 people on the line. Our store is at a disadvantage too because our skates have to go around a corner. Anyways, most of it is just hustle man but here's a few things:
Congrats

• You know those wooden pallets in the truck that the DC stacks all the heavy shit like cat litter and beverage on? Don't have your unloader unload those pallets. Pull them out with as much product on them as possible (safely) and stage them for your people on the line. When your unloader gets skates in or something goes wrong then have the team on the line unload those. Even when there's gaps in the product coming down you can have your line people start unloading because it keeps the freight flowing.
• If you're not a leader then ask your leader to bring the skates in for the unloader and pull your unloaders PIPO pallets. Again, it's important to keep the freight flowing so the unloader should continue to throw boxes at all times.
  I always help with the skates but that’s also a chance for the unloader to her a break
  
• I myself spend most of my time throwing with our 1 unloader and possibly taking care of something bulky like plastics.
  As a leader you shouldn’t be in the truck , you could help the sort on the line and that way the combos won’t wait until the end
  
• BE FLEXIBLE! If you know you're going to get something heavy off of the truck like a lot of beverage then don't let it slug all the way down to the end, it's a waste of time and energy. Line set up is important but it's not perfect. If you have to add a flatbed to the front of your line near the truck doors to trap all the beverage coming off then do it. It'll help keep the skate clear.
• Most importantly work together and let the slackers know they're not welcome. Hold your peers accountable if they suck butt.
• 
  You shouldn’t just pull merchandise as much on a pallet and the pull it out. This is not old school anymore everything should go on the line and down the line if it’s not a bulk.
  
• Edit: Oh, and I typically save the combo sort until after the truck. I have my sorter keep the line clear of boxes so the thrower can keep chucking, unless the line is empty and then he starts sorting. This gets everyone out of there quicker Hope this helps.
  So you have 6 people on the line and sacrifice the sort and accuracy for speed when you could be having it all.
  So your truck is not done in roughly 2 hours because you still have combo to sort After the truck is unloaded .
  Either is done or not . And if the combo sort doesn’t happen until the end then you are not done.

 

[Shmoople]

Thanks for your input. Not all stores are the same. Our inbound team finishes all of our p1 push and most of market before store open on trucks over 2,000 so the process works for us and it’s only because we’re out of the truck so early.

As for being in the truck as a leader, I’ve had the same team for the majority of my 3 years so they all know what they’re doing. I’m sorry that you have to manage your team on the line but mine hustles and knows how to problem solve by themselves. I suggest you get your team on the same level or you’re going to continue having the same problems

 

[allnew2]

I’m sorry that you have to manage your team on the line but mine hustles and knows how to problem solve by themselves. I

You miss understood me I’m not the one with problems As a leader you supposed to be on the floor because I doubt that all you owe is inbound process with no other department on the floor. I didn’t say I was on the line I was making a reference that you shouldn’t be in the truck and if anything support the line to have a good sort/stock . I have shit to do I own truck , Plano and seasonal so my plate is full . I train my team well to manage less.My team doesn’t need managing . They do 12-14 trucks a week and still support with push. They finish 2 trucks well before the store is opened inbound is not to push the truck they supposed to support with the truck but clearly you are misusing your actual inbound team .All I’m stating is you are not fallowing modernization and when that will finally hit your store you will be the one having push back from your team . But thanks for your input thinking that I or my team having problems . Look at other threads you will see I’m a triple A store with an offsite . By the time we go home the line is already set for next day and inbound doesn’t need to push all the truck because that’s why you have DBO’s . You sacrifice sort and stock over speed . And I can do all 3 and still go to lunch with 2 trucks completely done and returning back from lunch to support not to do sort.

 

[Shmoople]

You miss understood me I’m not the one with problems As a leader you supposed to be on the floor because I doubt that all you owe is inbound process with no other department on the floor. I didn’t say I was on the line I was making a reference that you shouldn’t be in the truck and if anything support the line to have a good sort/stock . I have shit to do I own truck , Plano and seasonal so my plate is full . I train my team well to manage less.My team doesn’t need managing . They do 12-14 trucks a week and still support with push. They finish 2 trucks well before the store is opened inbound is not to push the truck they supposed to support with the truck but clearly you are misusing your actual inbound team .All I’m stating is you are not fallowing modernization and when that will finally hit your store you will be the one having push back from your team . But thanks for your input thinking that I or my team having problems . Look at other threads you will see I’m a triple A store with an offsite . By the time we go home the line is already set for next day and inbound doesn’t need to push all the truck because that’s why you have DBO’s . You sacrifice sort and stock over speed . And I can do all 3 and still go to lunch with 2 trucks completely done and returning back from lunch to support not to do sort.

Look dude, you’re making a lot of assumptions. I came to this thread to offer some tips for someone’s store who was struggling with speed. That’s it.

Just like you said, congrats on your triple a status and finishing the truck or w/e. If you think you can’t have a good sort and speed at the same time then it just tells me that you’re not as far along as you’d like to think you are.

I started training my team with the sort and they do very well, that’s the only reason I can step in the truck at all now. And if you read my first post I never said I spend all my time in there. I’m frequently on the line working with the sorters too.

gotta go. Last time I’m gonna respond. Have a good day man, hope your unload goes well.

 

[ThatAPguy]

You miss understood me I’m not the one with problems As a leader you supposed to be on the floor because I doubt that all you owe is inbound process with no other department on the floor. I didn’t say I was on the line I was making a reference that you shouldn’t be in the truck and if anything support the line to have a good sort/stock . I have shit to do I own truck , Plano and seasonal so my plate is full . I train my team well to manage less.My team doesn’t need managing . They do 12-14 trucks a week and still support with push. They finish 2 trucks well before the store is opened inbound is not to push the truck they supposed to support with the truck but clearly you are misusing your actual inbound team .All I’m stating is you are not fallowing modernization and when that will finally hit your store you will be the one having push back from your team . But thanks for your input thinking that I or my team having problems . Look at other threads you will see I’m a triple A store with an offsite . By the time we go home the line is already set for next day and inbound doesn’t need to push all the truck because that’s why you have DBO’s . You sacrifice sort and stock over speed . And I can do all 3 and still go to lunch with 2 trucks completely done and returning back from lunch to support not to do sort.

Why do you own 2 out of 3 processes in your store (inbound and plano)? I imagine a AAA volume with an off-site would have enough GM TL’s to divide that up better?? BTS has to suck for you 🤯

 

[allnew2]

Why do you own 2 out of 3 processes in your store (inbound and plano)? I imagine a AAA volume with an off-site would have enough GM TL’s to divide that up better?? BTS has to suck for you 🤯

Because I offered to own Plano since the team relates to me better than other Tl in the building . Bts is actually not as bad as you think . We always have set it early plus we set it overnight.

 

[semantics]

We have some team members from over 4 years ago. One is on the truck team, which he did back then too. He said that they had twice as many people, used flats more, not many repacks. So, the new rules since then have changed that.

Target has long started to move away from spending money on unloading trucks with the goal of just palatalizing everything eventually so 1 person could unload a truck. -ofc that was information from years ago when a flow team consisted of 32-40 tms with often 20-26 scheduled for the truck
Used to run a truck unload with
2 throwers
1 scanner/pacer
2 flat/pallet/bulk pullers running full pallets out to the floor
3-4 people front of the line
1-2 people back
Unloading the avg 2200 piece 200 repack truck would usually take around 45mins-1 hour.
Completely different world and expectations, we were outside of Q4 clean and current before opening, basically done unloading and stocking the truck. - A+ store

I will say when we had that many people working a truck we had to recognize the custom blocks so the work came more eventually, so we're not waiting for 1 tm trying to unloading everything because the custom blocks were set up poorly and the line layout didn't account for the avg amount of boxes or the size of boxes coming from the line. Either by looking up data from previous trucks on how many boxes per custom box are coming in or from experience you can get a general idea if a custom block needs to be broken up or changed. Ofc that transition if always super fun as it confuses all the tms while they're unloading for the next 2 weeks.

One thing that is always true it's about steps and touches, how many times are you picking up a box to get it stocked. How many steps does someone have to take to do the job. Minimize the work.

 

[allnew2]

Target has long started to move away from spending money on unloading trucks with the goal of just palatalizing everything eventually so 1 person could unload a truck. -ofc that was information from years ago when a flow team consisted of 32-40 tms with often 20-26 scheduled for the truck
Used to run a truck unload with
2 throwers
1 scanner/pacer
2 flat/pallet/bulk pullers running full pallets out to the floor
3-4 people front of the line
1-2 people back
Unloading the avg 2200 piece 200 repack truck would usually take around 45mins-1 hour.
Completely different world and expectations, we were outside of Q4 clean and current before opening, basically done unloading and stocking the truck. - A+ store

I will say when we had that many people working a truck we had to recognize the custom blocks so the work came more eventually, so we're not waiting for 1 tm trying to unloading everything because the custom blocks were set up poorly and the line layout didn't account for the avg amount of boxes or the size of boxes coming from the line. Either by looking up data from previous trucks on how many boxes per custom box are coming in or from experience you can get a general idea if a custom block needs to be broken up or changed. Ofc that transition if always super fun as it confuses all the tms while they're unloading for the next 2 weeks.

One thing that is always true it's about steps and touches, how many times are you picking up a box to get it stocked. How many steps does someone have to take to do the job. Minimize the work.

Target has long started to move away from spending money on unloading trucks with the goal of just palatalizing everything eventually so 1 person could unload a truck. -ofc that was information from years ago when a flow team consisted of 32-40 tms with often 20-26 scheduled for the truck
Used to run a truck unload with
2 throwers
1 scanner/pacer
2 flat/pallet/bulk pullers running full pallets out to the floor
3-4 people front of the line
1-2 people back
Unloading the avg 2200 piece 200 repack truck would usually take around 45mins-1 hour.
Completely different world and expectations, we were outside of Q4 clean and current before opening, basically done unloading and stocking the truck. - A+ store

I will say when we had that many people working a truck we had to recognize the custom blocks so the work came more eventually, so we're not waiting for 1 tm trying to unloading everything because the custom blocks were set up poorly and the line layout didn't account for the avg amount of boxes or the size of boxes coming from the line. Either by looking up data from previous trucks on how many boxes per custom box are coming in or from experience you can get a general idea if a custom block needs to be broken up or changed. Ofc that transition if always super fun as it confuses all the tms while they're unloading for the next 2 weeks.

One thing that is always true it's about steps and touches, how many times are you picking up a box to get it stocked. How many steps does someone have to take to do the job. Minimize the work.
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You forgot the 4 bowlers