Anybody got the scoop on this? Got an email awhile ago letting us know that order reviews were going to be replaced with "Order Evolution", no timeframe given.
I hadn't heard the term "Order Evolution", however our coordinator said they are testing a different algorithm which includes more data. For example, if Kroger vegetables go on sale for 0.49 a can, it will extrapolate sales from the last time it went on for that price and build that into the order for you, instead of manually having to bring it in. Obviously those numbers can be skewed if the item wasn't on display before, or vice-versa. I'm curious to see how it will roll out.
Meanwhile, they're being punitive with people for "missing" (not getting initials on) an order . . . because that's so critical . . . even though the process is already automated.
We have had order evolution for a while now and I am seeing some big problems. The store manager comes in the morning and begins zeroing holes at will. He didn't see the load from the last 3 nights or the repack. He has no idea what is in the steel, on our "slow mover pallets", or on repack boats that we couldn't get to. He doesn't know what shippers we received. We can't work repack, load, shippers and distribution on any night. Even when we have the entire grocery department (about 10 of us and dwindling quickly) come in at 11pm to throw load and repack, we are still unable to do this. Ya we do $1 million a week so why can't Kroger afford a few more workers? After the store manager goes through and zeros about 300 OOS, these products come in the next night even though each one of those out of stocks is sitting on repack already in the backroom. 300 cases is equal to another person needed now to throw that bit of load that the store manager now tacked on. We don't have the bodies and I'm sure neither do you. Our backroom is one of the largest in Colorado and it is over packed to the point where it is an inconvenience to do anything back there. We can't find the right product because we keep receiving more and more product that is not needed. This is much similar to the snowball effect. It gets a little better after we have a "repack night" when no load comes in and we only have to work back stock. As soon as we get our next load the back is filled, all the repack boats are overflowing and some of the aisles have as many as 9 boats of repack. Each aisle should only have about a half boat of repack.
The only way to fix this issue is to remove the stores manager's ability to change balances. Since this will never happen, my suggestion to you is to keep track of what your store manager is doing to your department whether it is beneficial or not. I have told my manager to not change the number if he isn't sure but he blows me off like, "Oh ya, of course" and continues zeroing. He doesn't do this to improve out of stocks, he does this to cover his butt. When the coordinator comes in to walk the store they will scan the out of stock. Since the balance reads zero then the coordinator assumes repack was worked which means we will not have that product in the backroom and will be unable to make that sale. This makes the store manager look good but doesn't help the employees nor the customers! Rather than grabbing repack and working it, actively filling holes and making sales, he goes the fast easy route of making it look like we don't have any of the product that is out on the shelf, and the next night it comes in on the load, it gets filled to the shelf and what didn't fit on the shelf will join the old repack in the backroom that the manager decided we didn't have. Numbers are now off and this will be a problem with each one of these products until they are individually recounted again.
This is coming from the CAO or "Inventory Manager" from a Colorado King Soopers City Market with about 5 yrs experience.
We have had order evolution for a while now and I am seeing some big problems. The store manager comes in the morning and begins zeroing holes at will. He didn't see the load from the last 3 nights or the repack. He has no idea what is in the steel, on our "slow mover pallets", or on repack boats that we couldn't get to. He doesn't know what shippers we received. We can't work repack, load, shippers and distribution on any night. Even when we have the entire grocery department (about 10 of us and dwindling quickly) come in at 11pm to throw load and repack, we are still unable to do this. Ya we do $1 million a week so why can't Kroger afford a few more workers? After the store manager goes through and zeros about 300 OOS, these products come in the next night even though each one of those out of stocks is sitting on repack already in the backroom. 300 cases is equal to another person needed now to throw that bit of load that the store manager now tacked on. We don't have the bodies and I'm sure neither do you. Our backroom is one of the largest in Colorado and it is over packed to the point where it is an inconvenience to do anything back there. We can't find the right product because we keep receiving more and more product that is not needed. This is much similar to the snowball effect. It gets a little better after we have a "repack night" when no load comes in and we only have to work back stock. As soon as we get our next load the back is filled, all the repack boats are overflowing and some of the aisles have as many as 9 boats of repack. Each aisle should only have about a half boat of repack.
The only way to fix this issue is to remove the stores manager's ability to change balances. Since this will never happen, my suggestion to you is to keep track of what your store manager is doing to your department whether it is beneficial or not. I have told my manager to not change the number if he isn't sure but he blows me off like, "Oh ya, of course" and continues zeroing. He doesn't do this to improve out of stocks, he does this to cover his butt. When the coordinator comes in to walk the store they will scan the out of stock. Since the balance reads zero then the coordinator assumes repack was worked which means we will not have that product in the backroom and will be unable to make that sale. This makes the store manager look good but doesn't help the employees nor the customers! Rather than grabbing repack and working it, actively filling holes and making sales, he goes the fast easy route of making it look like we don't have any of the product that is out on the shelf, and the next night it comes in on the load, it gets filled to the shelf and what didn't fit on the shelf will join the old repack in the backroom that the manager decided we didn't have. Numbers are now off and this will be a problem with each one of these products until they are individually recounted again.
This is coming from the CAO or "Inventory Manager" from a Colorado King Soopers City Market with about 5 yrs experience.
Sincerely,
Frustrated Employee
Store management is NOT to change balances. If this is happening, you need to address your store management and request that they stop. If they do not, elevate it to your department coordinator/DM/OPS manager. Store management is not going to be up to date with backroom inventories and thus cannot make informed changes. They are to get with your grocery manager.
The problem is, a lot of people are too afraid to call their superiors out on things and this needs to change. Management needs to be held accountable just as hourly workers are and if the problem cannot be addressed by going directly to them with your concerns, then it needs to be dealt with by going above their heads.
Our store managers main problem is wayyyyy over ordering on special events. Prime examples being 3 day sales, especially good mega events, and flash sales. For example, we had a 50% off all pet treats for a single day event recently. He literally ordered 8-10 cases of every single pet treat we sold. Now, if the sale is only on for one day, and the shelf only holds one case, kindly explain how you're going to sell 8-10 of them. And creating a display is impossible because it's literally 100 different types of items at all varying price points. So now we've been stuck with 4 u-boats piled high of excess pet treats for the past 6 weeks.