Lowe's inventory records a disaster

[Percival P. Cassidy]

I needed a sheet of 1/4" maple plywood. According to the Lowe's app. on my phone, the local store had 13 of them. When I got to the store, I found that the spot labeled for them had underlayment instead, so I called one of the staff, but he couldn't find them. I said, "I know some stores only update their inventory overnight; maybe you sold them today already." He replied, "I think we do updates only once a week," which I told him I thought was terrible. After much searching he decided to check their computer, which told him that they had 17 sheets -- as at

*9/10/2015* (yes, more than a year ago!), and that their last delivery was at about that same time. He said he would update their computer system to show that they had no stock and would order more -- but they will not be available for 9 days.

I said, "Even if I had called, you would have looked in the computer and told me that you had 17 of them, wouldn't you?" "No," he said, "I know that the system is a mess, so I would have gone and looked on the racks."

Now the Lowe's app. does show that there are none in stock at my local store. So if it gets synched so promptly now, how come they were out of synch before (13 vs. 17)?

Perce

[Ed Pawlowski]

I've used the Lowes web site to finds things at two stores. Always accurate. Also tells you the location. Maybe your store manager is the problem.

[Percival P. Cassidy]

But why does it depend on the store manager? Why isn't the system automated? Why doesn't the quantity in stock shown on their Web site or by the app. -- and let alone on their own in-store computer system -- update within minutes -- or less -- of a sale being made?

Perce

[Ed Pawlowski]

Because the job of the manager is to make sure things are running right. He knew it was a mess, his job is to get the right people to fix it. His responsibility is to get things done.

[thekmanrocks]

NEVER EVER EVER trust a computer when it comes to retail inventory!

[anon]

People are thieves. If it ain't nailed down, someone will steal it.

[David L. Martel]

Percy,

A sale is only one of the ways that items are removed from stock. Shoplifting by customers and employees is quite high in many places. Defective returns affect the stock. And, of course things get mis-shelved.

Dave M.

[John G]

Same thing at the big orange store. I've had store associates check inventory many times and it is always off.

I know for a fact that they do perodic inventory checks, but that is done by an outside company using people who are not familiar with the merchandise.

[Percival P. Cassidy]

I know that things walk out of the door without being sold. But 4' x 8' sheets of plywood? And how come the store's own computer records -- at least for this item -- hadn't been updated for more than a year?

And where did the "13 in stock" figure shown by the app. differ from the "17 in stock" shown in the store's own system? Doesn't each store's system link to the company's centralized record keeping?

Perce

[Harry K]

I cut a lot of firewood. I was getting my bar oil at WalMart. Suddenly th e spodt on the shelf was empty...and remained that way over several visits. I checked the website that showed thay had it. Went to the complaint desk and asks what the problem was. Had to show them there was none on the she lf. They looked, couldn't find any in stock room. Ordered me some. I pic ked it up a few days later and from curiosity checked...still none on shelf . About a month later the gallon jugs were back.

[Bill]

As a salesperson at a big mall retailer, we closed the store and did the inventory once a year. "Every" single space (closets, etc.) was accounted for. They all were assigned numbers. So even though some might be out of their normal territory, there was an "expert" nearby to help. By the way, the "project" was no fun at all (I only brought it to the front of my memory because you forced me to!) : )

[clare]

The problem is , the count is not accurate when the wrong stuff is put in the wrong "bin" and the counters are functionally illiterate.

[notbob]

Izzat "illegal" illiterate counters or jes our own bozos from the US education system? ;)

Regardless, not a problem. Lowe's has formally sold out to the Mexicans. Even Lowe's regular TV adds are now spoken in Spanish with English subtitles. Amazing how 10% of the population dictates which language we should all speak.

nb

[micky]

Yes it is. 30 years ago the mainframe installations where I worked updated every night, or twice a day, but they worked things out a few years later to update almost immediately.

That was a good year for maple.

That's a good question. They may be using numbers from the Federal Number Reserve, which only supplies raw numbers and has no method for matching them with existing numbers. Because we use so many more numbers these days, and because 97% of new numbers come from Arab countries (That's why they're called Arabic numbers) with whom our relationship is not always good, the federal government in 1975 established the Federal Number Reserve, in a rarely visited part of the Humboldt National Forest in Nevada. In underground vaults, it holds

32 quintillion numbers, enough to carry us through an embargo of 20 years, if necessary. Some have said we don't need that many and so, for a fee, a few have been made available to private businesses. They can buy a few rather cheaply but the price per unit climbs steeply if they buy more.

I was at Lowes about 10 years ago looking at the kitchen faucets. They had about 15 on display.

But I thought I'd get more details at home so I looked on the computer at home and they had 4.

HD was terrible at that time too, but they may have finally gotten their act together. The webpage shows the aisle and bay for each product, per store, and the two times I've looked, it was right.

[clare]

US college grads for the most part. Whether Anglo or Latino makes no difference - still "functionally illiterate"

[micky]

To order a gallon for you and 5 gallons for the shelves would have required two separate orders. I haven't got time for that. You're lucky I waited on you.

/s MMT, manager of your local Walmart.

[Bill]

This wasn't Walmart (nothing against Walmart). I don't think the counters were functionally illiterate. Of course, this is 30 years ago...

[thekmanrocks]

I know that things walk out of the door without being sold. But 4' x 8' sheets of plywood? And how come the store's own computer records -- at least for this item -- hadn't been updated for more than a year?

And where did the "13 in stock" figure shown by the app. differ from the "17 in stock" shown in the store's own system? Doesn't each store's system link to the company's centralized record keeping?

Perce "

In theory, yes. The POS(point of sale) terminals - cash registers for those of us old enough to call them that - automatically reduce inventory by the number ofmthat item sold. When inventory falls below a point set by regional or store management, the computer alerts staff to order more stock, or, automatically places an order tombring stock up to the quantity normall kept in stock at that retail location.

Defectives are returned to store for refund or credit, but if the computer system is set up appropriately, defectives will not be added - on paper - back to inventory by that system.

Again, this is ideally what should happen, and reordering and delivery of new stock should occur at a rate that ensure that an "out of stock" condtion should rarely if ever occur. But it doesn't always. A cashier with a long line or short on experience may not enter the stock or PLU correctly for an item, so even if they charge the customer and receive payment for it, the computer controlling inventory cannot reduce quantity of that item. Additionally, 2 of item #447J were pocketed. So computer thinks there are 12 of item #447J in stock and doesn't need to order more when quantity drops to 10, when in actuality there are only 7 on the shelf.

[clare]

I remember using an inventory counting service one year and the results were FAR from accurate. The next year we did it in-house - and having a basic understanding of what was SUPPOSED to be in the bins - and making sure we counted what was there as the right part, made for a much more accurate count. 3 days of work over the new-year counting was NOT what I had figured on.

[Whazzzzzzzup?]

Seems unfair not to have some ebonics commercials.