Inventory Control and Distribution Centers

I was in a smaller department store (NOT Target or the GSR) recently, and learned that a clerk did not understand how the inventory control restock Distribution Center system works at Wal Mart and other major retailers. 

What happens at the "Big Guys" is that when you buy a bag of Oreo's or a Shirt (One of my recent purchases at Penney's), the computer automatically updates the inventory when it goes past the scanner at checkout, and orders a replacement from the Warehouse, or Manufacturer as the case may be.  Indeed, Walmart's smoothing out of this "Supply Chain Management" is touted as one of their advantages.  It's why they have "Distribution Centers" (DC), not warehouses.  Instead of keeping pallets of say, cat food on hand (another recent purchase),  they order precisely as much as they are forecast to need to arrive at the dock on one side of the DC, and it goes through the DC and directly onto the trucks for each store.  Let Purina bear the cost of warehousing the stuff.

These days, Walmart shares this (proprietary) data with it's major vendors (the "Retail Link" system) 
This huge data base of sales and trends is one of Walmart's advantages.

Actually, K-Mart had "Point of Sale" inventory control thirty years ago;  I remember my boss when I was the Driver for the CEO of a regional Department store (A story I will have to tell some day) saying, no, he wasn't going to even look at it, basically because they did not have the money for that kind of capital investment.

But still we have retail level sales people who don't understand these things.

And I still have no skills....

Crystal Bridges Museum Opening Announced!

Has been announced, for 11/11/2011;  Almost a year out....

This is the "Great White Hope" to make this area a cultural destination.  Right.

What was really interesting, the same Newspaper section (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Northwest Arkansas Setion, November 19, 2010) (Pay for accsess, so no link) (how quaint and stone age) had a feature about another planning meeting on Light Rail.  Someone is pushing  this, all about how wonderful it is for development. 

Other than the one nay sayer who had negative experience (in San Diego?) because hey, my car should always have the right of way.

Can't see it happening, yes, we have the (existing) ROW, The old Frisco Main Line, (Now the A&M), but they seem to have drawn an arbitrary line on the map to "extend" the system to the NW Arkansas Regional Airport (I don't believe there is any exiting ROW).  Great for WalMart Vendors/Employees.  No way anyone from Fayetteville (The University) will ride around through Rogers to get to the Airport.

Development has moved about five to ten miles to the west along the Interstate (I-540) traffic corrider.  Which has yet to be extended into Missouri, but the Federal Highway dollars work for the developers.  Which might almost be a separate rant. 

But hey, our congressman elect will (probably) obediently get an earmark to study the (light rail) issue.

We already have $15 Million to hook up the bike/jog trail though the better neighborhoods, ending there at the nice new mall.  About ten miles short of where I live.

No Inflation?

Who do they think they are fooling?

Went in to the Golden Arches last Saturday, the Hotcakes & Sausage are now $2.99, (vs. $2.49 say two years ago, most recently, $2.69 until this weekend).

Coffee long ago started to sneak up in price, not sure when/how.  I did notice a jump in the price for the unground (Eight O'Clock brand) beans at the GS back in August.  Somewhere around a dollar on each "pound" package. 

The Governent Environment

One reason I find the local "Smaller Government" tea Party MORONS so annoying is their lack of knowledge of how much of this pleasant, semi-suburban environment they enjoy is the creation of government policies that supported Roads and Utilities.

Most notable earlier this week when I was standing in downtown Pea Ridge (Arkansas) at 0730, watching the traffic flows en route to their jobs, say ten to fifteen miles (one way) by road from Pea Ridge to Rogers and Bentonville (GS's HQ).  All single occupancy vehicles, needless to say.  Just a continuous flow.  Hundreds of them.  And local development planning (such as it is) is limited to "Which roads should we improve."

(I went to that meeting a couple of weeks ago).

These same people will be wailing and gnashing their teeth about the unfairness of it all when gas hits $4 a gallon again.

My Blog Title

It's all about living in the shadow of WalMart HQ, the Great Satan of Retail.

For those looking for something else, well, sorry about that.