Stocking and Zoning - Wal-Mart
Stocking and Zoning - Wal-Mart
When working for a large company such as Wal-Mart, you must understand that it takes hard work and dedication to make sure the store is presentable. Wal-Mart believes there are two main parts to maintaining a presentable appearance: keeping the merchan- dise well stocked and then making sure each isle is properly “zoned”
With Wal-Mart being the well-known company it is, stocker personnel are scheduled covering all hours of the day. There are grocery stockers, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. stockers (which I was for six months), and then overnight stockers.
There are grocery stockers during all hours of the day, but most of the grocery section is stocked during the night. This makes it easier for the associates to stay out of the customer’s way. Pallets full of grocery merchandise come in to the store on a daily basis. The overnight stockers will then unload these pallets to the salesfloor and re-fill the shelves. The 10-7 stockers mostly work in what is called the “consumable” areas. These areas consist of paper goods, chemicals, pets, houseware, and furniture.
When I would stock the pet section I would pull pallets full of dog food, cat food, and bird food to the floor and fill the empty spots where customers had purchased merchandise. Heavier bags are stocked on the bottom while lighter bags and cans are stacked on shelves and “risers”. Risers are additional shelves at the top of the isles where extra merchandise is placed until it is able to go on the shelf. The same is done for paper goods (toilet paper, napkins, paper plates, etc.) and chemicals (laundry detergent, bug spray, cleaning supplies, etc.).
After stocking for six months, I transferred over to what is called “Area D”. Area D consists of electronics, sporting goods, hardware, toys, health and beauty aids, and garden center. While working in this area, you must always make sure the merchandise is properly “zoned”.
When zoning, you must first see if there is any merchandise on the risers that can be brought down to fill the shelf. After the shelves have been filled, you must make sure that everything is pulled to the front of the shelf and properly placed. To properly face an item, such as a spray paint can, you must make sure the name of the product is...