I can't believe half of the internship is already over! The time has gone by so fast, but I am definitely feeling a lot more comfortable around my peers and the guests. This week I learned about the logistics process of the store which is done overnight at the Clackamas Target. Logistics basically is the process of unloading the pieces (boxes) in the truck and scanning and sorting it which will ultimately be pushed to the floor in the most efficient and fast manner. Team members who work overnight generally start at 11PM and can work anywhere up until 6AM to 7AM depending on their workload. Sometimes trucks can be about 2000 pieces which is considered a light load! Trucks deliver every day; however, trucks that carry fresh produce are a few times a week. The overnight process is started when the ETL (Executive Team Leader) of Logistics gives permission for the team to start unloading the truck. Each truck is supposed to have a goal of an unload time of 60 minutes or less. Each box is unloaded, scanned, and put onto a line and is sorted to a certain pile where it is located on the floor. While these boxes are being unloaded team members are constantly pushing these boxes to the sales floor to fill the product on the shelves. Once the truck is all unloaded, then everyone helps with pushing the product to the sales floor. To me, it was amazing how fast the unloading process was. Unloading a couple thousand boxes in an hour and the fact that they haven't had a safety incident in over 970 days is amazing. Although the process of logistics may not seem glamorous because it is overnight, the team members and ETL seem to make it work with their personal lives. Work and life balance may seem very hard, but the ETL of logistics had said the hours don't interfere with the rest of her life. She makes it work between seeing her husband and friends. I thought that was really cool to hear because logistics was really interesting to me and is something I would consider for the future. After shadowing the logistics team members, it put into perspective the process of the product unloading from the truck to the process that it gets pushed to the floor. While it may seem simple, it is actually a lot more complicated. There is a planogram team that put sets together such as a "back to school" or "back to college" set. They install the signs that are hung and the boxes that hold the school supplies, etc. Signing is also important. The team must make sure that they are properly hanging the right sized signs and the right number of signs that show the product's price as well.
I also shadowed the ETL of guest service this week. The ETL of guest service is in charge of all the front check out lanes, guest services, Starbucks, and the Target Cafe. So this week, I spent some time in Starbucks and Target Cafe overseeing the different processes. There are a lot of guidelines that have to be followed as well. I shadowed the Guest Service Team Leader as well. They are in charge of guest servicing the guests at the time of checkout and solving any problems that may arise in the check out or return process. Another really great experience I had was being involved with the interview process. It was interesting to be on the other side asking the questions. After watching one interview, I was able to lead one interview on my own.
Overall, it was a good week and each and every day learn something new. The whole process from the unloading of the truck to the moment a guest purchases the product is amazing just how much goes into it. This was the last week of shadowing in the different work centers. This upcoming week will be focused solely on picking a project that will be presented in front of the district in week ten of the internship.
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