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Aldi's Barcode Strategy

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Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#31

Post by germanier »

mrweasel wrote: post #25
germanier wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually they scan items faster than you can bag them. The area after the scanner is very small and takes only few items so you have to move fast. I saw below that US Aldi cashiers put the items into a grocery cart. That doesn't happen in Germany as you are expected to do that yourself. Everyone has their own strategy of how to place items onto the line to slow down the cashier at just the right moment.

>The area after the scanner is very small and takes only few items so you have to move fast. What's the logic behind only having a very small space for scanned items. Aldi in Denmark normally have packing tables, but still, you can't even get your stuff in the basket quickly enough. Interestingly Lidl (another German supermarket), decided to go with normal longer areas after the scanner, because the Danes expect that…

It makes the customer pack faster. Once the next one is served you usually are almost gone. That doesn't happen if there is more space. It also saves floor space in the market.

Except Aldi, Lidl and the like German supermarkets also have the long areas after the cashier. Your items often roll away and you can't reach them anymore.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#32

Post by jonknee »

elchief wrote: post #30

I noticed at line in Costco the cashier's assistant rearranged by stuff on the belt to have the barcodes facing up and in the same direction. Costco could probably save some money by putting barcodes on every side of everything.

> Costco could probably save some money by putting barcodes on every side of everything.

That's easier said than done because Costco doesn't sell only private label items like Aldi.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#33

Post by athenot »

germanier wrote: post #23
chronial wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everyone has their own strategy of how to place items onto the line to slow down the cashier at just the right moment. I am German and and I've never heard of this ^^. You just put the items on the belt in the order that they should go in the bag, then you can pack very quickly.

> in the order that they should go in the bag That's one of them. Even that is something that you don't usually do outside Germany. To get to the next level I recommend to put weighted produce to the end or just after items that are not straightforward to pack.

I do that in the US even where they have an employee bagging my stuff. In fact, I do that to ensure optimal packetization—for an IP analogy. :)

Otherwise I end up with 2 pieces of fruit in 1 bag, 1 bottle of soap by itself in another bag, followed by again more fruit in the 3rd bag… It's a fun fragmentation problem.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#34

Post by germanier »

jonknee wrote: post #32
elchief wrote: post #30

I noticed at line in Costco the cashier's assistant rearranged by stuff on the belt to have the barcodes facing up and in the same direction. Costco could probably save some money by putting barcodes on every side of everything.

> Costco could probably save some money by putting barcodes on every side of everything. That's easier said than done because Costco doesn't sell only private label items like Aldi.

In Germany Aldi has such a market power that even for the few name-brand item they stock[1] they can demand different packaging from the manufactures. That includes not only barcodes but sometimes even more explicit ingredient lists.

[1]: Recently they started to stock more name-brand items due to a strategy shift. The other chains are not very amused.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#35

Post by germanier »

nraynaud wrote: post #28
germanier wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually they scan items faster than you can bag them. The area after the scanner is very small and takes only few items so you have to move fast. I saw below that US Aldi cashiers put the items into a grocery cart. That doesn't happen in Germany as you are expected to do that yourself. Everyone has their own strategy of how to place items onto the line to slow down the cashier at just the right moment.

Where i have been in Germany, there was no space after the barcode scanner, you directly put your cart there, and they dump everything in the cart after scanning (the cart is quite shallow, I guess it's to limit the drop height). Next to the exit, there is a table where you can sort your groceries into bags, and take as much time as you want doing so.

Yes, I think the layout is exactly the same everywhere. There are two small spaces of around 15cm times 30cm if I had to guess and a small notch to hold a basket separating them.

Especially in the more centrally located stores many people directly bag their items then and there.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#36

Post by nedwin »

jonknee wrote: post #32
elchief wrote: post #30

I noticed at line in Costco the cashier's assistant rearranged by stuff on the belt to have the barcodes facing up and in the same direction. Costco could probably save some money by putting barcodes on every side of everything.

> Costco could probably save some money by putting barcodes on every side of everything. That's easier said than done because Costco doesn't sell only private label items like Aldi.

They have enough buying power - they could probably mandate it

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#37

Post by lorenzhs »

bluedino wrote: post #18
anotheryou wrote: post #2

They are so fast, that I change strategies on which line to choose. Usually less stuff to be checked out in front of you is good, but at aldi I go for least people, no matter how much stuff they loaded. This might be even more significant in germany, where many pay cash and you get every cent back in change.

>> where many pay cash and you get every cent back in change. Aldi just started accepting cards in the US a short while ago

They accept both credit (Visa and MasterCard, by far the most common in Germany) and debit (EC)in Germany. Credit was a recent addition

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#38

Post by s_dev »

dandermotj wrote: post #20

Aldi and Lidl are blasting through other super market chains with their low cost, high quality goods. If there were ever perfect case studies for usurping incumbents in a sharply competitive market Aldi and Lidl are it.

They also get rid of a lot of "frills" that other grocery stores are accustomed to performing that add to cost e.g. items are still in their transport cardboard boxes on the shelves so employees spend less time stocking shelves, they allow people to take these cardboard boxes home instead of shopping bags and this reduces waste cost.

They dramatically reduce their range which cuts inventory storage. You'll never seem more than one or two instances of the same item. i.e. theres only one type of can of baked beans.

You're expected to pack bags away from the cashier so they can get to billing the next customer and not wasting time packing bags.

They ensure theres always a little bit of a queue so the cashiers are constantly scanning if not they close the till.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#39

Post by res0nat0r »

s_dev wrote: post #38
dandermotj wrote: post #20

Aldi and Lidl are blasting through other super market chains with their low cost, high quality goods. If there were ever perfect case studies for usurping incumbents in a sharply competitive market Aldi and Lidl are it.

They also get rid of a lot of "frills" that other grocery stores are accustomed to performing that add to cost e.g. items are still in their transport cardboard boxes on the shelves so employees spend less time stocking shelves, they allow people to take these cardboard boxes home instead of shopping bags and this reduces waste cost. They dramatically reduce their range which cuts inventory storage. You'll never seem…

Also the shopping cards have a small chain that attaches to the cart in front of it. You unlock the cart by sliding in a quarter so you can use it while shopping. Since people want their quarter back they have to return the cart to the store. Great solution to eliminate a bag boy sweeping up carts from the lot all day IMO.

Also way back when ALDI didn't even have barcode scanners to save money. There was a person typing all of the items manually into the computer with some 4-6 digit code when you checked out. It was crazy as they were incredibly fast.

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