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Aldi's Barcode Strategy

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Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#131

Post by Spooky23 »

tuna-piano wrote: post #97

I wonder why a large retailer like Walmart doesn't start incentivizing their suppliers to do this as well? Some math. -Assume a fixed 120 customers an hour -Assume each customer buys 20 items -1 minute for customer to pay + 1 minute total scanning time for all items = 30 customers / cashier / hour (4 cashiers needed) -Assuming additional barcodes double the scanning time (seems reasonable to me from my experiences at…

Walmart doesn't care about your happiness. They only care the labor as a percentage of hourly sales.

They figure once you invested an hour marching around a football field sized store you'll happily wait 45 minutes to check out.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#132

Post by anexprogrammer »

germanier wrote: post #17
skrebbel wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why?

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.

Most UK supermarkets are shrinkng space after scan to near Aldi levels. A couple will ask if you want help packing (which unless you're elderly and infirm will slow things considerably)

it's quite common to see a set of 4 trolley bags (£1 from pound shop, much more from TM holder) which are designed to fill a standard trolley and dump stuff in those to drop in car boot. Of course you'll barely be able to move the one with all the tins and bottles without ripping the handles off, but...

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#133

Post by tobltobs »

MasterYoda wrote: post #81
skrebbel wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why?

Have the same experience when shopping in Germany. Im very supriced how ineffective there system is, with an non excistent area after the cashier. You have to trash all stuff down fast and then pack/repack afterwords somewere else and you get stressed. The swedish system feels superior in my honest opinion. There is a big area afterword divided by a Y bar so 2 people can be served simultaneous. The 2 top Y boms are e…

It is only at Aldi where you have no area behind the cashier, all other have those and I hate them. You have to stand in line and wait until some slowly moving /&%%/ is packing all his stuff in slow motion into his much too small bag, while the cashier and everybody else has to wait before he slowly moves back to the cashier, pulls out his money, again in slow motion. Just a waste of time. The Aldi system doesn't allow for such unsocial behaviour.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#134

Post by toyg »

stuaxo wrote: post #125
shostack wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sitting thing is common in England (and perhaps elsewhere in Europe). It definitely stood out to me when I was visiting.

Yup, basically all food stores are sitting, but clothing shops all seem to be standing, weirdly.

The difference is probably the combination of high footfall and continuous restocking in food shops, which results in role specialisation and hence a more static workforce where the role is static.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#135

Post by anexprogrammer »

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…

At least in the UK that's not true any more. Both Aldi and Lidl have moved out of bottom end discount and now also have premium lines too. So now for many lines you'll find discount, mid and premium versions - all still private label, all still styled to match equivalent brand or competing supermarket range. Lidl's premium meats are suspiciously close to Tesco premium range branding for instance, but vastly better. Still far fewer lines than Tesco or Sainsbury, but a heck of a lot more than five years or so ago when it was typically one of each thing.

Quality wise they beat the other supermarkets by a long way, except Waitrose or Co Op, on most things. There are exceptions, Aldi cheese is awful.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#136

Post by tobltobs »

Shivetya wrote: post #86
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.

in the Southern US I am more surprised by the great quality of their fresh food. While I hit up mostly fruit the vegetables are good too; best damn watermellon I have had short of a farm stop they also sell really odd stuff at times seemingly totally random too. Once I found bird baths there and another week an four post canopy

> they also sell really odd stuff at times seemingly totally random too. Once I found bird baths there and another week an four post canopy

They buy those items in large amounts very cheap. People love those "bargains" and can't stop to buy it, even if they don't need it at the moment. And they are not randomly, they are seasonal and they do repeat every year. In Germany you get a weekly flyer for those bargain items in your letterbox and I would guess that it is the most read "publication" in Germany.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#137

Post by pingec »

This thread shows how different the shopping culture is in various countries. I love it :).

Seems like something Zizek would use when talking about ideology :)

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#138

Post by dustin »

pingec wrote: post #127
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.

Well here in Slovenia I see this approach does not fly with old people. They will simply take their time to bag their stuff properly. What is the cashier going to do but wait? Throw stuff on the floor?

This! +1 for not letting yourself be pressured by the queue.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#139

Post by nommm-nommm »

wirrbel wrote: post #105
athenot wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

As a german in the US, I suddenly felt as if I had a OCD about the way to bag stuff. Store employees were more or less dumping things kind of randomly in bags without sorting by weight and by robustnes of the product. On the other hand declinining help with bagging seemed to be kind of unusual. Other differences I noticed: Time at checkouts was at least 2-3 times longer than in Germany, even at the better german supe…

>Germany I never encountered cashiers to comment on the goods I bought (I don't mind much, but it still felt a bit like an intrusion in privacy. I once bought a glass of Ghee - a common ingredient in southern german cuisine - and the cashier went on and on about how unusual it was that a white guy would buy it)

In the US service employees are required to be fake "friendly." This was an attempt at that. I hate it myself.

I always associated ghee with India, I had no idea it was used in Germany too.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#140

Post by wodenokoto »

systemfreund wrote: post #90
wodenokoto wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason why there is so little space is because there are supposed to be baggers. I guess they finally got rid of them to save money.

I dont think this is true. In Germany there never has been a 'bagger-culture' :)

Then my marketing book lied to me.
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