Aldi's Barcode Strategy • Hacker News Board

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#261

Post by ygra » Wed, Jun 15, 2016, 6:03 PM UTC

germanier wrote: post #83

MasterYoda wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

The system is very efficient if you measure throughput. It does not feel as nice and you are pressured to pack very fast which is why the more upmarket stores use the Y-layout or at least a long surface after the cashier (never seen the closing bar in Germany though). Customers stopped caring as it is used for decades now. FWIW I usually pack while the items are scanned which means I can leave as soon as I paid which…

Card payment at Aldi (Süd) for me is about as fast as it takes Rewe to register that I put the card into the terminal. Aldi also never asks for signature and always goes for PIN because it's faster. It doesn't have to be slow, but sadly in most stores it is. (Debit card here, though. No idea how it is for credit cards and whether they work differently.)

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#262

Post by jschulenklopper » Wed, Jun 15, 2016, 8:04 PM UTC

Cogito wrote: post #152

jschulenklopper wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spoiler alert: it will not work. The people in the cart factory attaching the chain will have tested that as well.

Spoiler spoiler alert: you can however lock two carts to each other, though it is a bit of work! I never tested more than two, but the geometry of the situation would make it moderately difficult.

> you can however lock two carts to each other

Not with the ones I've seen in NL, unless you put one cart on top of the other and turn it upside down. Indeed, that's a bit of work, lifting one cart (or pushing both carts flat on their side).

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#263

Post by jschulenklopper » Wed, Jun 15, 2016, 8:25 PM UTC

jernfrost wrote: post #183

jschulenklopper wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ... I can't help hating those stores. It all looks so cheap and barebones that I get depressed just being there. Then why go there? Normally, you enter most stores by choice, so after a couple of (negative) experiences, just stop visiting them. Can't speak for all Aldi and Lidl stores (not even in all of The Netherlands), but in my hometown a new Lidl store is actually better than just looking cheap and barebones.…

Sure, and I don't go there. But why can't I still hate them? Does me having a choice mean that I should like them. I hate opera too, and I don't go watching opera either. But am I required to like it because I am not forced to go there? Anyway in Germany there is not much of a choice whether to enter Lidl or Aldi as they are everywhere and there seems to be little else. I've lived several years in the Netherlands btw…

You're free to hate them, although I personally choose not to hate anything in my life. Life's just too short for that. My "Then why go there?" was a response to your "I get depressed just being there", not to your hate.

Indeed, Albert Heijn has great shops. The have a much greater variety in their products across the board, stock more luxury/expensive items (that Aldi/Lidl simply don't sell) and likely have a higher margin on these to cover for the additional costs of a more luxurious shopping experience and additional services (their free magazines, online shopping platform, apps with recipes, parcel pickup service from bol.com).

BTW, Albert Heijn is still the largest chain of supermarkets in NL, but Jumbo is catching up quickly. You should try them, once you visit NL again.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#264

Post by germanier » Wed, Jun 15, 2016, 10:01 PM UTC

ygra wrote: post #261

germanier wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The system is very efficient if you measure throughput. It does not feel as nice and you are pressured to pack very fast which is why the more upmarket stores use the Y-layout or at least a long surface after the cashier (never seen the closing bar in Germany though). Customers stopped caring as it is used for decades now. FWIW I usually pack while the items are scanned which means I can leave as soon as I paid which…

Card payment at Aldi (Süd) for me is about as fast as it takes Rewe to register that I put the card into the terminal. Aldi also never asks for signature and always goes for PIN because it's faster. It doesn't have to be slow, but sadly in most stores it is. (Debit card here, though. No idea how it is for credit cards and whether they work differently.)

If you ever have the chance to visit Sweden I urge you to try paying with card there (well, it's easier than cash there anyway). It's unbelievably fast.

But you are right, among the German stores Aldi has one of the best terminal.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#265

Post by noir_lord » Wed, Jun 15, 2016, 11:54 PM UTC

germanier wrote: post #68

markokrajnc wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And they ordered the POS software from two companies - at the same time. When the two companies finished the development, they paid both of them but choosed the better one which is now in production...

At least for the last incarnation in 2013 Aldi Süd took offers from 14 companies, chose 8 which delivered a proof of concept, then chose 3 to fully implement the software which was then field tested for three months. They also have full rights to the source code and in-house developers to do small changes. The hardware is supplied by a different company that also has software on offer. But apparently that is not good…

I've maintained for years you can tell how well a shop/chain is run by how fast it processes your card, McDonald's are currently the fastest I've found generally with Aldi running a close second.

Seems logical that once people have selected what they want to buy you get them out the shop as fast as possible.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#266

Post by tamana » Thu, Jun 16, 2016, 2:52 AM UTC

ygra wrote: post #260

majewsky wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they? I remember shopping at Walmart around 2000, but I don't recall seeing baggers there.

What are baggers? People standing after the checkout that put stuff into bags for you? If so, that sounds quite unusual, unnecessary, and even annoying to me.

Annoying?

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#267

Post by tamana » Thu, Jun 16, 2016, 3:04 AM UTC

germanier wrote: post #9

jankassens wrote: post #4

They used to type in short (3 or 4 digits) codes for the products at Aldi in Germany maybe 10 years ago. I assume they did this because the scanner technology was not as fast. The cashiers memorized the codes and were crazy fast.

Aldi Süd cashiers learned the prices. They actually choose prices that were easier to type and as few different prices as possible. Barcode scanners were installed in 2000 in anticipation of the Euro introduction. Aldi Nord cashiers learned three digit codes (around 800 ones). Scanners were only introduced in 2003 because they started to sell loose produce which is weighted at the checkout. Additionally, that allowed…

A grocery store with only 800 items seems absurd to me. That's 10% the variety of a USA grocery story.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#268

Post by eru » Thu, Jun 16, 2016, 5:39 AM UTC

kagamine wrote: post #209

eru wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be mixing up Aldi Nord and Sued. In Aldi Sued they really just typed in the prices.

Not an American, so Aldi is just Aldi the German supermarket chain to me. I'm talking about how product databases and shops are run in general throughout Europe. Seems like Aldi invented their own system that no other chain uses.

I was referring to the history lesson matt4077 gave in an ancestor comment.

Yes, the Aldi chains were using their own system. It's not too much of a leap: they only have a few different hundred items total, and they already control the packaging and what's printed on it.

In any case, I am really glad Aldi (and Lidl) are making great inroads in the UK and Australia. Mostly because I think the incumbents in these places can use some shaking up from their cosy oligopolies. (Tesco in the UK and Coles in Australia feel `evil' in exactly the sense that we decried Microsoft to be.)

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#269

Post by eru » Thu, Jun 16, 2016, 5:44 AM UTC

Marazan wrote: post #207

eru wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shouldn't the milk farmers who can't meet cost of production leave the sector instead of guilting people into supporting their lifestyle?

It's an animal welfare issue.

If you want animal welfare, there are two good avenues: regulation via the law, or convincing customers to pay more for milk from happier cows.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#270

Post by eru » Thu, Jun 16, 2016, 5:44 AM UTC

eru wrote: post #200

Cogito wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spoiler spoiler alert: you can however lock two carts to each other, though it is a bit of work! I never tested more than two, but the geometry of the situation would make it moderately difficult.

You can make a long chain of a few dozen carts into a ring.