Supply Change

In the days when the term "supply chain" was in its infancy, I worked in an organization that bought "a lot of stuff."

The group controlling inventory adopted the term as its departmental name. The only problem was, the area technical clerk didn't get the memo about the official name. She referred to the department as "Supply ChaNGE" and would answer the telephone accordingly.

She put a very sweet southern whang on the end of the phrase and it really sounded like "supply chayunge..."

I always thought her rationale, though inaccurate, was fairly logical. If you have 50 cases of copy paper on the shelves and someone comes and takes away two of them, you are down to 48 cases. And, at that point, you did, indeed, experience: Supply. Change. 

The supermarket where we often shop is going through its own version of supply change at the moment. In fact, I'd call it a major renovation.

In fact, many customers would call it a major disruption. 

Out front, there are large metal storage pods. Who knows what is inside. Maybe part of the supply yet to change? The familiar layout of the store has changed to a great degree as has the parking lot.

The other day, as I was checking out, I heard the customer in front of me grumbling about the disruption. The checker confessed to her that, at last count, the store had received more than 10,000 complaints.

Count me as one of them. When I had a chance to complete a customer survey recently, I expressed my dismay.

Very few people like change. Many of us will deal with it. But it is a bitter pill to swallow when you feel, in your heart, the change will likely stick it to you in the end.

Just recently, we clicked a button on the store chain app that caused our fuel discount points to evaporate like gas vapers in a mid-July breeze. I asked about the disappearance and the young cashier grabbed a flier and said, "Well, yes, we're doing some things differently. This should explain it." Basically it is an either/or scenario. Either = more money for the consumer. Or = fine print that sounds beneficial but really isn't.

Rolls eyes. "The Man" strikes again!. We'll make sure to un-click the app button.

Meanwhile, the fear is, at the very least, all of these changes are designed by some super duper marketer type who pitched the re-design as a way to, inadvertently, cause customer confusion adding up to more profits. After all, if you can keep the customer in the store an average of 12.5 additional seconds during each visit it translates into increased purchases of $2.94. Multiply that by the 10,000 complainers and...

Well, you get the picture.

An even more draconian view is that the supermarket is going to take away some of your favorite items or preferred brands. Or, like the bean counter's rationale, take away the discounted brands and force the consumer into making a more premium purchase. That will add another 40 cents to the average increase.

I think, maybe, that's why our fuel points went "pffft."

Anyway, at the end of the day, we're just grumbling because we're confused.  And we'd be a little less concerned if the same chain hadn't done previous comprehensive renovations. All with similar outcomes to what we fear.

Earlier this week, I went to purchase heavy duty lawn bags. I meandered down the rows where the same item used to be housed. I came away empty-handed. Eventually, I found myself near the aisle with the make-up and hair dye and, voila, off to the side were the trash bags.

Zoinks! 

When I overheard the conversation mentioned earlier, the checker told the customer ahead of me, this "redesign" is expected to continue for months - even though there are signs all over the place saying the big whatever is "coming soon."

So, here's my question: will the back to school items be housed in the mustard and mayo row? Will I find the Halloween candy in the bread aisle? 

Please, a return to normalcy. At least in time for the holidays.

JG