Evolving 4-tier units
for Back to School
For Back to School 2019, Supply
Chain worked closely with
Merchandise to increase overall
stock levels in store, while reducing
waste and time spent filling stock by
team members.
Supply Chain’s Shane McKnight and
Mark Wenckowski spearheaded
the ‘Build and Fill’ 4-tier program,
initially trialled for Back to School
2018. Based on the learnings from
2018, Shane and Mark identified an
opportunity to procure 108 products
in bulk for the 2019 program,
More than 13,000
retail task hours were
reduced, allowing
team members to
refocus their time back
to servicing customers
and delivering
great service.
while working closely with the
Merchandise team.
The operational plan was brought
to life by Derek Ky and Hamish
O’Donnell at the East Bentleigh
Support Office. The plan was
executed in four states by Murray
Fitzgerald and Justin Blayney (Vic),
Anthony Fidow-Katopau and Tim
Rossiter (NSW), Tamara Dyjak and
Simon Allen (WA) and Dan Do,
and our 3PL partners at
DB Schenker (Qld).
Just over 148 stores received the
pre-built 4-tiers, allowing these
stores to focus on service instead
of task over Back to School. More
than 13,000 retail task hours were
reduced, allowing team members to
refocus their time back to servicing
customers and delivering great
service. Merchandise and Supply Chain
worked with our major suppliers to
create ‘bulk buys’ on popular items,
leading to suppliers adjusting their
packaging and removing inner
cartons. The 4-tier program resulted
in a reduction of 90,000 inner
cardboard cartons and increased
stock levels by 37 per cent, bringing
the total units in stock to 18,500 units.
The project also had a significant
environmental impact by reducing
waste and increasing stock levels. Overall, the 4-tier ‘Build and Fill’
project proved a huge success. Well
done to all involved.
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