How’s your war on waste?
If you’re like every other fresh produce organization, the waste struggle is ongoing — never-ending, in fact. I couldn’t even find a clever quip on the subject from one of my favorite sources, “The Big Book of Business Quotations.” Not a single remark pertaining to shrink. Imagine.
Perhaps this is because the term “shrink” seems solely tied with retail losses. Shrink is certainly an all-too-familiar concern among the perishable departments in the grocery business: delis, bakeries, meat, seafood, dairy, cheese.
Shrink is an especially focused topic in the produce aisle. “Muy importante.”
I sought a fitting quote on the subject because we’re heading smack dab into August. And August, as many know, is the high point for shrink in produce. The reasons for this phenomenon are simple. Here are the main culprits, along with a remedy or two to help keep your late summer produce shrink in check:
- Reason No. 1: August marks the zenith for produce volume, and with it, mature fruit. The greenish stone fruit easily managed in late May and early June, for example, will now arrive to your store with far less shelf life. Even with improved shipper packing and other measures, you might have two or three days maximum to channel the fruit from truck to shelf to sales, and count on losing about 10% of your investment — and that’s under ideal circumstances.
- The remedies: Order close, meaning bring in only enough product until your next anticipated delivery. Good inventory control will minimize loss. Also, train your clerks so that they handle the produce carefully. Advise to trim closely and never drop or dump product when stocking. Stick to a strict daily rotation of both backroom handling and when stocking displays. Keep displays neat, level and well culled to remove unsaleable product and improve sales.
- Reason No. 2:Let’s face it — summer is hot, and heat accelerates shrink. Even with reefers, produce can arrive warm. Receiving and loading docks are hot. When product arrives at the store, pallets are too often mishandled and the cold chains broken; items that should be kept cold invariably are staged in the heat, while items that should be kept at ambient temps too often are parked in the cooler.
- The remedies: Schedule your receiving clerks so they are prepared to properly receive the load. (See the recent column, “10 Steps for a More Efficient Receiving Operation.”) Always put the load away promptly; stress rotation, careful handling and maintaining the cold chain, and check off the order invoice for quantity accuracy.
- Reason No. 3: Less experience at store level. This is a big one. As managers and clerks squeeze in their well-deserved vacation time (often before school begins), this leaves the busiest time of the year, with the most mature fruit (in the summer heat) being handled by the least experienced clerks.
- The remedies: Work closely with all your clerks, train them constantly for proper care, handling, stocking and with tips to increase speed. Try to schedule your lesser experienced clerks with a more senior clerk so there is always some experience to go around.
Produce sales peak in the summer, with stone fruit, melons, local fare, and more variety and selection available than perhaps any other time of the year. Along with the added volume in late summer comes the threat for high shrink as well. It’s a balancing act of risk and reward. You’ll always have at least some shrink when working with fresh produce.
But with careful planning and constant vigilance, you can maximize sales — while minimizing the shrink risk.
Armand Lobato’s more than 50 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions. He has written a weekly retail column for nearly two decades.
