Poor stock control management at Makro Chiang Rai

[DonaldBattles]

Does anyone know why Makro has such poor stock control procedures? You would think that a company this large would have stock control associated with their cash register sales reporting back to their shipping department. There is absolutely no interest in maintaining the stock. Seems like the things I need to buy they are always out. Once the do arrive I have to buy a 2 months supply in order to have what I need. My last trip on Tuesday of week they had no 1.5 liter jugs of milk but all of the shelves were filled with 5 liter jugs of ARO brand. Pork ribs are available about every 2 weeks. I waited 2 months for oat meal to come in.

You would think the owners and manager of Makro would care more about the business than this. Notice how the isles are always blocked off and full of restocking personnel standing around in a small group talking to each other. Why don't they do like other stores such as Big C and restock when the stores are closed. ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!

[Sophon]

Makro has been taken over by CP and it seems they are changing their stock control system. They have signs apologizing for temporary lack of stock while they are changing over to the new system.

The quality of our local Makro here in Lamphun has taken a nosedive since the change of ownership. I am not to worried by the occasional lack of stock, but the quality of the products especially in the fresh meat department has really deteriorated. Much of the meat no longer smells or looks fresh.

Sophon

[DonaldBattles]

It has been over a year since the CP takeover of Makro. Seems like the poor management of stock is localized. Hang Dong in Chiang Mai is never out of what you are looking for. If the management had any balls this mess could be cleaned up.

[Sophon]

It has been over a year since the CP takeover of Makro. Seems like the poor management of stock is localized. Hang Dong in Chiang Mai is never out of what you are looking for. If the management had any balls this mess could be cleaned up.

Yes, the takeover of Makro is a while back (I think it was done back in 2013), but it seems that the change of stock system is just happening now. Probably changing to a stock system used for some of CP's other businesses. The signs apologizing for lack of stock only appeared a month or so ago.

I was in Makro Hang Dong a few weeks ago, and they definitely had a lot of empty spots on the shelves. I was there to buy a salami, and they were all out of stock. Makro in Lampang, on the other hand, seems to still be managing well. I think that a well run store with a dedicated manager will be able to manage a change of stock system well, as they will make manual checks and not rely blindly on whatever the computer is telling them. A badly managed store on the other hand, will not fare as well.

Sophon

Edited November 27, 2015 by Sophon

[colinneil]

Stock control in Thailand i have yet to see any stores that have stock control.

No hab is all you get told when asking for something.

[sceadugenga]

Kurt at Chiang Rai Deli seems to buy some Macro smallgoods and cuts them into smaller portions for resale.

I buy the pepperoni sausage from him which I like on the occasional grilled cheese or home made pizza but don't use a lot of; a quarter length does me fine and his mark up is small.

Edited November 27, 2015 by sceadugenga

[Robinsons]

Send many Complains by E-Mail to the Makro Head Office in Bangkok.

Maybe it will help.

Robinsons

[hansnl]

Poor stock control seems to be troubling not only Makro, but Tesco and Big C in the same way.

And since CP took over Makro it is getting worse.

Just in time system does not work here.

[BuaBS]

"Why don't they do like other stores such as Big C and restock when the stores are closed"

Not the big c where I live. Palets full of stuff blocking the aisles . I guess it depends on local manegement.

[Torrens54]

It has been over a year since the CP takeover of Makro. Seems like the poor management of stock is localized. Hang Dong in Chiang Mai is never out of what you are looking for. If the management had any balls this mess could be cleaned up.

WRONG !

MAKRO Hang Dong is frequently out of a whole range of goods:

Ranges from Aborio Rice (although they have substituted a more expensive brand for the usual one) Low Fat YOGURT, Low Fat Milk and Cough Syrup, Indian/Pakistan Curries, Allowie Butter, DECENT Potatoes, Lamb Chops, just to mention a few.

When I, or even my wife who is Thai, ask the "alleged Management" about the situation, we get a stunned look of horror, that anyone would even dream of asking why they are out of stock, let alone have the effrontery to want to know WHEN new stock will arrive.

YES, it has all happened since it was taken over by CP. The place is going down the gurgler !

Edited November 27, 2015 by Torrens54

[DonaldBattles]

I have not been to the Hang Dong store for over a year. Sounds like it has gone down hill with all the rest. If I look at 7-11 their stock is always up todate. I notice how they now have replaced the good low fat yoghurt with some milky like crap.

I know part of the problem could be hey kept all of the old staff and they are screwing off until the CP management catches up with them. It is simply amazing how people don't give a shit about anything and have no personal self esteem. When you go in this big stores you always see small groups of 3 or 4 standing around verbally jacking eachother off. Waiting and helping customers is the last thing in their minds. The small mom and pop chinese stores are the opposite. I was living in Bangkok when the first Makro opened and it was great for many years. I don't look for much change unless CP gets control of their staff.

[KC 71]

If i want fish or cheese i go there

[xen]

I would imagine a company as huge as CP foods would be able to install a point of sale stock control system . If they can print a invoice they can run it to a central computer system in the warehouse or connect straight to the supplier. Not difficult at all. Every item that goes through the cash register is deducted from stock on hand until a re-order point is reached ,taking into the calculation re-order time and delivery from the ware-house. (and possibly a % of spoilage and theft would need to be assumed. ).

How does 7/11 do it , a CP owned franchise organisation. Surely they don't hand stock-take every night before closing and then re-order , or maybe this explains why they have one serving in peak time and six standing around discussing how to re-order 10 x 50 ml bottles of sunshine shampoo.

Shit , even a dump-arse like me could design the system on basic excel sheets .. Does anybody know CP's head honcho's phone number so i can make an offer.

[DonaldBattles]

Notice that Makro does not have Blue Stilton and many other European type cheese.

As Big C is owned by the French companion Casino you see a lot of their products in the store. From my observations in Chiang Rai Big C is well managed as compared to Makro. The French also on HomePro.

[grumpyoldman]

Regarding staff hanging around and talking to each other brings back memories of Don's here in Phuket. Killer ribs.

"if you got time for leanin you got time for cleanin!!"

Good memories Don, hope you are well.

[DonaldBattles]

Doing good light farming in Chiang Rai. I miss all of my old friends and customers in Phuket (about 500 or more). Besides the yell " if you got time to lean you have got time to clean". Another one you may remember is "if you are not walking you are not working". We don't pay to stand still.

Now I am 82 years old and my 31 years in 9 provinces in Thailand has passed fast. The quality of life in Chiang Rai in the foothills of Doi Hang is good but I enjoyed working better. My wife forced me to retire for the 5th time last year.

[JAG]

Does Makro have the same highly trained "hit squad" as Big C?

Whenever I leave the store a klaxon sounds in the bowels of the building, and the squad on standby leap from their charpoys, and immediately get to work, changing everything round so that next time I visit everything is in a different place!

[mumbojumbo]

Macro didn't go down hill since CP took over. There stock control has been crap since the day they opened.

[TheCruncher]

Notice that Makro does not have Blue Stilton and many other European type cheese.

As Big C is owned by the French companion Casino you see a lot of their products in the store. From my observations in Chiang Rai Big C is well managed as compared to Makro. The French also on HomePro.

HomePro is 100% Thai.

Big C is the biggest disaster I have ever seen in stock management, and they can notice it themselves, sine it was recently reported that during the last quarter they had the biggest decline in revenue of all Thai stores.

Here in Pattaya many shelves empty, and most of Casino products discontinued for almost 6 months already.

[arunsakda]

I don't even bother asking anymore. 95 percent of the time the answer is "no" or "I don't know". Other times a random like Mai mee, get more two week. The next day it will be in stock.

[sceadugenga]

Any turkeys/turkey breasts out at Macro?

Tops seem to have forgotten to order them.

[DonaldBattles]

Last Jan. the Thai government banned all US turkeys from import. This is addition to banning of US beef many years ago. Recently the US Trade Representative awarded Thailand 2 years of Generalized System Of Preference (GSP) with high reduction of tariffs on 3400 items for import. In addition he gave duty free import on 11 agriculture items. And what did Thailand do for the US they sent a big mob to demonstrate in front of the US Embassy. The Trade Representative should ban all Thai shrimp imports and you would see them on their knees in front of the US Embassy. No turkeys for Christmas really sucks. I don't expect the embargo to be lifted unless Thailand is slapped with a serious embargo of shrimp.

[KC 71]

Went to Macro yesterday- had good salmon -US/Italian mozzarella- cheap chocolate selection and managed to get the last pack of Cumberland sausages -didnt even bother with Tesco Lotus (MaeSai)

[sceadugenga]

Dozens of countries are banning US poultry because of a huge bird flu outbreak

(Reuters) - Dozens of countries have imposed total or partial bans on U.S. poultry and poultry imports since an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was discovered in December.

Each of the top 10 importers has introduced restrictions. Total bans have been imposed by China, South Korea and Angola, whose markets were valued at nearly $700 million last year.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/dozens-of-countries-are-banning-us-poultry-because-of-a-huge-bird-flu-outbreak-2015-4?r=US&IR=T

[Manassas]

Just made a Makro run. I got some things I don't see at other stores like produce and seafood. But really the bulk prices on many items aren't much of a discount.

But my pet peeve is, what is the purpose of the two guys checking your receipt 10 meters from the cashier?? Are they checking on the customers or the cashiers? That really slows down exiting the store.

[villagefarang]

I try not to get bogged down with the why as it really doesn’t matter why. It adds a few second to your shopping day and provides employment for a couple of extra people.

[TheCruncher]

I try not to get bogged down with the why as it really doesn’t matter why. It adds a few second to your shopping day and provides employment for a couple of extra people.

It depends, on a busy day with a line of wholesale customers in front of you with trolleys piled up to the roof, it adds a bit more than a few seconds to your exit. And when I have frozen goods under my purchases It want them out of the heat as quickly as possible.

Other than that, I consider it an insult to customers, and they should keep their internal issues internal.

[villagefarang]

But does feeling insulted do anything other than raise your blood pressure?

[TheCruncher]

But does feeling insulted do anything other than raise your blood pressure?

That is just the point, I don't want my blood pressure been raised for reasons I have nothing to do with, so I avoid as much as possible to rely on shops that have this practice for my purchases.

[villagefarang]

Avoiding places is definitely one way to go, the other is to simply not get upset.