The mind boggles

[Cricketbat70]

The company I work for has decided to start selling through Temu, why I don't know but I don't make the decisions. Anyway temu's rules are we can not deliver ourselves we have to use a courier (I'm sure of we investigated this it would be for individual private sellers not a business) So we have sold a washing machine, it has been picked up by a courier we use everyday for our hard to get to or way off the beaten track places, to go all the way to their depot in Birmingham just to come back up to the customers house in Burnley, 8 miles from where we are based, we deliver in Burnley every day. What a waste of time and resources.

 

[Revolutions]

That's a shame. One of the many unintended consequences of automating supply chain etc. Despite all evidence pointing to the contrary, humans have a terrible habit of assuming a process will always work, and the one they decide on is the best. In that respect we often fail to build in redundancy or a simple override like would have helped you save the business a lot of cash here.

Even in manufacturing, process should be a like your backbone: reduce the weight of decision making & also be v flexible. It's not a sexy sell to corporate though, pointing out that your 'solution' is a best guess based on tonnes of assumptions.

Sorry, you triggered a mini work rant. Hope this event helps your bosses to realise their folly & make some tweaks.

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

The company I work for has decided to start selling through Temu, why I don't know but I don't make the decisions. Anyway temu's rules are we can not deliver ourselves we have to use a courier (I'm sure of we investigated this it would be for individual private sellers not a business) So we have sold a washing machine, it has been picked up by a courier we use everyday for our hard to get to or way off the beaten track places, to go all the way to their depot in Birmingham just to come back up to the customers house in Burnley, 8 miles from where we are based, we deliver in Burnley every day. What a waste of time and resources.

Are they only selling through Temu or, is it just another string to the bow? Many people, like myself, will not use Temu because of their reputation for selling items made by forced and/or child labour, in China.

EDIT: I looked-up Temu's Ts&Cs, soon gave-up reading them, I'm not sure I have enough days left, to work all the way through...

 

[Cricketbat70]

That's a shame. One of the many unintended consequences of automating supply chain etc. Despite all evidence pointing to the contrary, humans have a terrible habit of assuming a process will always work, and the one they decide on is the best. In that respect we often fail to build in redundancy or a simple override like would have helped you save the business a lot of cash here.

Even in manufacturing, process should be a like your backbone: reduce the weight of decision making & also be v flexible. It's not a sexy sell to corporate though, pointing out that your 'solution' is a best guess based on tonnes of assumptions.

Sorry, you triggered a mini work rant. Hope this event helps your bosses to realise their folly & make some tweaks.

I started the rant🤣 honesty I have regular rants with the decisions that are made here.

 

[Cricketbat70]

Are they only selling through Temu or, is it just another string to the bow? Many people, like myself, will not use Temu because of their reputation for selling items made by forced and/or child labour, in China.

EDIT: I looked-up Temu's Ts&Cs, soon gave-up reading them, I'm not sure I have enough days left, to work all the way through...

Yeah its just another string in the bow. For the very reasons you I and many others avoid them, my son and I looked at each other and said why are we selling through them?

 

[Gray]

In so many ways this is a crazy world - in matters large and small.
I attended my Uncle's funeral yesterday, near Brentwood in Essex.
On the brightest, sunny day, every light in the car park was on - without needing to be on at all (mains, not solar powered lights).
They were all fitted with LED of course - saving on the electricity incandescent bulbs would previously have used - but they were using 100% more energy than necessary - for all daylight hours.
Never mind, who cares?, stick it on the council tax payers bills.

 

[matthewpianist]

I won't buy from TEMU or any similar companies, and I'm drastically reducing my use of Amazon to situations when urgency dictates and there are no other options. I'm fed up of seeing honestly run independent businesses who employ people on decent terms and treat them properly go out of business, and mostly because we're all giving our money to companies that will treat staff poorly and will happily hand as many tasks over to AI as they possibly can and as quickly as they can.

 

[Cricketbat70]

I won't buy from TEMU or any similar companies, and I'm drastically reducing my use of Amazon to situations when urgency dictates and there are no other options. I'm fed up of seeing honestly run independent businesses who employ people on decent terms and treat them properly go out of business, and mostly because we're all giving our money to companies that will treat staff poorly and will happily hand as many tasks over to AI as they possibly can and as quickly as they can.

Amazon is another company we sell through and another one I said "why?" when we started ten years ago.
The lady in our accounts department who deals with amazon is semi retiring and the finance director is now having to get involved and he kicked off at something that our returns manager has been telling him about for years, the finance director didnt believe him but now he has seen the evidence he's kicked off.
Amazon's policy is a product can be returned for a full refund up to 2 years from purchase and the number of times we've had a well used washing machine, cooker etc returned just a couple of days short of two years is ridiculous. Amazon give customer full refund then demand the money back off us and it doesn't matter how much we protest about the product being well used or as has also happened we send customer a brand new washing machine TV etc and they send back a 10 year old damaged/ not working product, claiming it was damaged on delivery, get a full refund. When we complain all we get from Amazon is "how do you know the manufacturer hasn't put the wrong product in the box".
Our director said to the returns manager "but that's not our policy" returns manager said "I've been telling you for years about this, its Amazons policy we can't do anything.
I long for the days when I first started here and we paid for our own advertising and paid for a decent website. Directors chose the easy route of going through amazon because it was cheaper than advertising etc but it is coming back to bite us, plus our amazon sales have plummeted we used to fill an artic' every day now its three or four pallets three times a week.
Sorry for the long rant.

 

[Cricketbat70]

In so many ways this is a crazy world - in matters large and small.
I attended my Uncle's funeral yesterday, near Brentwood in Essex.
On the brightest, sunny day, every light in the car park was on - without needing to be on at all (mains, not solar powered lights).
They were all fitted with LED of course - saving on the electricity incandescent bulbs would previously have used - but they were using 100% more energy than necessary - for all daylight hours.
Never mind, who cares?, stick it on the council tax payers bills.

There is a famous outlet not far from us Boundary Mill in Colne they have their external lights, building, carpark etc on all night when the building is closed. I've always said what a waste. I cannot believe its for security its ridiculous. Colne's now closed down branch of Matalan did the same thing, large uplighters half way up the external walls of the building on all night and it not like it was in an unlit retail park the building is right next to a well lit main road.