Years ago, “Silent” Calvin Coolidge was followed by the media as he left a Sunday church service.
Hoping to get more than a few words from the reserved president, a reporter asked him what the sermon was about. “Sin,” replied the president.
“Well? What about it?” pressed the reporter.
Coolidge kept on walking and replied, “Preacher’s against it.”
If this produce scribe were to be similarly tracked down about a particularly important work topic, it could very well be something like “Rotation.” To which I would reply, “I’m for it.”
Of course. What else could I say?
Fewer things in the produce aisle are more important than product rotation. I know I’ve mentioned it at least once or a dozen times in one way or another over the years, but it bears repeating.
First, a good rotation starts in the back room. The “first in, first out” method serves as a good rule of thumb. New produce gets put away right away, maintaining the cold chain. Then, older stock is placed (or rotated) so that product is used first.
Take a day or two off from doing this and, before you know it, aging produce gets that much more aged and dehydrated, more difficult to manage and harder to sell.
There are exceptions to the rule, of course: bananas, tomatoes or avocados may arrive riper than what you have on hand, for example. But for the most part, if you rotate your merchandise regularly, you’ll have fresher product and less shrink.
Second, every produce display should be rotated with every stocking. Period.
The temptation to cut corners is strong, don’t we all know? It gets busy. You’re shorthanded. The pressure compels some to skip rotation and pile on top of displays.
It’s so much easier to justify doing so when in a rush: “I can skip it this one time,” or, “I just rotated this yesterday,” or “I’ll catch up tomorrow, when it’s not so busy.”
Trouble is, you’re always going to be busy. So get busy doing the job right.
Summer is a high shrink season. Shrink will increase percentage-wise as the season wears on: produce respiration rates rise, commodities become more volatile, and more inexperienced hands are on deck, covering for vacationing senior veterans. So, rotation must be the prevailing message.
If you don’t faithfully rotate, product quickly transforms into costly layers of shrink that is eventually culled and discarded. Shrink numbers rise and you have unhappy managers and unsatisfied customers.
Follow through with the rotation message? You’ll still be battling a certain amount of shrink. But at least you’re in a position of control, keeping displays looking good and a department you can be proud of.
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years’ experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions.
