Unloading and Receiving Produce in Retail Food Stores

Excerpts from the report Introduction: The produce department is the third largest department in most supermarkets, ranking in volume of sales after the grocery and meat departments. In most supermarkets produce accounts for 10 to 12 percent of the store's sales volume and because of its perishability, the margin to handle it is one of the highest in the store. The unloading and receiving of produce is the first handling operation performed at the retail level. The cost of this function is less than 5 percent of the total cost of handling produce in the retail store. Methods of unloading and receiving produce at retail food stores range from carrying the produce into the store by hand to a completely palletized operation where individual cases are not handled. Since no 2 stores are exactly alike and all firms and managers have their own views as to the methods to use, there is little standardization of procedures. Studies were made in 15 supermarkets of 3 retail food chains to determine methods and productivity of their present unloading and receiving operation. The unloading and receiving function included all operations involved in moving produce from the truck trailer to final storage in the store. A number of improvements were made as a result of the studies. These improved practices were adopted in several stores and employees trained in their use. Time studies were then made to evaluate improvements.