Shawn and Adam work together to stock the shelves and store back-stock at Cash & Carry.

The day started in the early morning, before traffic began, with snow still scattered across the ground. The parking lot was full of customers, loading their vehicles with piles of products. I stepped out of my car and took a long, cold breath bracing myself for the new adventure. This was no normal day in the office for me.

Walking up to the store I could see the trolleys lined up against one side of the building, and empty boxes stacked up on the other. I entered to a busy store but was still greeted by the closest cashier. I searched for Adam and found him sipping on coffee looking over a pallet full of boxes. Adam greeted me with a bright smile and we started the tour. He walked me around the back to a long and wide aisle, where the store kept the back stock of products. On the other side were the recycling and compactor as well as more back stock. Adam continued with the tour and we walked through the aisles that Houston’s stocked.

As we finished the tour we came back to the pallet of boxes. This pallet, as he explained, was referred to as a stack. Adam then briefly explained how our merchandisers work to develop relationships with each of the stores. In this instance Shawn, the merchandiser for this store, has built such a great relationship with the staff that they are willing to place the stacks within the store so he does not have to go back and forth to retrieve product. We proceeded to unpack the stack. Adam made a quick strategy so no time is wasted. Many of the merchandisers know their stores inside and out, which helps them make quick sorting decisions. The trolley was loaded perfectly, almost like Tetris, and we began taking product down aisles. While working on stocking a shelf we were also facing out other products that Houston’s stocks, making the product look presentable and accessible.

Challenger Glass is professionally merchandised by Houston’s at Cash & Carry.

The biggest aisle that we worked was the flavored syrup aisle. This is where I learned that our merchandisers do so much more than stock shelves. They must track the sales of the flavors and order accordingly, but this can be a real challenge. One day you can sell out of a Torani flavor and you will order up, but then it will not sell for a month. Not only can this cause the store to have extra inventory, but also it takes up space for products that are moving consistently. While we were stocking the bottles we had many customers come up and ask about different flavors. While I worked with him, Shawn was approached by a customer that who asked about product availability. It was a great experience to see that he had built such great rapport with these customers. As a trio, we were able to finish the flavored syrup aisle in half the time that would normally take. At this point I was somewhat exhausted, because the Torani and Monin cases are heavy.

Once everything was stocked, we came back to where we met and Adam explained another important step. The packing list, the form that came with the stacks, is looked over to ensure that everything came in and there were no discrepancies. The packing list includes each item ordered as well as the quantity. If something were missing then the merchandiser would have to investigate why it did not ship or where the product was. As Adam read the packing list to me, I checked off items. Luckily we were not any missing items.

The main thing I took away from this experience is that our Merchandisers wear many hats on a daily basis. They go into Cash & Carry representing Houston’s, but while on the floor they are also represent the store they are at. In one day, they fill the role of receiving, customer service, purchasing, sales and inventory control. Next time you are at Cash & Carry and happen to run into a merchandiser, let them know they are doing a fine job.

By Evan Castaneda, Inside Sales Rep

The post An Inside [Sales] Look Into Merchandising appeared first on Houston's Blog.

Mr. Adam Gooch

Say hello to Adam Gooch, Merchandising Manager for Houston’s since 2016. Adam currently oversees Cash & Carry Smart Foodservice locations throughout Idaho, Oregon, and Utah. When asked what that means he said, “I ensure, with the help of Jon Saari (Merchandising Supervisor) and the amazing merchandising team, and that all stores have current product sets while receiving the highest quality merchandising and customer service our team has to offer.”

Adam initially started here at Houston’s in 1996 while attending college, pulling orders and even washing Mr. Houston’s car a couple times at the 26^th Avenue location in Portland. He then moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for a few years before returning to Portland in 2014, at which point he reached out to Houston’s to see if there were any openings. At the time, there were no open spots but a month later Adam received a call and accepted a job as a Merchandiser. In March of 2016 he was offered the Merchandising Manager position and accepted. “There are so many wonderful things about working for Houston’s but if I had to choose one, it would be the company culture. It’s a pleasure working with everyone.”

When not focused on work, Adam enjoys the outdoors and the challenge of hiking and biking different terrains, as well as the great sense of accomplishment he feels when finishing a difficult trail. His favorite place to hike is the Enchanted Valley along the Quinault River. “It is so green and lush, it feels like another world. There are beautiful camping locations along the trail but requires days of hiking to reach. When you reach one of these locations you feel as though you’ve earned it. It’s a great place to completely unplug, relax, and recharge.”

When the weather doesn’t allow for Adam’s preferred outdoor activities he enjoys gaming, particularly video games and he is currently playing his way through the Destiny series. His favorite book is Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin- a book about leadership and taking ownership over everything in your life. “It made me reevaluate the way I looked at life as a whole and how I dealt with individual situations. For me, it has been life altering.” He also enjoys a variety of music with Pink Floyd and Nine Inch Nails being his favorite bands.

The Enchanted Valley

“…the great sense of accomplishment he feels when finishing a difficult trail.” Ramona Falls

The post Getting to Know You: Adam Gooch appeared first on Houston's Blog.

Langdon Farms Golf Course 

Houston’s was happy to be a sponsor of the 6th Annual Cash&Carry Cup in Aurora, OR!

The Cash&Carry Cup is a part of an annual fundraising program held by Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice to help fight hunger in partnership with Feeding America, a nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Since the program started in 2012, Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice has raised over $800,00 for local food banks!

Langdon Farms Gold Club hosted the event, and the course was in great shape. Clear and sunny skies accompanied the golfers as the tournament was set to begin. As event sponsors, Geoff and Gregg Dann (of Houston’s) along with Johnny Huang (of Thunder Group) teamed up with Ray Meyer (of Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice) to play in the Cup! The format was Shotgun Start meaning all groups of players tee off simultaneously from different holes, making for a very action-packed round of golf. The men played well, but did not place. But in the end, placing did not matter. All that matter was being able to participate and give to such a great cause.

“Cash&Carry has been committed to relieving hunger with this event for a number of years,” says Geoff Dann, Director of Merchandising at Houston’s. “It’s a privilege to participate and help contribute toward their cause, along with our friends in the industry.”

Also at the event you could find a silent auction, an abundance of food, raffles for prizes, and various team awards! All proceeds from the event went to local food banks that Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice teamed up with to fight hunger via cash and food donations.

It was wonderful to be part of such a positive event and Houston’s looks forward to continued partnerships that support worthy causes!

Ray Meyer

Gregg Dann

Johnny Huang

Photos courtesy of Geoff Dann

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