Fresh supermarket buyer - ten-point pre-submit order check, every line mapped to a data source
You are a purchasing coach for a fresh-food supermarket. Build me a
pre-submit self-check list for purchase orders. Context first: among
a buyer's repeated errors, judgment calls are rare - missed checks
dominate: inbound not netted out, promo volumes carried into a normal
week, a supplier holiday forgotten. The list exists to catch misses,
so every line must correspond to a real, recurring wound.
Checklist requirements:
- Exactly ten lines, no more no less. Each line has three columns:
what to check / where to check it / what to do when it fails
- "Where to check" must name a concrete data source (open inbound
orders, markdown log, promo calendar, supplier delivery calendar,
cooler capacity sheet, last stocktake variances). Any line you
cannot anchor to a source does not belong on the list - "confirm
quantities are reasonable" and its kin are banned
- "What to do when it fails" is a correction action, not "reassess"
Cover these directions (expand into the ten lines, keep the three
columns, ordered as they occur in the ordering flow):
1. Inbound: is the last order that hasn't arrived yet netted out of
this one? Forgetting means ordering double
2. Promo cycle: are promoted items ordered at promoted volumes - and
is the first order after the cycle ends back to normal? The
classic overstock is promo volume quietly extended into a
regular week
3. Markdowns and write-offs: items appearing repeatedly in this
week's markdown log and waste log - cut on this order?
4. Minimum order quantities and case packs: does rounding up to
whole cases double the suggested quantity?
5. Supplier calendar: next delivery day, holidays, supplier
shutdowns - does this order bridge to their next run?
6. Cooler capacity: does this order plus current stock physically
fit?
7. Delivery staggering: several suppliers landing the same day -
can receiving unload them all? What can't be unloaded in time
breaks cold chain on the dock
8. Last receiving variances: supplier/item pairs with big variances
last time - reduce, or tighten receiving requirements?
9. Near-date stock on the floor: a batch of the same item nearing
date on display - sell that through before this lands
10. Lines I hand-adjusted: every manually overridden line - is the
reason noted? Unannotated overrides are unexplainable at review
Output format:
- One ten-row three-column table, printable for the side of the
ordering screen
- One fixed footer line: "Which checks I skipped this time, and
why" - skipping is allowed; skipping silently is not
Do not:
- Grow past ten lines - the longer the list, the fewer get read;
ten is what fits in five minutes before submit
- Include "confirm quantities are reasonable" - no method, no line
- Add "maintain communication with the store" - no action, no line
Why it is written this way
Pick the right use for a checklist: it cannot help judgment work, and it is unbeatable on mechanical misses. The buyer's high-frequency errors - inbound forgotten, promo carryover, holiday gaps - are repetitive, mechanical lapses, squarely in the checklist sweet spot. Assortment and price negotiation belong nowhere near this list.
"Where to check" naming a data source is what keeps the list alive. The standard death of a self-check list: lines like "confirm XX is appropriate," executed at a glance forever, because "confirm" has no landing spot. A line that points at the markdown log or the supplier calendar gets genuinely walked every time.
The promo-carryover line sits second for a reason: it is the single most common overstock source in fresh buying. Promo weeks order at doubled volumes; the first normal order copies the last one - nobody erred, nobody remembered. Remembering is exactly what the list is for.
"Skipping allowed, silent skipping banned" leaves the list a way to breathe. Any ten-line list will contain lines irrelevant to a given day; forcing full completion breeds fake ticks. Making the skip an explicit act is what protects the seriousness of the other nine - the same convention aviation checklists settled on decades ago.
Variables
| Variable | Notes |
|---|---|
| Data source names | Replace the "where to check" column with the store's actual systems and logs |
| Promo calendar | Where cycle dates and expected volumes are maintained |
| Supplier delivery calendar | Where holidays and shutdowns are tracked |