Meijer Capacity Study

Latest values:

Project Manager
Director of Construction/Procurement
Construction Coordinator
Maintenance Technician
Associate Manager Construction Procurement
Construction Procurement - Refrigeration & Food Service Equipment
Design Project Manager
Construction Project Manager
CAD Admin
Program Manager - Real Estate
Layout Designer
Director of Real Estate - Development
Layout Specialest
Property Management Specialist
Design Project Manager
Property Leasing Manager
Layout Design Manager
Development Project Manager
Project Manager on the capital Construction Project team
Specialist, Layout
meijer 989
Remodel Program Manager
Energy & Engineering Program Manager
Director of Property Management
Facility Maintenace
Construction Buyer
Sr Manager, Procurement
Senior Manager of Store Planning, Energy & Engineering
layout specialist
Construction Procurement Buyer
Category Lead-Construction Services
Senior Real Estate Manager
Property Sales Manager
Layout Specialist
Construction Procurement Buyer for Gondola and Specialty Fixtures
Construction Procurement Buyer
Layout Designer
Strategic Sourcing Specialist
Interior Design
Corporate Facility Manager
Project Coordinator-Construction
Engineering Analyst
Senior Project Manager
Fuel Systems Project Manager
Program Manager - Capital Construction
Engineer 1
Design Project Manager
LCM Program Manager - Facilities Engineer
Capital Projects Construction - Project Manager
Meijer
Meijer Real Estate Manager for Indiana and Illinois
Meijer
Cost Estimator
Remodel Construction Project Manager
Layout Specialist
Program Manager New Store Construction
Construction Project Manager - New Stores
Layout Designer
Project Manager on the New Store Construction Team
Store Solutions Designer
Senior Manager of Design
Layout Specialist
Site Layout Designer-FT
Development Project Manager
Director, Store Planning/Energy/Engineering/Design
Development Project Manager

Latest values:

Design, MP, Government Affairs, Fuel Team, Procurement, Facilities
My team also supports the following projects/initiatives for the organization. • Important to note that the managers on my team are responsible for the long-term strategies for the programs listed above. Forecasting as well as tracking and reporting historical data. • Express (Gas Station) program management • Fresh Thyme capital project efforts and fixture/equipment orders. Multiple members of the team are currently involved in reviewing and executing on strategic initiatives. • Merchandising and Operations initiatives to improve sales and labor efficiencies. • Execution on Supply Chain/Manufacturing projects. • Cost estimating for new ideas and strategies. • Sourcing new suppliers and competitive bidding efforts to achieve best value. • Currently leading efforts in support of new Procore Management Software implementation • Support proto design efforts, evaluating and providing VE ideas • Review of numerous change requests, schedule impacts, cost opportunities, etc.
Maintenance and Repairs
CSDs, store requests, period budgets, supplier management, see others below.
Creative Study & Design Requests, Finance, Indirect Procurement, IT, Store Operations, Quoting, Supplier Management, New Fixture Set-Up, Ariba (ERP System), Ordering, Design, Logistics, Trackers and MCT's.
Design, Marketing, MP, Government Affairs, Fuel Team, Procurement, Facilities
I keep the design team up and running, with making sure the computers and programs are running.
•Administrative & Technology Management in real estate – de facto IT contact for new implementations – websites, SharePoint, document archiving •Planning and guiding professional development of team •Meijer team management – 4 staff (bi-weekly 1-1 etc) • Consultant team management – 4 active •General Meijer Initiatives and implementation projects as directed
Training of new team members when applicable. CSDs / new development and test concepts. Meijer Change Transmittal (MCTs)
I am involved in several projects however, a portion of my role is non-project related however would consider as high priority.
Other projects include cost reduction efforts, various leadership exploratory projects ranging from façade studies to material/massing studies.
My support of the 1st four types of work checked is generally related to how the projects may impact tenant spaces in the stores and, if the projects move forward, there is coordination with the tenants related to those impacts which vary from signage updates, to relocation/reduction in size/termination. The other/non-project related work that I’m responsible for includes: 1) Lease negotiations with all tenants/all stores. 2) Accounts receivable/rent aging for all tenants/all stores. 3) Updating and maintaining MRI for all lease information, feeds to SAP financial software. 4)Liaison between LL and Fresh Thyme operations, as needed. 5) Marketing of all vacant/available tenant spaces, including the [broken] Meijer.com website. 6) Updating and maintaining the current occupant contact information for all stores on Meijer.com website, currently 3 years out of date. 7) SharePoint & MRI document storage related to all tenant spaces.
sometimes working with our systems/programs is a project all in itself. (Ariba, PPAO, PowerBI, SAP, ProCore, CAPEX) I have been in this role for only a year but with Meijer for many years so I have seen these systems before but didn't have to work with them much before, this Project Management role has me working in them and it is obvious these software formats were not specifically tailored to Meijer they are larger platforms design to fit may applications... that means we have to learn how to make them work for what we need, decipher the terminology, figure out what boxes are meaningful and what ones are not, then because we are not in these systems everyday there is a bit of remembering that has to take place.. now like i said i have not been working in these systems for all that long so with some time and continued repetition I will learn how to work with these systems that might not be completely tailored to our business.
Support of various other departments including Operations, Merchandise Presentation, Facilities/JLL, Marketing
Sustainability
My team assists with and manages non-store related corporate projects. Examples are Corporate Hangar, Specialty Pharmacy, Global Sourcing Offices, Investment Properties, and Fresh Thyme
Meijer Corporate Buildings Maintenance
CSDs, Finance, Indirect Procurement, IT, Fresh Thyme, Merchandise Rollouts, Store Operations, Vendor Provided, Quoting, Supplier Management, New fixture set-up, Cost savings initiatives, Ariba, Ordering items out of PPAO, Review drawings and identify take offs and correct drawings , profile setup, Consolidation, Accounts Payable, payment terms adjustments, Trackers, sourcing, legal, DE&I
Fresh Thyme – Buying & Sourcing responsibility, order placement, invoices issues, receipt, coordination with stores; Cost Estimating: MCT’s, Rollouts, Quotes/Project, Cost investigation, Period budgeting; Sourcing: New Vendors, Existing Vendors, Reporting, Sourcing Events, Construction Procurement, Environmental (Waste management, EV, Contractor sourcing); Human Resource; Assert Protection; Food Safety; Systems; Merchandise Rollouts: Rollouts/Funding Summary, Freight quotes, validation pricing, lead times; Supply Chain/Distribution; Legal, Facilities, DE&I, CSD’s – Kickoff meetings, meeting follow ups, sourcing vendors, samples, prototypes, Vendor set up, item set up (Reinventions, New Fixtures, Vendor Provided); Finance – CapEx Commitee, Handling supplier invoice, receipt issues; Indirect Procurement – SLAs, Training, New Store/Remodel follow up, making sure they get their items ordered in time for our schedules; IT – Tracking and holding team accountable for spend/budgetary numbers
Prototype Management and Real Estate & Store Development Analytics
Store Requests or Facilities and Maintenance requests.
Purchase requisition approvals; invoice reconciliations; new vendor meetings, vetting, set-up; Procore bidder set-up; cold call follow up; strategic sourcing; Environmental sourcing (waste management, EV, Contractor sourcing); Legal - contract templates; contract negotiation, build, routing; searching and sourcing disadvantaged suppliers. Other task as assigned.
Fresh Thyme Management; Municipal & REA Issues; Electric Vehicle Charging; Eminent Domain; Parking Lot Licenses;
CSD's, Rollouts, Store Operations support, Fresh Thyme assistance.
CSD, MCTs - including conceptuals for business partners submitting MCTs, "what if" conceptuals per Leadership request.
Supplier Management, Finance, New Supplier/Fixture Set Up, Accounts Payable, Contract Expiration/Renewal, etc.
Event support and setup. Vendor management. Furniture/people moves. Daily operations of facilities.
Legal department
Contract negotiation, feasibility studies, project estimating, general reporting, capital planning, consulting, new employee interviewing/training, construction training (SWPPP, SESC, Safety, etc), IT/AP coordination
Fueling, estimating
Team member management responsibilities (6 direct reports) including supporting 4 team members with less than 1 year of experience on the team, hiring efforts, reviews, 1:1's, etc.; program management tasks including intake process and project assignments; project management software development/support, including coordination with ITS for development of new integrations; contractor recruitment/relationship management; Meijer Express program management including capital funding planning, bi-weekly status meetings, and coordination across multiple departments.
JLL inquiries to get work added to Initiatives, requesting support on equipment or replacements questions. Monthly Review Meetings w/ JLL, Capital & RFM Teams..
Operations Team and Facilities Maintenance projects and inquiries on older projects. Supply Chain projects including major builds, maintenance concerns, roofing and paving projects.
project analysis, budgeting, Fresh Thyme, cost saving initiatives, MCT's, rollouts, pharmacy, distribution center, facilities equipment
Marketing, Design, MP, Government Affairs, Fuel Team, Procurement
Fixture & Equipment RFP's, SAP & Ariba support, Fresh Thyme, Fuel Projects, Cost Estimates/Budgets, Legal, Risk, and Compliance support, Audits, JLL Warranty support & Asset Tagging.
Procore Construction software implementation
Leadership requests, Creative Study and Designs, Prototype review
Non-project related effort listed would be CSDs (research & development projects), Corporate Campus design improvements, Merchandising Training
Meijer Change Transmittals, this is changes that come throughout the year for new stores and remodels.
Cad support, car charging review and markup, licensee floor plans updates, outlot sales, Meijer legal & Meijer tax support
Creative Study & Designs, Ad Hoc project requests from Leadership and Internal Business Customers

Latest values:

Primary focus is remodels, I support standalone GS, GS tank replacements, Pilot NS Concepts (ex. Atrium sizing, main street design materials) MI9 space
The listing provided above should speak to the variety that the team is managing. More conversation might be needed to clarify the request if seeking more info.
In field surveys for various projects (life cycle projects such as parking lot paving, parking lot lighting, RTUs, dupply chain, facilites, operations and merchandising)
I only support maintenance and repair projects for campus.
• New Stores o Ordering fixtures and equipment for New Stores from 2021 to 2026. Avg 3-5 per year. Certain people could be touching a project from each year. Heavy on 2022,2023 and 2024 currently. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. Average 1,000 as a team per year since 2020. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Projects over many years (2021 to 2026) o Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Have to order equipment under different projects because funding is available for future projects, would be nice to have available so we don’t have to keep track of them. o Bulk ordering o • Remodels o Possibly working on projects from 2021 thru 2024. That could be as many as 60+ remodels we could get a request for right now. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o 6 different scope types, but each store has a specific scope based on sales/location/etc. o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Bulk ordering o • Capital Project o Small quantity of fixture, higher number of stores. 1 project could touch all stores or as little as 5. o Stakeholders don’t follow process which means we have to coach and guide them. o Some items are pushed thru PPAO, some items are manually ordered, hard to keep track given the total amount of project happening in a year or at once. o Different processes based on the size/volume of the project. • CSD’s – Kickoff meetings, meeting follow ups, sourcing vendors, samples, prototypes, Vendor set up, item set up o Reinventions o New Fixtures o Vendor Provided • Finance – Handling supplier invoice, receipt issues • Indirect Procurement – New Store/Remodel follow up, making sure they get their items ordered in time for our schedules. • IT – Tracking and holding team accountable for spend/budgetary numbers • Fresh Thyme – Buying responsibility, order placement, invoices issues, receipt, coordination with stores • Merchandise Rollouts o Rollouts/Funding Summary o Freight quotes, validation pricing, lead times • Store Operations o Helix/Remedy Resolution • Vendor Provided o Chases down answers from business owners because their suppliers refuse to follow process. o Creates many trackers and we can’t get answers. o Chasing down suppliers for delivery dates, item information, etc. • Quoting o Requesting quotes from suppliers for new fixtures, projects, CSD’s, capital projects • Supplier Management o Cold Calls o Annual Supplier Reviews o Supplier Webinar o Weekly supplier meetings o Invoice issues o Catalog updates o Price increases/Negotiation o Sourcing alternative vendors for replacements o Catalog Management/New Item Set up o • New fixture set-up o Getting cell names/created by design o Adding to PPAO and Ariba o Following up with IP to make sure it gets updated when they don’t follow they SLA • Cost Savings Initiatives o Analyzing data, getting buy in from stakeholders, MCT’s, Implementation • Ariba o System training/development/error resolution o Approving PR’s and receiving PR’s, IR resolution in Ariba o Creating PR’s manually for projects • Ordering items out of PPAO • Review drawings and identify take offs and correct drawings • Indirect Supplier – VP, SPQ’s, profile setup • Consolidation • Accounts Payable, payment terms adjustments • PROCORE • Logistics o Fixture tracking o Freight claims o • Merchandise Presentation o Weekly CSD meetings • Trackers • MCT’s – Writing and reviewing them Other • Supply Chain/Distribution o Quoting, ordering, sourcing • Real Estate o Corporate real estate, one off quotes/equipment orders for corporate offices • Legal o Negotiating contracts, templates • Supply Chain Distribution o Ordering o Cost Estimate o Sourcing Events • Facilities o Warranty support o Equipment replacement o Quality issues • DE&I o Searching and sourcing disadvantages suppliers o Supplier Diversity • Merchandising • Human Resources o Hiring o Development/training • Asset Protection • Design o Sourcing/designing fixtures for design initiatives. o Getting answers from suppliers related to fixtures questions/design o Cutsheets o Kit creation/maintenance • Food Safety
I order fixtures and equipment for about 3-5 new stores each year. This includes reordering misses, projects, dealing with rejected items, invoicing, following up with suppliers about orders and PPAO pushes which also involves collaboration with Design. For remodel stores, I could be managing as many as 60+ remodel stores at a time. This includes following up on fixtures trackers, submitting PO's, following up on PO's and dealing with rejects. There are 6 different scopes of remodels based on sales and location. Each different scope type requires certain PO's and attention based off of requirements. Capital projects are busy throughout the entire year and could require a lot of involvement or very light involvement. They also could include every store or as little as 5 so there is a wide variety or support but they are continuous throughout the year and can happen at the same time. Creative Study & Design Requests including meeting coordination, sourcing vendors, organizing samples and prototypes, and item set up when a decision is reached. The request are to find new fixtures and reinventions for current stores or future stores. I am involved with finance and Ariba handling supplier invoices and receipt issues. While I work on my side of New and Remodel stores, I also follow up with indirect procurement to make sure that they get their items ordered in time to coordinate with our schedules. If there is an issue at an open store that is not a remodel or new store, Helix/Remedy tickets are submitted and handled by us to review and resolve. For a remodel or new store issue, a 'tracker' is submitted which involves working with suppliers, logistics, IT, or JLL to resolve. I managed the trackers that are submitted involving my suppliers so I have to keep track and check these often. Quoting can be part of supplier management which involves multiple cold calls, annual supplier reviews and check-ins, some suppliers require weekly meetings, invoices issues, Ariba catalog updates, price increases, negotiations and sourcing alternatives. When price increases or savings happen, this is followed up by logging the difference in Sharepoint. Supplier management is also tied to new fixture set-ups when they need to be added to PPAO and Ariba along with getting cell names created by the Design team. We also need to organize, write and submit MCT's when changes need to be changed to any of the prototype stores. If I'm not submitting them, I still have to review all that are submitted to see if I'm involved in any of them.
I support the following: New Stores (Supercenters, Grocery Format, Market Format, & Prototype). My role is also somewhat of a "catch all". When something doesn't fit neatly in another team's box, it's often my responsibility to make sure it gets resolved. This means I get to work on smaller one-off projects like adding a mailbox at an existing store or doing an inventory of existing facade designs. I also do work to support our team and program with work including updating scope documents and prepping for our Annual Summit.
Primary focus is remodels; additionally provide support to various departments. Examples include; New Store - pilot design/concepts Capital Projects - Manage standalone Gas Station remodels/new builds Fuel team - gas station tank replacement Real estate - tenant coordination during remodels Procurement - fixture/building component delivery tracking Lifecycle management - coordinate on refrigeration, lighting, HVAC related to remodel Facilities - address maintenance as needed during remodel
I support Layout specialize and layout designers.
I selected 1-5yrs for the purpose of this survey – less than 1 yr in job title but have been acting in role for 4 yrs. For real estate, new store formats and remodels, my involvement is mixed, with activities related to real estate and new stores (program and projects) taking up 90% of time and remodels/outlots/existing store issues taking up the rest of the time. 1. Real Estate (Responsible/Accountable roles) • Administrative support – Typically involves budgeting and allocations for due diligence and forward commitments, and budget transfers through Finance/SAP. Heavy involvement reviewing for forward commitments during fiscal process and about 2x a month for projects. • Undeveloped site reviews – Keeping track and researching municipal approvals, researching prior due diligence and agreements, or performing engineering/site plan reviews when adjacent developers’ proposals impact our sites or when permits are to expire. • Developed site reviews – Engineering/site plan reviews for outlots. John Smith mainly handles this effort, however, occasionally John consults me with engineering related questions. • New site acquisitions - Program Management - General process and workflow management of the new site acquisition program and coordination with different teams - project reviews, market, fuel teams. Reporting on program state through SharePoint/Power BI. Work Scopes and Due Diligence Program Improvements for new site acquisitions • New site acquisitions - Project Management - Support acquisitions of new sites. The real estate new site acquisition team’s activities overlap the new stores efforts on projects. Currently oversight and direct management of 20+ projects in different stages with different levels of complexity. This is a year-round activity depending on factors listed in the variance of effort. The process typically varies and involves several different types of activities on all projects including: Reviewing contracts and agreements, Performing site plan and engineering reviews, Project management, administrative, accounting and overhead tasks related to each project. Specific due diligence scope management 2. New Stores/Formats (Responsible/Accountable Roles) • Programmed site reviews - Alignment with prototype, design and construction specification changes and reviews to the extent they impact site plans and agreements. Managing readiness for new store builds (includes revisiting new site acquisition project scopes to the extent they have not been performed or to the extent they have expired.) • Responding to project coordination questions during construction • Completed site final documentation and exhibits – truck routes, maintenance plan reviews 3. Remodels (Consulted/Informed role) • Research municipal approvals, research prior due diligence performed, and perform engineering/site plan reviews to provide input and context to submittals. • Support governmental/zoning request reviews or other prior developer coordination. 4. For capital, energy and engineering, and lifecycle management (Consulted/Informed) projects, it is worth noting that John Smith and I are typically consulted to review impacts that these projects (capital/remodel/LCM) have on Meijer site plans. John Smith does most of these reviews but asks for my input where he is uncertain. My involvement is less frequent, however occasionally I am involved in those reviews.
Remodel layouts of Super Centers (6-8 stores per group of remodels) for all Operations areas (includes - MI9 (digital order, back rooms, restrooms, customer service, break rooms, team member training, cash/vault rooms) Typically takes 2-4 hours per store Remodel layouts of Super Centers (6-8 stores per group of remodels) for all Checklanes - staff lanes & Self Check Out Queuing - both GM & Grocery side - Typically takes 2-4 hours per store Remodel layouts for M Express Gas Stations 6-8 stores per group of remodels. Typically takes 3-6 hours per store depending on the complexity of the programs. Meetings are required with business partners during the remodel design process. Coordinate and create changes for our prototype and New stores (3 stores per year) with M Express Gas Stations, Operations & Checklanes - This can be very time intensive based on the time of year. For example, I had been working on a redesign of the front area operations rooms for a change to our 2024 New Stores. This takes coordination with internal business partners, leadership and outside partners like the Architects and CMs. CSD - Creative Study & Design projects or test fits - currently have 3 Checklane projects, 3 operations areas, 1 specialty design room for our 2024 new stores, 1 proto ideation project for M Express. MCTs - this involves any change needed or requested to be implemented into any active project or future project. Typically, I write between 1-5 MCTs a week. For me they are coming from current 2022/2023 remodels that are currently underway and need to have changes made. Meetings - we are typically involved in meetings between 2-4 hours/day
Responsible for delivery of all real estate acquisition projects across all formats for the enterprise. Team presently has 43 projects in flight at project stages from infancy to near completion.
New Stores/Formats - produce CAD drawings of new stores layout and create equipment lists. Work alongside A/E firms to capture design changes to maintain store drawings. Remodels - work with partnering design team to create layout drawings from conceptual. These drawings are reviewed by adjacent Meijer teams and A/E firms. The equipment and architectural plans for these drawings are modified to reflect requested changes. This process can is done in three stages. Capital projects – develop technical drawings of existing and new layouts for store projects. Work with construction team in the development of layouts.
INSTORE TENANT PROGRAM CONSTRUCTION - high variance and effort depending on vendor type and complexity of buildout ranging from 16 week medical clinic or 8 week buildout for a credit union. - Coordinate preconstruction meetings, field construction questions, manage required timeline as outlined on master license and conduction preopening inspections which involves travel. - Coordinate with Design, Construction and Stores on all matters related to in store tenant space program. - Schedule temp wall installations & removals. follow through for recording & scheduling payment. - Coordinate interior- exterior signage approvals with design team & schedule installations & follow through for recording & payment. - Coordinate Vector Security access for alarms - Coordinate Roof Vendor as r Meijer vendors required for roofcuts TENANT DECOMMISSIONS – medium variance & effort depends on vendor type. - Facilitate decommission meetings to discuss timeline & requirements - Field questions, coordinate temp wall installation, sign removals & network access - Review decommission requirements, checklist & photos for approval - Follow up with store director for final sign off MEIJER STORE & TENANT REMODELS- moderate to high variance depending on tenant impact. - Coordinate with Meijer construction team with timeline & scope involving impact to each tenant - Prepare legal notifications to tenants regarding remodel timeline, impact, sow, relocation or possible termination. - Manage timeline and scope of work involved - Field questions - Escalate work orders - Approve final product MI9 PROJECTS- Meijer grocery automated processing and storage for grocery pick up. - partner with construction & remodel team for tenant impacts and follow through according to scope. Possible relocations, terminations, size reductions to space. FACILITIES MAINTENANCE – high variance & level of priority depending on scope and tenant impact. - Instore & outlot tenants main contact and facilitator for capital projects (HVAC, paving, gas station remodels, etc.) - Work with store directors, instore tenants and FM management to facilitate and (or) escalate maintenance issues. IINSTORE TENANT ADMINISTRATOR – a high variety of tasks, however same type of work associated with each. o Prepare legal documents including instore tenant master license renewals, modifications, amendments and terminations. o Coordinate ATM installations for new stores & removals during remodels or construction. o Facilitate Secretary of State (DMV) Kiosk placement, amend master licenses. o Schedule network dmarc access- review SOW & ROE’s for legal signature REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO- high variety of work & effort solely managing all aspects of accounts receivable & payables for Meijer real estate Lease, Easement & CAM portfolios. Primary responsibility as administrator and coordinator for data management and new property management systems- Prolease & MRI. LEASE ADMINISTRATOR: ( MEIJER STORES W/ GROUND LEASES) - moderate variety, high level of urgency - First point of contact for all Meijer store land leases. - Accounts payable- maintain monthly lease obligations for rent & cam expenses for Meijer leased properties. - Record payments, increases & review cam reconciliations for accuracy. LEASE ADMINISTRATOR : (MEIJER AS OPERATOR and/ or LANDLORD) - moderate variety, high level of urgency - CAM Administrator for properties Meijer maintains, responsible to bill annual easements, taxes & cost shares as outlined in the OEA to outlot owners in each development. - Record expenses to figure pro rate share calculations for CAM. Track CPI increases, tax prorations, etc. and invoice accordingly. Track receivables and maintain collections. Responsible to maintain budget expectations for this program. LEASE ADMINISTRATOR: (OUTLOT PROGRAM) - moderate variety, high level of urgency - Main point of contact for outlot owners and field requests for properties currently for sale - Outlot portfolio administrator for easement billing responsible for all annual billing, account maintenance, property transfers and collections.(1100 +) - Ground leases – responsible to bill annual tax & easements for all ground leases - Invoice, track & maintain other areas including Taxes, Traffic Signals, Pylon Signs & Transportation - Responsible to maintain budget expectations for this program. FIRST POINT OF CONTACT FOR MEIJER & FRESH THYME STORE - (High variety & high level of urgency) • Act as first point of contact for Real estate property for sale, In-Store tenant requests, Landlords, property management companies, store directors and everything relation to FRESH THYME STORES. Email is directed to me I determine which area of each organization to forward.
Real Estate project support is tied to due diligence (DD) efforts. This primarily includes managing a third party consultant to develop site specific elevations and renderings complying with municipal requirements. This effort sometimes requires internal (Meijer) design ideation. Support on Real Estate projects also includes site plan review - usually multiple iterations per location. New Store/Formats projects are tied to the actual final design and consultant management to site adapt locations. Falling within this bucket is prototype design management for supercenter, grocery format, gas station, and market format kit of parts management which introduce another consultant team managed by my desk focusing on change management and continuous improvement efforts. Design guidelines program document is also part of the new store/formats projects. Remodels, Capital Projects, Energy & Engineering, and Lifecycle Management projects are primarily specification reviews or evaluating/recommending site specific deviations from the prototype design.
Work type variety, generally not related to projects: 1) Leasing (negotiation and documentation for license agreements, including new, renewals, extensions, terminations). 2) Marketing (via email and phone inquiries) and upkeep on Meijer.com website. 3) Accounts Receivable (collecting late rents and reporting). 4) Tenant Coordination Documentation for In-store spaces (pulled from Procore, SharePoint, and IDOCs) for new spaces. 5) Fresh Thyme (lease administration with landlords for estoppels, maintaining ProLease for contacts and lease terms, general communications as tenant liaison with landlords). Work type variety, related to projects: 1) Store Remodels/Capital Projects (liaison between construction team to coordinate impacts, document updates impacting leases). 2) New store construction (liaison between construction team and new tenant spaces for delivery conditions and tenant construction work).
On a regular basis we are managing 5-10 New Stores. 15-40 remodels, and 5-15 capital projects. Additionally, "what if" projects that come through.
I'm not sure what defines a "Project Type". I have been working on the development/entitlement of new stores in Grocery and Supercenter formats (so far) in differing municipalities and site circumstances. One of the Supercenter sites also involved Brownfield conditions and potential related incentives in which I led those efforts. I am uncertain if those various scenarios constitute different project types.
-range of verity.... very large projects which for me usually means multi-store projects to very simply/small arranging for an electrician to install and outlet in a store for whatever reason. To be honest large multi-store project usually fit into our system fine, efficient I would say. but with multi-store projects comes multiple store coordination opportunities so workload wise large multi-store projects occupy larges amounts of my time. not thinking much can be done to help that. -smaller one off projects like making arrangements to have a contractor go to a store and do something also not a huge problem depending on how many of these ankle biter type projects are floating around. -the projects i seem to have the most trouble with are the one offs, maybe they would be called a medium sized project... these might not come to my desk with all the t's crossed or i's dotted. i want to coordinate the implantation/construction of a project. i currently have a few of these on my desk and I've been realizing that weak information up front just causes excessive wheel spinning, which i don't have time for so when the wheels spin i end up jumping onto something else and then loose track of first project due to all the other things going on and it come back up as needing immediate attention.
I typically seem allot of capital projects with a few remodels added in.
I am involved in merchandising projects within the stores including multi store initiatives as well as one-off strategic test projects. In addition I am involved in Supply chain projects at several DC locations.
Primary focus is remodels, many other categories are supported through the remodel program. At Program level, I support estimating and feasibility planning that influences New Stores / Prototype, LCM, Real Estate, MExpress, Facilities/Maintenance, and various OPS/ Merch strategies.
Project support varies from full project innovation/initiation (through ideation, execution, and validation) to reactive support of partner team issues and reactive support of leadership requests. The secondary concern (primary being time) is that projects/efforts worked by our team have a very high technical difficulty and vary significantly in topic/discipline.
I deal with a high variety of projects as I work as the overflow for my team and take on the projects they can not address in a timely manner to keep our department running. From a corporate facilities perspective, I am heavily involved in events while we work to establish a formal process. I additionally work directly on TM relocations associated with re-orgs. From a In-store perspective, I am involved in FT related activities with renewals, closures, and lease negotiations as we finalize the transition on shared services. From a Peripheral Property perspective, I assist with select property management issues, approvals of dispositions, and work frequently to establish a viable self development plan when time allows. I additionally work on corporate special projects that include Specialty Pharmacies, Global Sourcing Offices, Corporate Hangar, and specialty corporate construction.
HVAC, Plumbing, and overall General Maintenace. Majority of my role is focused on the upkeep and maintenance of HVAC in the corporate buildings.
• New Stores o Ordering fixtures and equipment for New Stores from 2021 to 2026. Avg 3-5 per year. Certain people could be touching a project from each year. Heavy on 2022,2023 and 2024 currently. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. Average 1,000 as a team per year since 2020. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Projects over many years (2021 to 2026) o Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Have to order equipment under different projects because funding is available for future projects, would be nice to have available so we don’t have to keep track of them. o Bulk ordering o • Remodels o Possibly working on projects from 2021 thru 2024. That could be as many as 60+ remodels we could get a request for right now. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o 6 different scope types, but each store has a specific scope based on sales/location/etc. o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Bulk ordering o • Capital Project o Small quantity of fixture, higher number of stores. 1 project could touch all stores or as little as 5. o Stakeholders don’t follow process which means we have to coach and guide them. o Some items are pushed thru PPAO, some items are manually ordered, hard to keep track given the total amount of project happening in a year or at once. o Different processes based on the size/volume of the project. • CSD’s – Kickoff meetings, meeting follow ups, sourcing vendors, samples, prototypes, Vendor set up, item set up o Reinventions o New Fixtures o Vendor Provided • Finance – Handling supplier invoice, receipt issues • Indirect Procurement – New Store/Remodel follow up, making sure they get their items ordered in time for our schedules. • IT – Tracking and holding team accountable for spend/budgetary numbers • Fresh Thyme – Buying responsibility, order placement, invoices issues, receipt, coordination with stores • Merchandise Rollouts o Rollouts/Funding Summary o Freight quotes, validation pricing, lead times • Store Operations o Helix/Remedy Resolution • Vendor Provided o Chases down answers from business owners because their suppliers refuse to follow process. o Creates many trackers and we can’t get answers. o Chasing down suppliers for delivery dates, item information, etc. • Quoting o Requesting quotes from suppliers for new fixtures, projects, CSD’s, capital projects • Supplier Management o Cold Calls o Annual Supplier Reviews o Supplier Webinar o Weekly supplier meetings o Invoice issues o Catalog updates o Price increases/Negotiation o Sourcing alternative vendors for replacements o Catalog Management/New Item Set up o • New fixture set-up o Getting cell names/created by design o Adding to PPAO and Ariba o Following up with IP to make sure it gets updated when they don’t follow they SLA • Cost Savings Initiatives o Analyzing data, getting buy in from stakeholders, MCT’s, Implementation • Ariba o System training/development/error resolution o Approving PR’s and receiving PR’s, IR resolution in Ariba o Creating PR’s manually for projects • Ordering items out of PPAO • Review drawings and identify take offs and correct drawings • Indirect Supplier – VP, SPQ’s, profile setup • Consolidation • Accounts Payable, payment terms adjustments • PROCORE • Logistics o Fixture tracking o Freight claims o • Merchandise Presentation o Weekly CSD meetings • Trackers • MCT’s – Writing and reviewing them Cost Estimating • MCT’s • Rollouts • Quotes/Project • Cost investigation • Period budgeting Sourcing • New Vendors • Existing Vendors • Reporting • Sourcing Events • Construction Procurement • Environmental o Waste management o EV o Contractor sourcing Other • Supply Chain/Distribution o Quoting, ordering, sourcing • Real Estate o Corporate real estate, one off quotes/equipment orders for corporate offices • Legal o Negotiating contracts, templates • Supply Chain Distribution o Ordering o Cost Estimate o Sourcing Events • Facilities o Warranty support o Equipment replacement o Quality issues • DE&I o Searching and sourcing disadvantages suppliers o Supplier Diversity • Merchandising • Human Resources o Hiring o Development/training • Asset Protection • Design o Sourcing/designing fixtures for design initiatives. o Getting answers from suppliers related to fixtures questions/design o Cutsheets o Kit creation/maintenance
• New Stores o Ordering fixtures and equipment for New Stores from 2021 to 2026. Avg 3-5 per year. Certain people could be touching a project from each year. Heavy on 2022,2023 and 2024 currently. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. Average 1,000 as a team per year since 2020. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Projects over many years (2021 to 2026) o Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Have to order equipment under different projects because funding is available for future projects, would be nice to have available so we don’t have to keep track of them. o Bulk ordering • Remodels o Possibly working on projects from 2021 thru 2024. That could be as many as 60+ remodels we could get a request for right now. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o 6 different scope types, but each store has a specific scope based on sales/location/etc. o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Bulk ordering • Capital Project o Small quantity of fixture, higher number of stores. 1 project could touch all stores or as little as 5. o Stakeholders don’t follow process which means we have to coach and guide them. o Some items are pushed thru PPAO, some items are manually ordered, hard to keep track given the total amount of project happening in a year or at once. o Different processes based on the size/volume of the project. • CSD’s – Kickoff meetings, meeting follow ups, sourcing vendors, samples, prototypes, Vendor set up, item set up o Reinventions o New Fixtures o Vendor Provided • Finance – Handling supplier invoice, receipt issues o Accounts Payable, payment terms adjustments • Indirect Procurement – New Store/Remodel follow up, making sure they get their items ordered in time for our schedules. • IT – Tracking and holding team accountable for spend/budgetary numbers • Fresh Thyme – Buying responsibility, order placement, invoices issues, receipt, coordination with stores • Merchandise Rollouts o Rollouts/Funding Summary o Freight quotes, validation pricing, lead times • Store Operations o Helix/Remedy Resolution • Vendor Provided o Chases down answers from business owners because their suppliers refuse to follow process. o Creates many trackers and we can’t get answers. o Chasing down suppliers for delivery dates, item information, etc. • Quoting o Requesting quotes from suppliers for new fixtures, projects, CSD’s, capital projects • Supplier Management o Cold Calls o Annual Supplier Reviews o Supplier Webinar o Weekly supplier meetings o Invoice issues o Catalog updates o Price increases/Negotiation o Sourcing alternative vendors for replacements o Catalog Management/New Item Set up • New fixture set-up o Getting cell names/created by design o Adding to PPAO and Ariba o Following up with IP to make sure it gets updated when they don’t follow they SLA • Cost Savings Initiatives o Analyzing data, getting buy in from stakeholders, MCT’s, Implementation • Review drawings and identify take offs and correct drawings • Indirect Supplier – VP, SPQ’s, profile setup • Fixture Consolidation • Logistics o Fixture tracking o Freight claims • Merchandise Presentation o Weekly CSD meetings • Trackers • MCT’s – Writing and reviewing them Cost Estimating • MCT’s • Rollouts • Quotes/Project • Cost investigation • Period budgeting Sourcing • New Vendors • Existing Vendors • Reporting • Sourcing Events • Construction Procurement • Environmental o Waste management o EV o Contractor sourcing Other • Real Estate o Corporate real estate, one off quotes/equipment orders for corporate offices • Legal o Negotiating contracts, templates • Supply Chain/Distribution o Ordering o Cost Estimate o Sourcing Events • Facilities o Warranty support o Equipment replacement o Quality issues • DE&I o Searching and sourcing disadvantages suppliers o Supplier Diversity • Human Resources o Hiring o Development/training • Asset Protection • Design o Sourcing/designing fixtures for design initiatives. o Getting answers from suppliers related to fixtures questions/design o Cutsheets o Kit creation/maintenance • Food Safety • Systems o Ariba  System training/development/error resolution  Approving PR’s and receiving PR’s, IR resolution in Ariba  Creating PR’s manually for projects o Blue Beam o RS Means o PPAO  Ordering o PPIT  Fixture Trackers o What tools do we need to drive efficiencies? o Other resources or tools to create efficiencies outside of headcount? o PROCORE – Pre Qualification module o Commodity Indices
Real Estate: I support managing our team engaged on these projects and also personally reviewing the agreements, site plans & preparing budget/schedules for upcoming projects being prepared by Real Estate. This tends to mainly be for new store projects however does also include other types of projects like out-lot sales/development & capital projects (EV charging etc.). I spend an estimated 5% of my week on these types of efforts. New Stores: Here my team supports supercenter, grocery and market format projects for due-diligence review, consultant selection, final design & construction document creation. Followed by site visits and inspections. I am indirectly involved in many aspects of these projects and efforts. This typically is around 3-6 projects at any given time being prepped for final design, 3-6 actively being designed, 3-6 being built and 3-6 being closed out or are in follow up stage (post open requests, warranty, design concerns etc). I spend an estimated 20% of my time alongside the team on these efforts. Remodels: This area is our lightest touch however we are consulted on a regular basis for design reviews, questions and concerns with prototype. We are not actively managing any remodel projects or associated design work. I spend 2-5% of my week on RM efforts. This is an area where having a dedicated RM PM on my team would streamline the design and management of scope for RMs including standardizing approach to design and scope development. Capital Projects: We support minor capital projects throughout the fleet via design reviews and triage as issues are discovered. We assist with 3-5 capital projects at any time which can be small to large (mailboxes to flooring to HVAC issues). I spend an estimated 5% of my time on these efforts. Energy & Engineering: Here I support a small team that is responsible to manage many project types all centered around carbon & energy reduction. These vary from swapping light bulbs to LED all the way to geothermal fields to onsite solar to wind and solar farms in Texas. The projects vary widely and my role/support also varies widely. I typically primarily support the team with prioritization, contracting, leadership alignment and overall project support. I spend an estimated 20% of my time supporting these efforts. Lifecycle Management: These project type vary however are over 5 major asset categories, within those categories the scope can range significantly. I would summarize the number of types of projects in play to be 10-15 each year over all asset categories. These efforts for my desk range from contract negotiation, budget development, design reviews, scope determination & program alignment. I estimate I spend approximately 15% of my time on these efforts. Other: Prototype – Our team manages the prototype design documents which drive many of the buckets above. This is the third party that is hired to manage our prototype design standards driving consistency across all programs. It is mainly held by one person on my team however the entire team supports the effort including my desk. This is for all format types and creates numerous types of projects depending on what we are changing/reacting to. I spend an estimated 10% of my time on these efforts. Analytics – Our team manages all tools related to capital planning and estimating for our larger RE&SD team. This includes larger program budget rollups and forecasting for leadership. In addition, we manage the development of new tools, manage the change management tool used across all projects and ad hoc reporting/analytics for our Leadership. I spend an estimated 10% of my time on these efforts. The remainder of my time is spent on team leadership tasks.
I have store ownership for 1 new store and a remodel store for 2024. I'm transitioning to taking over the mexpress. I have been a part of the Deli salads project and the new IMS frozen project.
• New Stores o Ordering fixtures and equipment for New Stores from 2021 to 2026. Avg 3-5 per year. Certain people could be touching a project from each year. Heavy on 2022,2023 and 2024 currently. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. Average 1,000 as a team per year since 2020. o Go backs/reorders for misses by A/E or other areas. o Quotes/proposals for Building components o Management of New Store Building Component List and getting it pushed in PPAO o Manage Submittals for Building Components o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Have to order equipment under different projects because funding is available for future projects, revising the POs once the ship to location and project number is available, sometimes done separately. o Revising far out PO delivery dates from Generic ones once date is known. o Need more time to review bulletins and BC pushes when they come to catch BC changes. o Resourcing equipment when standard equipment not available. o Providing Budget Numbers to Eric as my items are not in catalog when needed. • Remodels o Possibly working on projects from 2021 thru 2024. That could be as many as 60+ remodels we could get a request for right now. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Request quotes/proposals for building component items. o Manage Building Component Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o Manage timing with A/E on when initial BC list will arrive o Monitor A/E BC lists for accuracy o 6 different scope types, but each store has a specific scope based on sales/location/etc. o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Need more time to review RFIs, Bulletins and BC list changes. o Resourcing standard equipment when not available. o Sourcing/quoting/submittals for non-proto light fixtures for EACH remodel when they match existing lighting in the store. o Providing budget numbers to Eric as my items are not in the catalog when needed. • Capital Project o Small quantity of fixture, higher number of stores. 1 project could touch all stores or as little as 5. o Stakeholders don’t follow process which means we have to coach and guide them. o Some items are pushed thru PPAO, some items are manually ordered, hard to keep track given the total amount of project happening in a year or at once. o Different processes based on the size/volume of the project.  Sometimes I support with POs for BC items and other times not. o Helping support quoting process for BC equipment items when needed. • Finance – Handling supplier invoice, receipt issues • Fresh Thyme – Buying responsibility, order placement, invoices issues, receipt, coordination with stores • Quoting o Requesting quotes from suppliers for new fixtures, projects, CSD’s, capital projects • Supplier Management o Cold Calls o Annual Supplier Reviews o Supplier Webinar o Weekly supplier meetings o Invoice issues o Catalog updates o Price increases/Negotiation o Sourcing alternative vendors for replacements o Catalog Management/New Item Set up • New fixture set-up o Getting cell names/created by design o Adding to PPAO and Ariba o Following up with IP to make sure it gets updated when they don’t follow they SLA o Adding new items to BC list and pushing even when not my own items. • Cost Savings Initiatives o Analyzing data, getting buy in from stakeholders, MCT’s, Implementation • Ariba o System training/development/error resolution  Teaching PMs how to enter non-catalog items for BC list items.  Approving MANY PRs daily as most of my items are non-catalog. o receiving PR’s, IR resolution in Ariba o Creating PR’s manually for projects  Majority of MY POs are created Manually.  Would be nice to see how many manual POs were created by Pgroup against ones with a source system ID of PPAO/Fixture Tracker. • PPAO Ordering Order Processing • PPAO Unprocessing for manual PO BC items. • Review drawings and identify take offs and correct drawings • Indirect Supplier – VP, SPQ’s, profile setup • Consolidation • Accounts Payable, payment terms adjustments • PROCORE • Logistics o Fixture tracking o Freight claims o • Merchandise Presentation o Weekly CSD meetings • Trackers • MCT’s – Writing and reviewing them Other • Supply Chain/Distribution o Quoting, ordering, sourcing • Real Estate o Corporate real estate, one off quotes/equipment orders for corporate offices • Legal o Negotiating contracts, templates • Supply Chain Distribution o Ordering o Cost Estimate o Sourcing Events • Facilities o Warranty support o Equipment replacement o Quality issues • Merchandising • Asset Protection • Design o Sourcing/designing fixtures for design initiatives. o Getting answers from suppliers related to fixtures questions/design o Cutsheets o Kit creation/maintenance
During a typical month I could touch projects from each of the above areas. The effort associated ranges from a simple click of a button (for PR approvals for example) to multiple hours of research (strategic sourcing for example), to a few hours at a time (building and routing a contract for example).
My role is to drive our new store real estate land acquisitions for future new store expansion (all formats). Also, I'm involved with projects that support selective supply chain related real estate acquisition and pre-construction/development activities. Efforts include, market research, market knowledge from a competitive landscape, business agreements to purchase property, site development and governing documents to operate in a shopping center, leadership visits to site and markets, municipal public presentations for projects. Projects require cross function collaboration with design, site adapt, construction, legal, property tax, operations, marketing and finance teams.
Outlot disposition and development: Roughly 12-16 hours per week. My performance is judged on this metric and performance in this space Property Management: 5-10 hours per week. Receive all notices for property issues and need to manage to disseminate communications. Electric Vehicle Charging: 8-10 hours per week and growing. Fresh Thyme: 2-4 hours per week and growing. Began with disposition of closed stores and has turned into real estate management role. I suspect this will continue to grow as Leases start to come to term. Remodels: 2-4 hours per week. Will receive requests from Remodel or Construction team if there are issues with the municipality that cannot be resolved. Asked to intervene to see if I can bridge the gap to help a project move forward.
I support Softline/mExpress projects, remodels and new stores. We have about 25 remodels every year broken down to about 6 each quarter. Efforts associated with remodeling are conceptual design, fixture validation, AE development and issuing for bids and construction. The layout specialist team is responsible for updating the drawings in between the conceptual phase and issuing during AE development/Bids and Construction. We work directly with the layout designers to make sure a complete set of drawings are issued to the architect. We are also responsible for issuing our new store drawings. These are typically a copy of our prototype drawing. We issue around 3 per year. Layout Specialists are also responsible for any capital projects in their area. For me, recently, I have had 2 capital projects per quarter. Efforts here are similar to remodel, there is a conceptual phase that needs to get approved and then implementing the final drawing and then issuing.
New Stores – Ordering fixtures for New Stores from 2021 through 2024 currently. There is an average of 3-5 stores per year. Assisting on fixture trackers for each store. Handling go backs and reorders for misses by other departments such as MP, Design, Ops, etc. Reviewing and adjusting PPAO pushes. Solving rejected items after drawings and MP push. Bulk ordering fixtures to ensure savings, including manually ordering bulk packs of shelving to save freight. Working on program to consolidate fixture orders before shipping to New Stores. Remodels - Ordering fixtures for Remodels from 2021 through 2024 currently. That is over 60 remodels that I could be ordering for/working on at once. There are 6 different scopes and each store has a specific scope based layout, sales, etc. Assisting on fixture trackers for current and past Remodels. Handling go backs and reorders for misses by other departments such as MP, Design, Ops, etc. Reviewing and adjusting PPAO pushes. Solving rejected items after drawings and MP push. Bulk ordering fixtures to ensure savings, including manually ordering bulk packs of shelving to save freight. Working on program to consolidate fixture orders before shipping to Remodels. Capital Projects – Smaller quantities of fixtures compared to New Stores and Remodels but higher number of stores (some projects touch all stores in our company). Stakeholders consistently do not follow the correct processes which means we have to coach and guide them. There are different processes based on the volume of the project and no clear guideline on which project should follow which process. Some items are pushed through PPAO, some are manually ordered, some are ordered by a rollout process. There are a large amount of projects happening at once, many touch my desk so it is hard to keep track of all of them at once. CSD’s – Sometimes assigned as Project Lead, need to schedule kickoff meetings, follow up meetings, need to source items, suppliers, samples, prototypes, item set up, item reviews, etc. Usually associated with new fixtures or reinventions. Finance – Work on handling supplier invoice issues, receipt issues in order to make sure invoices are paid on time. Fresh Thyme – Assist with ordering and fixture tracking from time to time. Merchandising Rollouts – Assist on filling out funding summaries for rollout projects, getting freight quotes, validating pricing, validating lead times, ensuring items and quantities are correct for the rollout. Once rollout is entered, work on process of creating and entering rollout orders. Assist in tracking shipments and communication with supplier. Store Operations – Assist with Helix tickets and resolution, assist with random questions and requests from the stores. Quoting – Working with multiple suppliers on quotes for multiple projects including CSD’s, capital projects, rollouts, new fixture requests, etc. Also work on quotes for sourcing projects, replacing discontinued items, and cost savings projects. Supplier Management – Conducting weekly supplier meetings, annual supplier reviews, hosting bi-annual supplier webinar. Work with supplier directly on invoicing issues, catalog updates/new item setups, negotiating price increase/decreases and payment terms, getting quotes and samples, and resolving any issue that may come up. New Fixture Set-Up – Work with design on creating cells/cell names, getting items set up in PPAO and Ariba and tied to specific cell(s), maintaining item lists for cells and updating with new part numbers/new items/new quantities when needed or when issues are identified. Logistics – Assist with fixture tracking for multiple projects and orders, assure suppliers are following Meijer shipment guidelines, assist with freight claims. Merchandise Presentation – Hosting and facilitating weekly CSD meetings to help keep everyone up to date. MCT’s – Writing MCT’s when necessary, reviewing and assisting on MCT’s from others when necessary. Design – Sourcing/designing fixtures for design initiatives, working with suppliers on answers for fixture design questions, assisting in making sure cutsheets are up to date, working with design on Kit creation and maintenance.
• New Stores o Ordering fixtures and equipment for New Stores from 2021 to 2026. Avg 3-5 per year. Certain people could be touching a project from each year. Heavy on 2022,2023 and 2024 currently. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. Average 1,000 as a team per year since 2020. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Projects over many years (2021 to 2026) o Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Must order equipment under different projects because funding is available for future projects, would be nice to have available so we don’t have to keep track of them. o Bulk ordering • Remodels o Possibly working on projects from 2021 thru 2024. That could be as many as 60+ remodels we could get a request for right now. o Fixture trackers – Following up on fixtures trackers. o Go backs/reorders for misses by other departments (MP, Ops, etc.) o Submittals o PPAO Pushes – Review and upload o 6 different scope types, but each store has a specific scope based on sales/location/etc. o Dealing with rejects items after the drawings push o Bulk ordering • Capital Project o Small quantity of fixture, higher number of stores. 1 project could touch all stores or as little as 5. o Stakeholders don’t follow process which means we have to coach and guide them. o Some items are pushed thru PPAO, some items are manually ordered, hard to keep track given the total amount of project happening in a year or at once. o Different processes based on the size/volume of the project. • CSD’s – Kickoff meetings, meeting follow ups, sourcing vendors, samples, prototypes, Vendor set up, item set up o Reinventions o New Fixtures o Vendor Provided • Finance – Handling supplier invoice, receipt issues • Indirect Procurement – New Store/Remodel follow up, making sure they get their items ordered in time for our schedules. • IT – Tracking and holding team accountable for spend/budgetary numbers • Fresh Thyme – Buying responsibility, order placement, invoices issues, receipt, coordination with stores • Merchandise Rollouts o Rollouts/Funding Summary o Freight quotes, validation pricing, lead times • Store Operations o Helix/Remedy Resolution • Vendor Provided o Chases down answers from business owners because their suppliers refuse to follow process. o Creates many trackers and we can’t get answers. o Chasing down suppliers for delivery dates, item information, etc. • Quoting o Requesting quotes from suppliers for new fixtures, projects, CSD’s, capital projects • Supplier Management o Cold Calls o Annual Supplier Reviews o Supplier Webinar o Weekly supplier meetings o Invoice issues o Catalog updates o Price increases/Negotiation o Sourcing alternative vendors for replacements o Catalog Management/New Item Set up o • New fixture set-up o Getting cell names/created by design o Adding to PPAO and Ariba o Following up with IP to make sure it gets updated when they don’t follow they SLA • Cost Savings Initiatives o Analyzing data, getting buy in from stakeholders, MCT’s, Implementation • Ariba o System training/development/error resolution o Approving PR’s and receiving PR’s, IR resolution in Ariba o Creating PR’s manually for projects • Ordering items out of PPAO • Review drawings and identify take offs and correct drawings • Indirect Supplier – VP, SPQ’s, profile setup • Consolidation • Accounts Payable, payment terms adjustments • PROCORE • Logistics o Fixture tracking o Freight claims o • Merchandise Presentation o Weekly CSD meetings • Trackers • MCT’s – Writing and reviewing them Cost Estimating • MCT’s • Rollouts • Quotes/Project • Cost investigation • Period budgeting Other • Supply Chain/Distribution o Quoting, ordering, sourcing • Real Estate o Corporate real estate, one off quotes/equipment orders for corporate offices • Legal o Negotiating contracts, templates • Supply Chain Distribution o Ordering o Cost Estimate o Sourcing Events • Facilities o Warranty support o Equipment replacement o Quality issues • DE&I o Searching and sourcing disadvantages suppliers o Supplier Diversity • Merchandising • Human Resources o Hiring o Development/training • Asset Protection • Design o Sourcing/designing fixtures for design initiatives. o Getting answers from suppliers related to fixtures questions/design o Cutsheets o Kit creation/maintenance • Food Safety • Systems o Blue Beam o RS Means o PPAO o PPIT o What tools do we need to drive efficiencies? o Other resources or tools to create efficiencies outside of headcount? o PROCORE – Pre Qualification module o Commodity Indices
Remodels 14wk duration -3 times per year. Weekly can be as little as 5hrs and as long as 40 hrs. New store prototype average 14wk duration. Weekly can be as little as 5hrs and as long as 40 hrs. CAPEX projects depend on scope and number of stores average 10-20 hours per week. MCTs 1-4 hrs per week depending on number and detail of change.
My main function as a Strategic Sourcing Specialist is to identify opportunities for savings by running bid events. The RFPs I run will range from national accounts, fixtures, equipment, etc. Each bid event is typically heavily involved with engaging stakeholders (Merchant team, Design, Operations, Store Planning, Food Safety, etc), qualifying potential suppliers, analyzing spend data and projecting future spend, negotiating terms with suppliers, and creating contracts and implementing the solution through an MCT. Additional Project Support - New Stores & Remodels: - Supporting indirectly through bid events. Whether it is a national account, fixture or piece of equipment, the RFPs I run impact what products are used prototypically at the new stores, remodels, and capital projects. Supplier Management: - Responding to cold calls (in some cases having meetings) and qualifying suppliers for future use. - Costs or terms negotiation with existing suppliers Finance: - Providing expected savings over the course of the next year after a completed bid event. - Quarterly benefits tracking to validate what was truly saved and identify reasons for variances from initial projections. New Supplier/Fixture Set Up - Getting cell names/created by Design - Adding to PPAO and Ariba Ariba - Creating bid events through this system Accounts Payable - Payment terms adjustments Contract Expiration/Renewal - Responsible for extending/renewing contracts that aren’t being sent out for bid.
Projects in the creative space vary from month to month. I typically am involved with anything remodel based for interior finishes and signage along with new store ideation and design package creation. Sometimes I am involved in a unique project such as a specific department makeover or a future prototype concept.
Event support and setup - 60%. Vendor management - 20%. Furniture/People moves - 10%. Daily operations of facilities - 10%
New Store/Formats, Remodel, Capital Project • SAP: Project creation, Budgets, Budget Transfers/Supplementals/Vendor Funded o Financial • Ariba: New store setup o Work with IT Dept. for new stores (once on build schedule) with address’ search information, PO creation • Procore: Project setup/Admin Team/Vendor Import/Archiving o Set up projects for project tracking/budgets/etc. o Archiving: Moving from Procore to SharePoint/verify ‘search’ criteria/drawings from AE’s • Closeouts: Lien Waivers, Final Pay Apps, Expired Permits/Certificate of Occupancies (COO’s)/Notice of Commencements (NOC)/Termination of NOCs/Work w/CM’s and AE’s • Letter Of Credit (LOC)/Bonds: Renewals/Closeout o Coordinate w/local officials, Risk Management, Legal department on LOC/Bond renewal or obtaining correct documentation from counties, cities, etc. for closeout • Contractor Setup/Maintenance o Create login for construction contractors to allow access to Meijer systems for receiving of procured fixtures and equipment, Ariba Role Assignments: Construction/CMs/Retail Ops/Merchandising o Assign roles construction contractors to allow access to Meijer systems for receiving, Trakr, Ariba o Assign roles for internal partners (Retail Ops) for receiving of F&E at remodel locations • Company Portal: Schedules/Assignments/Historical Info/COO’s o Posting of new store and remodel opening schedules, project assignments, historical and COO’s for Meijer internal partners • Company Communications: Site activities/Highlights/Updates o Company projects, site activities shared with company • Notary: Company-wide • PPE: Ariba ordering -Mike F’s area o Order, disperse PPE for Mike’s team and others for job site visits
I primarily work to support analytics needs & tools throughout the overall organization. These tasks can span from simple formatting changes needed within existing tools, to rebuilding or building reporting and analytics tools from scratch. Effort for tasks can vary greatly depending on needs.
Most frequently, I focus on supply chain activities in the form of automation driven projects as well as facilties maintenance efforts. In addition, I support the merchants at the store level and have performed extensive work for the maintenance teams. Efforts vary significantly. For automation efforts, they range from new build sof 375K ASRS facilities down to building prep to add conveyance/sorter systems. The maintenance side involves varying levels as well from basic renovation projects of office/breakrooms to utility work to fire alarm and suppression upgrades. Merch projects touch upwards of 200 stores per project focusing on efforts to modify fixtures/layouts in various departments.
I have my Capital projects that my immediate Team lead assigns to me and then there are the non-construction projects that I am involved in from the Fuel Team, from the Environmental Teams, New Store Teams Remodel Team and so on. Many of these non-construction projects are long and drawn out and take research and time to properly complete. I have a hybrid role at Meijer and there is only one with my very specific job Title.
- Capital Projects: directly manage multiple capital projects to assist with workload balance on the team, including Fresh Thyme projects. Includes all responsibilities associated with project management at Meijer, including requesting funding, managing budget, communication with stakeholders, soliciting contractor pricing, issuing purchase order requests, and completion of project closeouts. Averages 2-4 hours / week, but at that effort projects are not being managed effectively, with key communication points being missed and closeout documentation remaining incomplete. - Remodels: directly managed remodel of store 50 following departure of project manager assigned to the project last year. Includes all responsibilities associated with project management at Meijer similar to capital projects, with added communication expectations/requirements, especially given the status of this store. Project is nearing completion so effort is less than an hour per week, but at it’s peak was taking 4+ hours per week, with that level of effort also being insufficient to deliver on stakeholder expectations. - Energy & Engineering: limited effort required for coordination of capital funds allocated to these projects / assignment of project managers to support the Engineering team’s projects - Lifecycle Management: limited effort required for coordination of capital funds allocated to these projects / assignment of project managers to support the Engineering team’s projects - Team Member Management: I view this as my primary responsibility, so these efforts will take priority over all others when time runs short (i.e. daily). Bi-weekly 1:1 meetings, and staff meetings on alternate weeks result in an average of 5 hours per week with prep and follow up efforts included. Significant additional time spent in less formal conversations support the team’s efforts, answering questions, plus joining select meetings for their projects to coach their development easily accounting for 10+ hours per week as well. - Program Management: fielding questions and requests from stakeholders across the company to assist in getting projects started or looking for information on ongoing projects. Development of tools to support the team such as new schedule reporting format / project schedule templates. Regular meetings with department leadership and weekly reporting. 8-10 hours per week, but significant backlog of development efforts exist that have been lingering ever since taking over the program, including updates to project document templates and focus on safety for projects - Procore Management: apparent first contact for questions/support internally for process questions on the software. Manage admin team overseeing software status/continued development. Directly involved in development of new integrations/tools as we continue to implement Procore. 4-6 hours per week - Contractor Management: field calls from prospective contractors, provide assistance in getting them setup to bid Meijer projects, and efforts related to tracking diverse supplier efforts. Average of 1 hour per week - mExpress Program Management: Provide coordination support across all teams for mExpress related projects, with focus on scope and budget development for remodel and fuel system projects. Host bi-weekly status meeting with mExpress stakeholders and Real Estate/Store Development teams. 4 hours per week average.
I typically support major energy and engineering pilots or projects and then support engineering prototype design questions that come up as needed. Pilot work takes the most effort, while design questions fluctuate in effort and time required based on the complexity of the question. Pilot work comes with a wide amount of variety due to the nature of the field. Work can range from generator installations to technology improvements, so each project is unique in time and effort.
Supercenters and some grocery formats. mExpress. Co-ordination with consultants, review drawings, navigate on-site issues, and provide suitable direction for achieving project milestones.
Repaving projects HVAC replacement projects Lighting replacement projects (Interior and Exterior) Refrigeration systems and cases replacement projects Roofing replacement projects
LCM - RTU HVAC Rplcmnt where we review current usage then replace all RTUs, Unit Heaters, Repair or Replace all Exhaust fans and if needed Controls LCM - Trash Compactors & concrete pads and Cardboard Balers when failed or worn out. E&E - LED Lighting upgrades to Case Doors, Accent or General Lighting Cap Const. - Merch Roll outs such as Baby Food Cooler or RFM Hand Free Dryers, HF Soap Dispensers and Faucets to 100+ stores. Cap Const - Water Filtration Systems to mExpress Stations Cap Cosst - Food Area Floor Coatings in operational Stores with durations of 1-3 weeks based on SOW
I manage parking lot paving and roofing projects that utilize a program management consultant. The consultant helps design, bid and manage the work. The contracting process is similar to a CM-Agency process. The effort has been more than normal recently as the consultants have change a couple of times. It takes additional effort to get consultants trained on the Meijer program each time it changes. I am also managing parking lot lighting projects which has a consultant engineer designing the projects, construction procurement procuring materials, and Meijer direct hiring contractors that are managed by Meijer. This takes significant effort to manage all of these aspects of the project both in the office and in the field. The contracting process is a modified design-bid-build process. I am working on the New Store Program which involves a lot of effort as the program requirements are continually changing and the level of difficultly changes with every project as the variables of the project are significant. The challenge of the program is compounded by the requirement to "learn from past experience" while I am new to the program. I provide support to other programs as well and this support can cause distractions to my primary focus. Additionally, I perform many tasks that are administrative or task oriented that could be performed by another person who would support the programs.
I support Supercenter, Grocery, and Market format Meijer stores. I initiate the real estate portion of the new store development process. My responsibilities include site selection, the negotiation of purchase contracts, Leases, Operating Easement Agreements and Site Development Agreements. Additionally, I am responsible for the entitlement (government approvals) of new store projects.
I support New Stores Remodels and Capital Project, along with CSD's. My role within these projects is a Layout Specialist. I create Q drawings used by AE firms, and construction. I also maintain the drawings through the duration of each project, through MCT's, AE coordination items, and correction as needed.
Responsible for all construction cost estimates related to any and all work at Meijer. Created and maintain the new store and remodel budgets for all active projects. Consult with design team on future projects. Communicate with Meijer PMs to determine any possible risks related to project change.
Remodels are main type but we also manage some capital projects (gas station design initiatives, tank work), we pilot new store initiatives within remodels (ex. atrium sizing, Main Street design package materials), Mi9 space design and build. We manage life cycle scope within remodels, energy & engineering initiatives, environmental projects - Meijer strategy is to integrate as many other projects into the remodel as possible so it’s one touch for the store and ultimately the remodel PM has to know what’s going on so they can properly manage the overall project.
New Stores - Pull the drawings together, work with MP & LD, A/E. A/E review meetings, incorporate MCT's, work on RFI's, upload drawings. Incorporate as-builts. Remodels - Same as above but also going on asset inventory and incorporating the remarks. Capitol Projects - Pull the drawings together, work with MP & LD, attend project meetings depending on the size of the projects how often the meetings are. Upload drawings, incorporate as-builts.
In my role it's not uncommon to be focused on many project types in a single day to ensure the success of the organization. I consider myself fortunate to have gained the knowledge and be trusted to support successful outcomes throughout the organization. The nature of my role requires enhanced effort in an unpredictable nature with many spontaneous requests requiring short turnarounds.
My primary role is to represent Meijer on New Store Construction Projects. This effort can start years before a shovel hits the ground and can still be active well after a store opens. I support new construction projects across all formats including Market Format, Grocery Format, Supercenter Format, and mExpress Gas Stations as applicable with new builds. I can have anywhere from 3 - 6 new stores actively building at any time with all the different formats and cadences. Plus supporting past stores/projects I was involved and supporting the Real Estate and Design teams with future new store projects. My responsibilities on active projects include contracting, budgeting, financial management and reporting, constructability issues, OAC's, site visits, much consulting, etc. In addition to the tasks associated with new stores, I've also taken on Fresh Thyme projects including the 606 remodel, numerous RS3 remodels, and the Self-Checkout project across all 71 FT stores. I am also currently supporting the Blodgett Hospital Pharmacy build out which is a Capital Project. New Store work takes much of my effort just by the volume of work. However, when Fresh Thyme work is heavy, that becomes my biggest time investment. It is very challenging working with essentially a separate company who does not operate like Meijer does as it relates to executing projects. They do not have the necessary amount of staff or process/procedures in place to execute construction work like Meijer expects therefore leading to a lot of extra effort, even for projects that seem minor in nature.
-Remodels: I complete conceptual design for all foods areas in three groups of remodels a year. These groups can range from 3-7 stores and take roughly 8 weeks to complete (working through the drawings themselves as well as the reviews). -Projects: Fresh foods has a handful of projects every year that range from one-for-one changes all the way to complete department redesigns. These projects also range in the quantity of stores anywhere from one store up to one hundred or more. -CSD's: Foods has a variety of CSD's that happen to develop new design ideas. The amount of work on these vary depending on the ask. For example, if they are looking for a layout change I would do most of the work. If they are looking for a graphics/decor change I would attend the meetings for awareness but not have as heavy of a workload. If this is a large CSD it will typically be one store, if this is a small CSD (like a single fixture change) that could be for 200+ stores. -MCT's: Any time there is a change that needs to be made in a current remodel where the drawings have been issued, it must be officially be submitted as a change. When it is something I need to submit, it is on my position to create before and after drawings as well as send the sketches in for cost estimates.
Projects that are are in "Due Diligence" or Pre-Construction = 3 to 5 projects - We assist our other internal partners developing scope, budget and risk assessments. At the same time bidding out current year projects. Projects that are in "Construction" =2 to 4 - We manage the ongoing construction of new stores from prior and current year as these can overlap. While also assisting on new "Due Diligence" Projects Projects that are in "Post-Construction" or Warranty Period = 1-3. We manage 10 month warranty walks and any other lingering post-opening issues.
On a daily basis I will work on items required for New Stores, Remodels, Projects, Requests depending on priority of each deliverable. There are typically tight deadlines for each request so it is a balance on which item is needed most. Some items require a few minutes and some require multiple days or weeks.
Resource planning and scheduling for New Stores, Remodels, Capital Projects and CSDs. Scope development for Remodels, Capital Projects and CSDs. Involvement in designing spaces and graphics for Meijer Corporate Campuses. Design effort is not limited to the interiors of our stores, but also includes exterior design of Remodel Facades and exterior signage application for Remodels and Capital Projects.
I work on setting up Capital projects for the Hardlines departments (changes in the General Merchandise area). I also set up the Q100 sheets for remodels, I support the team with setting up the sheets for issuing to the AE for construction. I keep track of all Capital Projects for the Layout Specialist, when the projects are complete.
I produce new store/gas station conceptual site plans, new store/existing store remodel licensee space floor plan revisions, outlot sale updates to the master Meijer site plans, proofing legal descriptions of potential outlot sales for legal, redline/markup new stores, remodels and car charge site plans .
I support due diligence investigations for all new store formats (primarily super and grocery, some market), generally from identification by the Site Aquisition Manager (SAM) through closing on the property, with some limited coordination beyond. I work closely with the SAM, design and construction teams, and manage the efforts of our engineering consultants and other support teams for site investigation. I lead project coordination, team meetings, POs, payments, project schedules and other tasks associated with the project. Each project is highly involved and spans 6-18 month typically. I occasionally provide support for remodel or other projects, including zoning review/local government coordination.
Within a given month, I am supporting all project types. Time spent on each project type also varies, and can range from a quick review and approval of a proposal that takes just a few minutes to strategy development work that could take 10+ hours/week. Every day/week/month brings a different mix of projects and varied amounts of time required to keep projects moving forward.
I work on the Real Estate team for new stores. I have not had the opportunity to support other project types.

Latest values:

Every site is different. Every municipality, store team, pre-existing condition, design changes and misses. Store list changes, Leadership feedback is different from store to store. Proto implementation/deviation is different. Every CM & AE, vendors are different. Timing for pre con changes from store to store, Travel distance and flyer availability.
Site specific scopes of work Variation in timelines and milestone deliverables to meet developer agreements or Leadership expectations based upon season, location, etc, Numerous change request makes it extremely confusing to track proper implementation and where with many projects in different points of their schedule. Fielding late adjustment requests Our team manages the transferring efforts of funds to support all requests…not the Finance Department or the requester of the change.
Each project manager operates differently and has different processes which needs to be learned and is time consuming. Having incomplete information from project to project is also very time consuming because I have to then spend time chasing information down.
Some repairs take longer to complete than others.
• Primary Factors o Every project has different fixtures, quantities, number of stores, stakeholder expectations, etc. o Every project is different. o MCT’s, design and MP errors o Many issues caused by external partners, out of our control. o Additional re-work do to last minute changes • Level of Effort Spent o Estimating  MCT could be 1 four gondola or an entire distribution facility o Sourcing  Simple sourcing event for a fixture or a event that testing of equipment is needed and other stakeholders involved o Buying
All projects that I'm involved with include different fixtures, quantities, number of stores, suppliers, stakeholders and expectations. The stakeholders can be different departments within Meijer and different suppliers. When external partners are involved, timing can be out of our control which can require follow up work and last minute changes.
Every day I get to work on something new. We know there will be new questions and problems that come up every year. We work hard to address these as they arise so we don't see the same problems year after year. One day I'll be researching Amish horse parking requirements. The next I'll be learning about mine mitigation. I'm often reviewing construction documents for permitting one day and preparing for a Market Format presentation the next. My role does not lack for variety. I must be agile, curious, and efficient to respond and resolve items as they arise on all types of projects.
Within remodels there is a high level of variance such as unforeseen conditions, pre-existing conditions, scope change, remodel level/budget (RS1, RS2, RS3, reduced scope), every site is different, every municipality is different, every store team (personnel) is different, AE/CM partners are different, distance to remodels varies - requiring travel accommodations, market/region factors vary, proto implementation/deviation is always changing.
to make sure the programs are running, so the team can do their job.
1. Fiscal/cyclical: e.g., budgeting, activities that we need to go through each year around the same time. 2. Fiscal/due diligence conflicts - re: closing on deal / contract vs finance end of fiscal year obligations. 3. Project contract terms 4. Iterations on existing plans and varying opinions in level of importance of elements, what if scenarios 5. Prototype changes and downstream impacts 6. Specific site complexity – scopes/municipal/site challenges 7. Leadership requests/initiatives/presentations 8. Internal coordination and accountability efforts 9. Existing municipal issues and development agreements 10. Availability of information and research required – documentation system needs improvement. 11. Lack of experience and knowledge in tasked subject - with expectation to complete.
The biggest factor with time per project is if there is the level of change requested.
1) Simplicity of project acquisition characteristics (greenfield acquisition vs. redevelopment of existing improvements); 2) Scope of off-site improvements to be constructed associated with project; 3) Use of standardized project formats (e.g. supercenter vs. grocery format vs. modifications to grocery format); and 4) Sophistication of seller / landlord.
In similar projects the variance can be difference in store layouts, equipment specification/requirements, and project type. Also the level of detail needed to be added to the technical drawings for the projects. What can cause extra variance if project details change midway through. Equipment changes or not having all information before starting a project can create double effort.
Same as outlined in answers to the first question.
Primary factors include: audience or requestor, scope complexity, quantities of requests, project schedule or timing. Another factor is the feedback loop and the iteration that may or may not be required depending on how much feedback is provided.
Work type variance factors for projects is generally driven by the complexity of the remodel/construction project, then number of tenants involved in the projects, and the project manager level of experience. Work type variance factors for non-project related workload is driven by complexity of ITS integrations with other applications (MRI/ProLease to SAP, Meijer.com website updates, and SharePoint) and PI planning process required by Meijer ITS organization.
New Stores - Primary factor is type of new store. Supercenters are based on a prototype that is managed over multiple years and doesn't generally require a big lift at any single point in time. Meijer Grocery and Market Format stores have not yet followed a prototype and require a large amount of effort. Remodels - Quantity of remodels is the main driver of variance. Additionally, overlapping years. Prepping future remodels and reacting to active remodels. Capital Projects - Quantity of stores and scale of scope.
Different types of real estate agreements/negotiations (lease or purchase) with one or more entities w/ Meijer in a supportive or lead role, different types of execution relationships developer/municipal, different municipalities with unique processes, different store formats with ever-changing/evolving proto-types/site adapt issues, different physical site types/conditions/needs, considerable number and type of tracking/reporting elements for each site/project
project size plays a part in the variances. also project design thoroughness, if the QP drawings have connected all the before and after dots then discussing scope with the contractors is easy... some projects seem to try and skip the QP process all together.
With Fresh Thyme my projects vary with the need of store information that differences on my drawings needing to be verified. Along with that the drawings are slowly being brought closer to a Meijer standard of Q sheets. This means layers and line weights being added as well as cells slowly being made.
Similar projects all with different people involved and different expectations or processes for each.
Within the remodels, the scope and strategy of the program is ever evolving. Previous program strategy of 3 primary remodel scope/budget levels is moving to 6 levels. Managing consistent execution/expectations on increased variety of remodels poses challenges to all teams. Beyond various levels of scope and budget, each project has a unique set of market influences, existing conditions, project teams (both Meijer and construction team), and market/leadership expectations.
Our projects vary in effort because they range from full project ownership to supporting roles. Our projects also vary significantly in leadership visibility which can drive significant differences in required effort/standard.
Some of the various projects last a year or longer and because of my fill in status with my team, so only require a couple of days of effort. Projects within our team naturally have a tendency to drag on longer than they should, so this does cause some distress.
The amount of time is takes to repair something varies on what the issue is, part availability, and how fast it needs to be repaired.
• Primary Factors Every project has different fixtures, quantities, number of stores, stakeholder expectations, etc. Every project is different. MCT’s, design and MP errors Many issues caused by external partners, out of our control. Additional re-work do to last minute changes
• Primary Factors: o F&E vs Sourcing vs Contracts vs Expediting vs Estimating o Every project has different fixtures, quantities, number of stores, stakeholder expectations, etc. o Every project is different. o MCT’s, design and MP errors o Many issues caused by external partners, out of our control. o Additional re-work do to last minute changes
Real Estate: Here we manage many different conversations related to site variations and project deal/structure changes. The program historically was very standard with minimal developer work engaged. We now have more complex agreements and project types than before. We also have some design work being managed by the Real Estate team which could be more efficient if it lived with the rest of the design work (Store Planning, E&E and Design). Add to the pressure that RE is having applied to close on sites, the schedules are under more pressure than ever and less and less time is spent pursuing variances. New Stores/Prototype: We live in a constantly evolving world of change and budget pressure combined with new format development. This means each store is more unique than it has ever been. In addition, we have dozens (hundred + at times) of feedback lists to process while the machine continues for other projects. These items are delayed due to alignment conversations and funding determination which can lead to time spent reacting to an item, preparing a solution and then sitting on the idea until it is ultimately decided not to proceed as a go back. This created a prioritized effort that would not have been if the leadership direction was clear from the start. Remodels: While light in effort for the team, the decisions being made in the remodel program related to scope and the constant cuts to scope is introducing churn and additional work for other programs. That variance is adding to an already strapped team/program. The effects of the continued cuts have yet to be fully realized. Capital Projects: These are all different types by nature. The largest point here is that we continue to make decisions in other segments of the company (Real Estate, Merch, Ops & RM) that leave sins of the past for our team to pick up and clean up properly in the future. The approach of “we will catch that later” to ensure the project goes or ROI is not impacted on the front end is not appropriate. Examples of this are the HVAC issues for the MI9 rollout, poly-aspartic flooring, heaving freezer slab etc. Energy & Engineering: Similar to Capital Projects, these types of projects vary in scope naturally. Lifecycle Management: Variance in effort here is driven by project type naturally. There are other forces in play that also affect the program effort. Internal forces like consultant performance or team turnover have take a large tole on effort. The external forces would be budget cuts and leadership alignment changes that created additional modeling work and impact studies. This can mean we have alignment on program spend and then the direction to the team changes again. This constantly affects effort across the team. Alignment with other teams as well and changing program strategies impacts effort (RFM and RM). We used to be aligned with RFM on our peer team which gained some synergies. Now the two are further apart and rollup to different organizational leadership. This is an area where connecting the lifecycle program to RFM again could regain efficiencies. Prototype: This is an area where many factors impact the effort. Primary factors include Leadership feedback lists and design changes requested that prevent the team from focusing on program development or improvement. These lists are long and exhaustive, we have limited bandwidth internally and externally based on current headcount / program fee. This means we work on the feedback lists primarily and rarely get back to our continuous improvement activities as a team. These lists are also expected as we continue to develop new formats and react to ever changing budget pressures. Analytics: The primary variance in effort here is the changing priorities/strategy that affect the capital plan. We have iterated on the format, content and audience of the documents being created/managed. Each year there are examples of where we revert to old formatting to simply revert back in the next iteration and then revert again. This constant evolution and iteration leads to added effort by the team that was not planned. In addition, clarity on who is responsible for budgeting and updates is missing. We have an estimator on a peer team that is not trusted to provide estimates. This requires an additional step of review for any estimates being provided and additional effort to complete that should not be the case with a dedicated estimator.
The different project types. No project is the same. Some projects are larger than others.
• Primary Factors o Every project has different fixtures, quantities, number of stores, stakeholder expectations, etc. o Every project is different. New Stores (Super Centers, Grocery and Market Formats all are different and even have different order processes) Remodels vary greatly as well as capital projects. o MCT’s, design and MP errors o Many issues caused by external partners, out of our control. o Additional re-work do to last minute changes • Level of Effort Spent o Estimating  MCT could be 1 four gondola or an entire distribution facility o Buying  Quotes and ordering based on individual project needs with variances between projects described in the project variety question.
Simple answer is that the scope differs amongst different projects. Differing stakeholder expectations contributes to the variance as well, along with issued caused by external partners out of our control. Additional re-work do to last minute changes is also a big factor around variance.
Our different (new) formats contribute to variance and adaptation to projects. Multiple site plan iterations to produce best possible site layout but very common practice in industry. Constant changes made to prototype formats. Implementation of changes to projects mid-stream or even post municipal approvals requiring a do over.
No two projects that I work on are the same. I have to continually manage significant amounts of communication and keep all projects separately organized. I rely heavily on Legal assistance as I have four paralegals that assist with 40 outlots and up to 10 different ground lease transactions all taking place at the same time. Every lot is different, every city requires something different. Vehicle charging is a higher scope when it comes to management as those projects are run by the organizations themselves, but there is a growing urgency in that industry for more and our ability to keep up with that is very much on me and one other person at Meijer. This is a new scope of work in a burgeoning industry that has added significant workload with no relief elsewhere.
It takes about 4 weeks for the LS's to issue for Fixture Validation and then another 4 weeks to issue for AE Deveopment. This is all part of the remodel process which is always running in the background. On top of remodels an LS might have to issue new stores and projects. All while keeping up on MCT, RFI's, AE Coordinations, ect.
Every project is very different in its own right. Multiple variations of fixtures needed, quantities of fixtures needed, number of stores associated, expectation from project participants, etc. Outside of typical projects, lots of time and effort is associated with MCT’s and Design/MP errors. We work on many issues caused by external partners, many issues that are outside of our control to solve before they become issues. Effort is also put towards additional re-work due to last minute changes by business partners as well as suppliers at times.
o Every project has different fixtures, quantities, number of stores, stakeholder expectations, etc. o Every project is different. o MCT’s, design and MP errors o Many issues caused by external partners, out of our control. o Additional re-work due to last minute changes • Level of Effort Spent o Estimating  MCT could be 1 four gondola or an entire distribution facility. o Sourcing  Simple sourcing event for a fixture or a event that testing of equipment is needed and other stakeholders involved o Buying
Remodels - depending on spend level or scope. Scope not determined. Continue to allow change past cutoff dates. CAPEX - quantity of stores and allowing change once conceptuals have been aproved and moved to project phase.
1. While every bid event typically has the same process of analyzing data, meeting/reviewing with stakeholders, evaluating/communicating with suppliers, consolidating proposals, providing a recommendation and implementing the decision, every bid event has a different amount of bid items, quantity of stakeholders and expectations, number of suppliers, etc. that all contribute to a variance in effort. The complexity of the bid item can also significantly impact the effort spent. 2. Changes in scope also impacts effort spent.
For my projects, the effort varies on our timelines. I would say for a high priority project, the effort is higher than a project that is more hypothetical without any concrete dates to hit.
Anyone can request furniture adjustments or events. Multiple platforms need input to request anything. Reliance on other people to get approvals to push projects forward.
Capital Projects vs. New Store/Formats and Remodels: • Capital projects require different level of complexity and magnitude vs. new stores and remodels as each project is different in scope, time frame, etc. • Location changes, Budgets/Timelines Initial set up for projects approved are set up around August. When location changes are made, there is a great deal of effort and rework to be done to update SAP for tracking of financials; creating new projects, working with Finance to transfer funds into correct ‘buckets’, Communicating to CM Firms, updating assignments w/CM Firms, updating Procore for correct project information, updating schedules for interior partners as many of their functions are dependent on openings (grand opening events, board meetings, company anniversary dinners, etc.)
I think the nature of my role brings a lot of variability between projects. The effort will depend on the needs of the business and the timeline allotted for the work to be completed.
Scope, schedule and budget. They vary so significantly that a simple template for project planning won't serve needs and often have varying levels of cross departmental coordination.
Some are as simple as gathering information and then reporting on that information and it is done, for now. Other projects literally will not have an end based on the mechanical nature associated with the products/issues I am tracking.
- Capital Projects: Every project this team manages is unique – different start dates, different stakeholders and business/budget owners, different store teams, etc. Each of these variables contributes to the need for each project to be managed closely to ensure that common requirements are met across a diverse program - Remodels: limited variability in my role for this type – only managed one store - Energy & Engineering: limited variability in my role for this type – see role details in Variety section above - Lifecycle Management: limited variability in my role for this type – see role details in Variety section above - Team Member Management: Every member of the team has different levels of support needed based on work style, time at the company, etc. I work to ensure that everyone has the support the need in order to be successful on their projects - Program Management: Effort varies over the course of the year, with increased effort required during capital planning season. Also see significant variability based on project needs/progress. Ex: recent request by leadership to increase photo lab project from 20 stores to 150 resulted in significant effort in building the case on what challenges would result from this request, impact on the team, etc. - Procore Management: Variability for this effort has been limited in recent months, but continues to require high level of effort beyond what my job duties would typically require - Contractor Management: limited variability for this type - mExpress Program Management: Effort varies over the course of the year with increased effort required during capital planning season. Also see unplanned variability / spikes in effort required as issues arise on projects requiring me to step in and support project teams / bridge communication between project teams and stakeholders.
"Similar" is a term used lightly in the energy and engineering world. Each project requires the same basic process of learning the possibilities of the technology, understanding the interface of the technology with Meijer stores, executing the project, and then validating, but the projects themselves come with a wide variety. The variance in effort is driven by core differences in the projects themselves, despite the fact that projects seek to meet the same goal.
level of communication, level of adjustment in drawings or on site,
The caliber of project manager assigned to the management of the execution of LCM projects and the tenure of the consultant partner attached to each individual program.
Needs of the Stakeholders i.e. Merchandizing Roll-outs where there may be 4 unique plans within 75 locations. On the LCM HVAC Projects each store has specific design or site challenges that require additional efforts including spread around the 6 state footprint. The E&E projects have varied SOW and assorted different contractors and store teams to interact with and achieve same results. LCM Compactor & Baler Projects have different sub-contractors due to the large footprint thus coordination issues are very frequent.
Contracting process type, number of stakeholders, time to complete, degree of difficulty, meijer procured vs vendor procured materials
Each new store project typically has different combinations of property sellers/Real Estate Developers, zoning regulations, and Meijer store formats.
There is a moderate Variance between the projects, such the timeline to develop drawings, working with different supporting customers, such as Procurment, Construction, Operations, and Merchandising. They all have the same outcome in the end with me providing documents to work from and to complete the project, that provides my partners with a finished product within the stores.
Scope of estimate range from $500-$50,000,000. Timing is based on the depth of said estimate requests.
To start there are 3-6 different BASE remodel types. But every single store is different. Existing conditions are different, store teams/market directors are different, CM/AE/vendors are different, municipalities are different, design changes & misses are different (adequate & thorough upfront design is critical to mitigate downstream fires causing schedule and cost impact that PMs have to manage), proto deviation direction is different, leadership feedback is conflicting, travel requirements are different.
Information provided, changing direction, amount of stores, scope of work.
Each project type has a high variation in deal structure and site-specific requirements. Several contributing factors include, purchase agreements, SDAs, Geotechnical and Environmental issues, market factors, budgets, site complexities, developer experience, schedules, scope, and weather limitations.
The largest contributing factors that may lead to some projects needing more effort than others include: Location, project team, development/land agreement type, prototype changes, MCT's/design changes, municipalities, financial health, land/site scope, existing conditions, local market/labor conditions, procurement challenges, and many more.
The amounts of effort per project vary depending on the specific ask, scope, and other teams involved in the project. Quite often I spend a lot of effort tracking down other teams and waiting for the information to complete the ask.
Contingent primarily on the Real Estate given/handed over to our design and than construction team.
There are factors for each type of work that I do. Cells can vary because some are just a change in color of case or a slightly different size of something we already have in our system. Others are completely new items so it requires more time to draw. The most time consuming are new unique millwork items that take time designing, drawing, dimensioning and noting. Creative Study and Designs vary because a singular fixture takes less time to develop than an entire department which could have multiple fixtures. New Stores/Remodels/Projects also vary because of the scale of the project. Some stores are larger than others or involve more change.
Project scale and number of individuals providing feedback contributes to variance. We can have a smaller project that needs to be reviewed and approved by the senior leadership of the company which can create a higher level of variance, or in some cases the design can be selected quickly in the process and the level of variance is low. In all Remodels, dozens of individuals internally are reviewing and providing input on each store. We remodel 20+ stores per year and are receiving input from dozens of individuals on each store, so variance is incredibly high for each remodel.
Some of the Capital projects are for multiple stores and some are just a few. Some projects vary in complexity as well.
Too many revisions.
Variables can include items we control, such as whether or not we wish to seek full entitlements for the project or are taking a buy-and-hold approach which confirms buildability of the project but does not pursue full approval from the local jurisdiction. However, most variables are inherent to the site and/or local jurisdiction. As example, a site with wetlands or environmental contamination is going to take much more effort. Similarly, zoning code requirements or the level of entitlements required (for example, property rezone, need for multiple variances, architectural review boards) will require additional time and coordination.
Variance in effort among similar project types typically stems from a site-specific condition that is unique, requiring a different level of involvement in creating, reviewing and socializing the recommendation to gain leadership approval. New concept development can also vary dramatically in duration and effort, depending on the scale of the concept i.e. one location or a brand new store prototype.
There are several types of store formats that require different levels of time and effort. In addition to the type of store formats, each municipality has it's own set of regulations that must be adhered to. That alone requires a different level of effort. Finally, each new store has different deal structures, including ground leases, building leases, or purchasing.

Latest values:

There is no equation to sort the level of variance. If I have to travel to a site that is 3+ hours away and spend the night, then majority of my focus is on that store. I can talk on the phone during my travels, but texts and emails are unreadable until travel has subsided. If in this example I have 7 active stores 4 in precon and 4 in warranty, then that means for approximately two business days 14 stores are not receiving my full attention. If my scope for active construction on average is 6 months and I visit each store 8 times only during that span, then what that means if all my stores require night visits in this example, at a minimum 112 days out of 182.5. 224 out of 365. There are only 250 working days not including PTO and federal holidays. With PTO and holidays we are at approximately 227 working days. In order to satisfy the minimum requirement to be on site I should only be in the office 3 days a year. are for travel to focus mainly on one store, this is just for travel, not the rest of the other variance factors I've listed above. Meijer misses may take weeks to sort out through the MCT process. A&E misses same process as the MCT process or a multitude of meetings to address the miss and how to best fix it. Executive leadership walks that change the direction of our scope are met with immediate action where all other issues take a back seat until a sound game plan is in place to address these requests. All our CM’s do great work and for the most part bend over backwards to help us accomplish our goals in our remodels. Each CM has varying levels of abilities when it comes to their PM’s, Site Supers, and field teams. You have about 8 solid teams across 4 CM’s and that leaves you with the rest at 12 remodels that will force additional bandwidth issues for the MPM’s. There are a fair amount of issues that arise that are not solved in the same day, it usually takes multiple days or weeks to work through issues and multiple departments to gain the approval or funding requirements.
One example that speaks for all large projects is that the 2023 Supercenter stores take one-year to complete from starting of building pad. During that period, we issued 15 bulletins. Each bulletin could include 10-20 individual changes. These changes require all internal and external teams to dedicate time to update drawings, place new orders, cancel previous orders, work with local officials for approval, solicit pricing from trades, update paperwork and track to make sure the change has been captured by all parties. We likely spend more time facilitating change which has a negative influence on bandwidth and performance on program improvements.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly how much time each variance takes. All in all time spent on variances can be better spent on doing the project's actual taks.
n/a
High
The level of effort depends on the factors that are listed above, what is required for the project, lead times and time of year and what is needed for sourcing and buying.
My role has a high degree of variety, variance, and volume. 3 Supercenters under construction - High intensity 3 Supercenters beginning construction documents - Medium Intensity 1 Market Format under construction - High Intensity 2 Market Formats beginning construction documents - High Intensity Prototype Support - Medium Intensity 6ish stores in due diligence - Low Intensity 3 Completed Supercenters with follow-ups - Low Intensity
Level of effort is directly proportional to level of variance. Some may assume a lower scope remodel requires less effort, however, this often requires more clarification among our business partners which takes up more time. Even if remodel scope is very clear the ever-changing factors (such as those listed in previous question) impact the effort required.
If depends on what the problem is, sometimes its an easy fix and don't take to long, other times it can take time to figure out the problem then figure out the fix for it,
Level of effort varies across this variance with lack of experience or availability of information and unplanned work taking up more effort (and indirectly leading to other tasks not being addressed or additional time outside of normal hours. The cyclical work takes less time overall as they are planned and expected. Prototype changes, municipal challenges, iterations and specific site complexity are all situational.
Any type of change typically involves new layouts, before and after. Requesting cost estimates from either construction and or procurement. Entering the MCT and getting all the required approvals and information before you can submit. MCT meetings are on Weds and need to be submitted by mid day on Tuesday for it to be considered in that weeks meeting.
Level of effort as between projects can vacillate significantly between projects such that one project could account for 10% of team member time while another project with heightened complexity may take 35%-50% of a team member time.
Adding in extra hours during the week or weekend to complete the additional work. Such as starting work early, working through lunch and in the evening when needed. Rearranging work meetings and project lists for the week to allow for the variance. I've also rearranged vacation time and doctors' appointments. Asking team members for availability to help and taking the time to explain the project details. This can lead into more time reviewing their work and answering any questions.
Same as outlined in answers to the first question.
Projects tied directly to leadership account for the majority of effort in these requests. Again, this can range depending on scope, schedule, etc.
Work effort is mainly managing organizational effort across the multiple channels of internal and external communication.
New Store activity ranges from project maintenance (MCT's that take a handful of hours 1 week nearly every week) that happen consistently throughout the year, to 100+ hour efforts when New Stores are fixture validated and /or released to the A/E. Remodel activities ranges from project maintenance (MCT's that take a handful of hours 1 week nearly every week) that happen consistently throughout the year, to 100+ hour efforts when Remodels are fixture validated and /or released to the A/E. Capital Projects very greatly from single week projects to multiple month projects.
The level of effort spent across this variance can be considerable (and varied) in keeping/understanding all the unique elements straight for each project when working on multiple sites/projects with different teams at different stages of progress. Each project can have their own lower & higher points of intensity/focus depending on their stage of development and their unique elements of process.
I think I blended some of these comments in other responses. the larger multi-store projects might have less variance than the small projects but the volume of stores in a multi-store project make them time consuming, smaller projects with one of a few stores may have less volume of stores but they seem to have more variance which make them time consuming... 🙂 everything takes time.
The Fresh Thyme drawings from the start were in no were near Meijer standards and still have a ways to go. This means I work closely with the Fresh Thyme members to get store information along with Scott to help with building cells to get Fresh Thyme closer to smart drawings.
We sometimes spend months planning something that takes only a week to complete physically but we spend hours in meetings for months.
Any combination of these factors results in varying levels of complexity/effort required by the Meijer Project Manager to facilitate. Projects with straight forward scope, adequate budget, minimal changes, and seasoned project teams are straight forward to manage (an rare in this program). More often than not, some blend of green team members, unforeseen site conditions, scope change, or design misses/errors result in projects that take substantial day to day detailed involvement by the project manager. As manager of the program, I am currently supporting three project managers that are fairly new to Meijer and new to managing remodels. My level of support with the team in project specific activities is incrementally much higher than if the PMs were more seasoned.
I am not sure what this question is asking. I believe it is asking what level of effort is required to handle the significant variance across work. Significant time is required to balance the varying workload. We are routinely working to find new methods and tools to manage the workload. Often effort spent on planning is disrupted and negated based on frequent leadership inquiries/requests with short deadlines. Commonly items that require 5 hours of effort will be requested mid-week with an end of week deadline. This is incredibly difficult to manage with the already very full and varying workload. Not all short notice items come from a leadership request. As a recent example, I worked with other industry partners to prepare and present information on Meijer's behalf to the EPA. This was an over 30 hour effort that needed to be accommodated in a two week period (while maintaining schedule/progress on all other projects).
This varies greatly from project to project.
The effort ranges from ordering and making repairs myself to sometimes needing to bring in outside contractors.
Any time a process goes out side of the normal scope or procedure it causes a higher amount of effort to perform. Effort level is usually high.
o Estimating: High  MCT could be 1 for gondola or an entire distribution facility. o Sourcing: High  Simple sourcing event for a fixture or a event that testing of equipment is needed and other stakeholders involved o Buying:  Every project has different fixtures, quantities, number of stores, stakeholder expectations, etc.  Every project is different.  MCT’s, design and MP errors  Many issues caused by external partners, out of our control.  Additional re-work do to last minute changes o Expediting: Primarily new stores and remodels. Skus and supplier are extremely variable, but tasks are relatively repetitive.
Real Estate: What used to be 4-6 stores in development per project manager on our team is now 2-3. We spend a lot of time debating site design and variance requests. This debate is happening at 3 levels in the organization. New Stores: What used to be 4-6 stores per project manager now requires more attention and typically means 2-3 stores actively being built at one time. Remodels: The variation being introduced into our fleet is starting to add enough complexity that we need to review adding resources to the LCM program to better develop scope and study impacts across all asset categories. Stores are continuing to be left in a piecemeal position from an asset perspective. I believe the program used to be able to be managed by one person, I estimate the effort to truly manage the assets to the detail expected would require adding 1-2 people to make sure we have the eyes in the field as needed and also a larger focus on programmatic strategy development and alignment. This could also be improved by adding 1 LCM role and 1 RM DPM role to the team so that we have more ownership of the scope development and tracking for RMs. Energy & Engineering / Cap Projects: It varies significantly from project to project. Lifecycle: Varies from project to project. Prototype: Varies from task to task however typically conflicts with other priorities. Analytics: This is an area that varies however due to team member tenure, I am unable to clearly define what steady state looks like yet.
I think it's situational some projects have more detail and take longer while others are more straightforward. Questions arise and sometimes that takes time to get a response.
Same effort is required of all projects across the different varieties. Due to the variances in the projects the level of effort is pretty level. Remodels don't require as many new building component items. However, they vary greatly from prototype and what we have set in place already as approved items. Getting that information and submittals levels it out with the new store projects that have MORE building component items to get, but are prototypical.
The level of effort involved can range from a simple click of the mouse to long-term multi day research efforts.
High as my role requires a forward outlook as projects are for the future and to meet corporate initiatives and broader goals for enterprise, dealing with near term project changes often are a determent to meeting future expectations and goals.
It would be a full-time job to properly manage Meijer real estate and the dispositions activities the company has deemed desirable. However, over the last three years I have added electric vehicle charging and Fresh Thyme property management to my tasks. This has spread my time so thin that each area suffers from time delays and my capability is almost purely reactionary instead of proactive. The key to understanding the Real Estate/Property Management team is to understand that we are the final catchall for the activities of all of the other Properties teams. Where almost all other teams are project based, we are the "run" group within Properties and have to not only understand all of the projects when the other teams complete them, but we inherit the future management and continued success. In essence we have four people attempting to run what dozens of others have put into place. We have attempted to deal with this continued expansion of volume by implementing a property management software solution, but it's clear that we will not be able to utilize that software to its full extent without someone dedicated to management of the software itself and the information kept there. There is ample opportunity to add a young professional looking to understand the corporate real estate world who can help with operational tasks that I have taken on as well as manage the software database of Meijer's owned and leased properties.
Creating, checking, updating and issuing drawings. Pushing those drawings to procurment and issuing them to Procore.
New Stores and Remodels take the most effort/time, including everything mentioned in the project variety. However, projects can have a high variety of effort/time based on what each project entails. For example, a CSD could be for a four foot gondola for one store, or for an entirely new checklane for all Meijer supercenters. Quoting could be quick and simple or could take months depending on fixture type and partners involved.
.
Several conceptual layouts and renderings depending on ask. Project meetings and reviews. Depending on change, numerous meetings are required because of change in scope or direction and more change follows. Providing conceptuals for cost estimates.
1. For example, a bid for wire shelving is pretty standard – all suppliers will have a similar spec and there won’t be a large involvement from stakeholders. Bidding foodservice equipment (like a bakery oven), however, will be much more involved as we would likely need to run a test for the equipment if we plan to make a change to a different supplier, and there would need to be heavy involvement from food safety and merchandising on potential recipe & program changes. 2. In a recent bid for fountain and ice machines used in the Meijer Express locations, baseline data had to be re-worked several times as remodel scope continued to change direction as the bid was occurring.
All creative projects receive my highest efforts, but they are ranked in order of priority.
I spend most of my time reaching out to everyone to find out what they truly need. I primarily focus on Event support. I tend to shortcut the other areas of my role to make sure the events are successful because they are so visible and have an immediate impact on business.
• Closeouts: o Confirming all categories of paperwork is received and uploaded into Procore, filing paperwork with counties. Many hours working with CM firms to achieve this process. • Financial Tracking/Budget Transfers:  Time/multiple emails spent on funding sources from other areas: MCT’s, (insufficient information), Vendor-Funded projects (working with numerous internal business partners)
The variance may be high in some respects, but to date this variance is managed well between myself and leadership. When one project might require minimal effort and another requires a high degree of effort, we work together to manage timelines and workload accordingly.
This one is tough to answer briefly. There is extreme variance between any two projects let alone from the 10+ that are in flight at any given time. The best example I can share here would be the obvious differences between the DC888 Witron project in which we're prepping to build a new 375K square foot automated facility and the HBC Universal Fixtures project that impacts 200+ sites. They have very different business partners and require far different methods of communication and project management from weekly coordinations to budget management to design review. The DC888 project is almost a full-time job in itself. It requires significant effort to continue to work through design development. Construction presence is sustained over the course of appx 2 years as opposed to the 5 days we spend on any given site on the HBC project. Both require check-ins and updates to business partners, however, methods of communication and volume of info shared is not comparable.
Some tasks take a lot of effort and some not so much effort.
Variance in work efforts across all areas that I am involved in results in regular challenges in workload balancing / prioritization of effort. I do my best to manage the urgent needs as the arise, but have been that state essentially non stop since assuming the role 3+ years ago – have had little to no time to dedicate to focused program improvements that are extremely needed.
Being new, I am still learning what my long term day to day will look like. However, I believe the majority of my time will be spent on high effort, long term projects while the daily work will fill with the lower effort support requests.
alot of effort goes into providing timely and constructive feedback on decisions that don't hinder the construction process. Getting approvals and processing changes for new stores is interesting as they have their own set of issues related to the stage they are in or contextual differences.
Can be a high level of effort to "manage" the project manager in a particular program. Financial reporting, schedule updates, and general communication both internal and external. Moderate level of effort for non-tenured or lesser tenured consultant partners. Onboarding and overall program education.
The more variation in the projects within a program increase the effort needed to successfully manage the completions. Complexity of these projects is increased by significant lead times on major equipment i.e. RTUs are currently 24+ weeks lead time. Merch Roll-outs with short execution Schedules require multiple Crews and possibly Contractors which exponentially increase the effort required.
More stakeholders = more effort. Meijer procured materials = more effort shorter time duration = more difficult
Most projects are fairly time intensive. The biggest variations are due to the quirks of individual sellers or the zoning environment of a particular community plus the political environment of the respective communities.
For most, the Variance is working with our partners and getting a final decision to complete the work. We are on timelines and our job is based on a end date so that things can be ordered and constructed on time.
Low-Level estimates can be completed in a day. High-Level estimates can take multiple weeks and could include communication with vendors and contractors. Each period, reporting involves meeting with New Store/RM PM's to review current spend of projects. After meeting with PM's, I meet with dept. managers and our director to review project financials.
The amount of effort depends on what the factors are for the specific project. You could have a great store team but a lot of scope adds/changes. Or you could have a straightforward project but you’re constantly managing the teams to keep the project moving. Or you could have both be a struggle (very common).
As simple as changing out one or two items to remodeling a whole store.
The level of effort across the variances can be significantly impacted by the quality of documents, external partners, errors & omissions, deal structures, and municipalities. Also, internal controls such as Ariba, SAP, and fiscal year budget limits create additional constraints.
It takes a lot of effort to effectively manage the typical new store work load. Factor in any combination of the variables above and two like store can have two very different work load demands. A recent example would be 680 and 681. 681 was a much tougher municipality and that store is still requiring attention weekly from that PM while 680 has been quiet for months. Add in a handful of "Rouge" Capital Projects and side requests and capacities fill up quickly.
A lot of my time is spent tracking my different projects, the stages they are in, and what information I need from others to be able to start my end of the project.
The Real estate agreemetns can vary. For example, if we just straight up own the land and there is no developer agreement, there is less upfront coordination efforts needs verus a site that is being developed by a developer, they are working with an engineer, you have to inspected their work on our property.
I work on a large range of items. I get multiple cell requests a day that require 20 minutes to an hour or more for each cell. Most items created are a copy of something similar with added revision. Some are from scratch which requires investigation on size and requirements. Some millwork items require design effort to work with adjacent equipment or site conditions. I have several Creative Study and Designs in process at all times which require design work at small scales and at larger scales. Some CSD's are for a single fixture and some are for an entire department redesign. For all CSD's there is a level of research and development to see what already exists or is similar out there. I also build and maintain 3D stores for all Prototypes, unique projects and leadership requests. The building of these models can take weeks with coordination between the A/E's models. The maintenance of these models are usually on going through the year as things change. These models are used to produce renderings which are used in presentations at multiple levels.
Typical effort for the variance in project types is planned for. For some revision requests, little effort is required if the decision is easily known. Other revision requests require a significant amount of effort (implementation of Shared Services in 2021, converting the 2023 NS Produce L to a Deli Island, rework of Remodel Scope for 2024-25 stores) - These are all examples of new strategies or reactions to current approach that are not planned for and require a significant effort.
depending on the project and how many stores are involved or how complex they are, can spending up to 3 weeks to 6 weeks on a project. or longer
My work is none stop, someone is always in need of something. Busy is a great thing, the day flies by.
Variances as noted above can easily add months to the overall process, largely due to the additional applications and review timelines. Much of this is oversight of consultants and is generally a foreseeable component, so I would not consider it disruptive to our regular flow of work.
It depends. For my role, individuals on my team are normally doing the work to create options, so my time is spent reviewing options, providing feedback and then socializing the recommendation to gain leadership approval. I would say my effort/project can range from an hour to 10+ hours/week for many months.
The level of effort varies with each project.

Latest values:

Keep in mind that the term "active" has a different meaning to most. My team is "actively" working on closing out last years projects while managing projects with onsite activity...and pre-construction activity in preparation for next years projects.
21
Without a clear definition of what a project is, it's hard to give a good number. I have a project tracker that has 90 active projects that my team and I are working on or are pending. We don't work on all at once, but conversations are happening about all of them over a month period.
30+
Estimate about 25 bodies of work with new store projects being bulk as oversight and direct management, however counting other program involvement and initiatives
Responsible for all real estate acquisition projects. Team presently carrying 43 projects across various stages of completion.
25-65
-shared service project 2022 and 2023. pre-con meetings with the future stores. 3 to 4 store installs per week, weekly team meeting to keep the corporate team/owner updated on status.-checklane projects 2022 (100 stores nearly wrapped up),2023 (20 stores). pre-con meetings with the future stores. 3 to 4 store installs per week, weekly team meeting to keep the corporate team/owner updated on status. - Mi9 ongoing items cleanup (full chain) from the pace of the previous years installs plus support of Mi9 growth. largest Mi9 clean up effort going right now is associated with HVAC concerns in these mi9 spaces about (90) stores are being evaluated for HVAC go forward needs. - stores 20 and 312 have a checklane merchandiser test project going, this project probably should have gone through a CSD first and then had official QP drawings created, before we started the implementation process, that didn't really happen with this one which did create some wheel spinning (984 now as a SCO set now as a side project to this project). - 2022 Sushi working on about a dozen stores which are in the final stages of Health Department approval as HD questions come in from the Sushi vendor i coordinate providing the requested information. - mens and womens basics projects (about 50 stores) up front work done / construction to begin in July store pre-con meetings being scheduled now. (construction will be about 10 stores per week). - Pet freezer project about (50) stores will be in this project not much weekly load from this one at this point one working team meeting per week (this project is not going to construction until January) (i did learn a little about the CAPEX and SAP process with this one). - small 2 phase project at #650 to be honest needs a little more of my attention. - Café redo's resulting from Mi9 exits about (5) stores, needs more of my attention. - store 34 has popped up as a café project QP drawing is complete i just need to write the scope of work and bid the project for construction. - checklane stores with "extra front end space" this one needs a little more of my time. that is a snap shot of this month and really the last few months because the larger multi-stores projects receive the lions share of my time leaving little time to make progress on the smaller projects. .
25-30
50+
40-50+ different active projects.
Between New Stores and Remodels across multiple years we are shuffling around 30 projects over the course of the month.
40 outlot sales; 5 ground leases; 8 vehicle charging implementations; 1 remodel assist; 2-4 parking lot license requests; 3 Fresh Thyme dispositions
80-100
20
30
est. 50+ and Capital Projects (projects spanning multiple years)
Quick math shows 24 projects that are active as of this month.
It is hard to track all of them, but I would say it is around 20 -25.
I am pulled in to any of the 100+ projects the team is managing at any time, so while I may not be directly involved in every one I generally know where things are at and where they are going. This is on top of the other roles / types I manage, such as team member support, Procore development, etc. that don't fit neatly into a project count.
LCM can have as many as 50 active projects per month across all 5 asset programs
40
~25-35
Current state of the Design Project Tracker shows 60 projects that are "Open" in design (even though each remodel grouping is 7+ stores, each group only accounts for one line item in the tracker). We show 17 projects that are "Active" in the field.
It varies month to month, I'm never without something to work on. I work on what ever has the highest priority.
30 - 50

Latest values:

Highest intensity work loads are in the fall when we're kicking off the Construction Documents for new projects and in the Spring when we are preparing to open stores. I've been told that Summer is a "lull", but the reality is that we use this time to gear up for the next round of stores and to implement program updates so I've found that this time just a busy as the rest of the year.
November & December: Project volumes lower due to moratorium, March & April: Project volumes generally higher as Group 1 remodels are still active and Group 2 remodels are starting. September & October: Project volumes are generally higher as remodels wrap up and there is push to get remodels complete prior to moratorium.
There is more urgency and priority leading up to end of the fiscal year when there is an expectation of acquisitions that need to close. There is also more urgency and priority at the start of the fiscal year in the months leading up to the next year’s construction projects. Combined, this urgency starts in November through June.
When we start out with a new group of Remodels, are level of project volume increases significantly.
During the three stages of remodels during the fascial year it over lapping with current workload. Work period is 3-4 weeks.
November & December workload is heavier with first round of easement billing in November & second to follow when CPI increases come out mid December. Payments are due January 15th so I need to put other obligations on hold to focus on putting out that last set of invoices of those with CPI increase. April- May are busier months due to CAM billing. This requires coordination from several areas of the organization to gather the information needed to bill for recoveries. Including pulling data from the utilities payment platform. Once all the data is collected, calculations are figured on excel spreadsheets and billed accordingly once the pro rata shares are calculated. It was later discovered after we launched the new property management software that this will still be a manual process and spreadsheets will be required to figure calculations. It's also manual to email all invoices along with backup since MRI won't attached documents to an invoice.
Jan-May tenant build out activity increases as new stores are coming on-line and work in the stores that will be paused during the moratorium will start back up.
Capital project work peaks shortly after the fiscal year begins and tails off roughly 2/3 of the way through the year. Remodels will peak traditionally during Q1-Q3 where asset inventory tasks are completed for future remodels and maintenance continues on active remodels. New stores stay relatively level but peak throughout the year based upon Meijer Grocery or Market Format stores which tend to volatile.
Project budget estimation/forecasting is more pronounced at years end and for beginning of new year
because of fiscal year budgeting I believe there will be some slower periods but i have not experienced that yet.
this is obviously driven by fiscal year funding. Projects are released at the beginning of the fiscal year and then they are all in the planning stages at the same time and then all in the construction phase at the same time later in the year.
REMODEL COUNT: 2022 - 17, 2023 - 15, 2024 - 17, 2025 - 23, 2026 and beyond - 25+. Busiest time of year is during active construction, typically January through October. "active" projects cover not only projects underway, but precon several months ahead of commencement and post construction/warranty several months after.
Volume is higher around budget season.
Usually, the months where we have the most extreme temperature rises/falls are the busiest as that is when our equipment is under the most duress.
Each new store opening season is a high pressure event. This typically starts around December and lasts until June. It is a pressure cooker for many parts of the team for various reasons. Capital planning also takes place during this time. There is another increase in August/September as we kick off new stores for the next round.
During the months April through October, the number of projects increases due to the amount of Capital Projects. During the months of November through May, while the volume of projects decreases, the level of effort does not due to additional Strategic Sourcing projects added to the schedule.
When capital projects are going on the same time as remodels.
There is a high volume of projects every single month. Some projects span multiple months/years, some projects are quicker, but there are always new projects being presented, current projects being worked on, and old projects being followed up and fixed. Project counts and types may change every month, but the effort is always high.
Each month is high volume of project. The project count/type changes buy month, but the effort does not.
Largest peak is conceptuall phase for Group 2 remodels. You are still managing work generated from Group 1, this year's current remodels (under construction) and CAPEX projects.
Project volume seems to simmer down at the end of the year once we complete our major remodels and New stores. Although, there is truly not much down time as we prepare far in advance for our next big project such as future Market formats or prototype changes.
Summer has more outside events. Spring and Fall have more building and grounds related work involved. Around holidays the work load is less because there are less people planning events.
Capital Planning submission season (roughly Q1-Q2) requires a bit more lift and generates more tasks.
Early Spring is the busiest because we are opening new stores around that time of year.
Project efforts spike in September/October as teams push to complete work in stores before the holidays. Similar spike in January to complete work between the holidays and the end of the fiscal year. I also see a spike in February/March as most new projects are released at the start of the new fiscal year.
construction time-period is different that requires different level of effort. I haven't been here long enough to know exactly what winter months would entail, but it's busy with prototypical design requirements.
Fall period can be high volume due to the crossover of project timing. In that time I am both completing 2023 projects and engineering/designing/planning the upcoming 2024 projects.
As the Retail Ops Holiday Black-out Calendar reaches Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Superbowl close in; August, September, October til moratorium.
The construction season April thru November
Project work volume tends to decline somewhat during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday periods. This is due to the amount of vacation time people take during those holidays.
There is no Specific time of the year it is all year, we are constantly providing at a high volume, and all the project overlap with each other we can be working on new stores and halfway through Remodels will start and the Capital project will come into play. There is n break or seperation between the work flow between project.
Summer & Fall you have to manage close out of turnkey’d project, manage active projects and manage pre-work on next years projects. Plus fall is when we run into moratorium and start focusing more on program improvements for the following year.
Capitol project season there could be a few small ones to work on for a few months or a large one touching every single store like I am working on now for the past 18 months.
Six months of the year we see an overlap between pre-construction activities on next year's stores while trying to complete current year's stores. This overlap creates a deficit in available hours for the team and results in lower quality outputs. This deficit is further amplified by recent supply chain constraints, errors & omissions, and change past established cut-off dates.
Typically January - May. We're working towards openings on active stores and bidding/kicking off next years stores. The month(s) before and after turnkey are demanding. Grocery and Market format stores follow their own cadence and can make for a larger work load year round.
Remodels come in three groups over the year, during those groups there are different points where the level of work is higher and lower. For projects, we will receive word of incoming projects there are certain times the funding is approved for us to begin.
From October till May is when project volume is at its highest. This is the timeframe when projects kick-off, in the middle and end of from previous and current years.
I get more cell requests when New Stores or Remodels are being produced. That time period tends to be similar from year to year. Projects can happen at any time throughout the year so that is harder to anticipate.
Merchandising facilitates a "Strategic Intent" series of meetings in August where Directors present project requests for the next calendar year. In the summer, requests for design effort and costing are submitted by Merchandising leading up to these meetings.
when remodels are getting ready to go out, usually up to 7 stores
There is often a hard push at the end of the year to get projects completed and the property closed. There is also pressure if the site needs to move directly into construction in order to meet deadlines of the other teams. Our team is currently working to build site capacity/pipeline, which may relief some of this pressure.
Q4 and Q1 seem to be busier due to the approval of the Capital Budget and the need to get project designs in motion so that they can be completed within the fiscal year.

Latest values:

To better staff the remodel group you need the following at a minimum. 1 Design Project Manager to assist with all the Prototypical deviations that we get in remodel, 1 construction coordinator to brunt the travel burden and create consistent site presence, showing operations our commitment and improves our leverage on our CM's for a better work product from them, allows the MPM to focus more heavily on their duties, 1 additional Construction Project Manager to help with the amount of stores each current MPM has. There may also be an opportunity to include a contracting position for a Construction Project manager to support the flexibility we are trying to provide to our operations side of the business. The other concern that I have is that if Meijer only address the need in one department than the choke point will shift, I.E. Design still needs to produce drawings, Operations PM's can only support so many stores effectively, if they can't keep pace then we will have delays due to OPS not able to keep up with us. Procurement, Product Flow, and MP. These are just departments in my opinion that will need additional support for the larger team to succeed. We currently have Two A&E's and 4 CM's, they are currently struggling to keep pace, turn over departments and stores on time, along with a large breath of misses that cost Meijer money but more importantly a negative impact to our customers during a remodel. As we ramp up to support steady state Remodel will need additional humans to make this work, if we wait until it is apparent that they are needed then you will be asking 4 people that will be running on all cylinders to find time to adequately train a new employee or employees. It takes at minimum 1 year for someone to be fully sufficient in their duties as a MPM at Meijer. We are currently 5 months from the new year and by the time this information is digested we will be 3 months from the new year. We will start to potentially look for candidates and hopefully hire someone prior to 2024. At this point you will have 8 remodels that are carrying over to 2025 with 3 Remodels starting in 1A. That is if no other remodels carry over to 2024. Not to mention all close out duties that will still be open from 2024. This means that you will have 3 MPM’s managing 11 active projects, 12 projects in Precon, 7-10 projects in post with associated punch list issues from F&E to others, while you need this group to help train and get to know a new employee or employees. This will be a tough ask for our group to find time to help onboard a new employee. To say all that I am appreciative that Meijer is asking the questions and we are moving in the direction required to succeed. I look forward to helping in any way I can so we as a team can succeed together.
see comments above. I welcome any additional opportunity to clarify information provided here or by others on my team.
I feel like 21 projects for one construction is far too many especially given the amount of territory that needs to be covered. The coordinator position was created to not only assist project managers but also to bridge the disconnect between corporate and the stores. This is hard to do when you have to cover so much ground. In an ideal world there would be 5-6 coordinators who are assigned a territory to manage projects in and cultivate relationships on the ground.
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Each month is high volume of project. The project count/type changes but month, but the effort does not. While project conversation is important, I think we need to be asking more questions related to number of meetings, reporting, etc. Managers spend a majority of times in meetings. For me, this limits the time to work on projects and also having to manage a team of 5, soon to be 6.
There are multiple more internal teams that I involve with for projects including supply chain, real estate, legal, facilities, human resources, merchandising, design, and food safety. Multiple projects require some input from other teams.
In a typical week I spend 50% of my time in meetings (1/2 internal, 1/2 external). 25% of my time is spent on the phone and email communicating with external consultants and internal business partners. 25% of my time is producing work such as MCTs, presentations, and documents. I am also traveling 1-2 days per month on site visits. Plan reviews, project schedules, budget maintenance, document updates, and leadership requests are completed in the pockets available between meetings each week. My work is interesting and meaningful. I often find myself wishing I could spend more time on each project to give it the time and attention to do it justice and to come to the best solutions.
The responsibilities and expectations of a project manager in the remodel program are continuously changing. Our team and our business partners are feeling the pressure to execute expectations but may be falling short due to factors such as time and resources. It feels we all (immediate team and properties department as a whole) are struggling to provide responses to our peers in a timely manner due to bandwidth.
all the work that I do is maintaining the systems and tools we have, it would be nice to be able to add tools and things to help the team out in their job so we can make things easier for them.
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Currently my work is quite diverse so it requires me to spend more time per item, since I am involved in so many different areas. Operations, Digital Order, Checklanes, & M Express Gas stations. Each area can have several issues going on with current remodels in construction, future remodels, current New stores & proto type. Items can include, new design ideas, changes, new solutions needed, meeting with business partners to confirm changes, meeting with Layout Specialists to make sure they understand the changes needed. There is also a connection that happens between my role as a Layout designer to the Layout specialist. They implement all the changes, and conceptual layouts for all the areas as well.
No additional input to provide.
No additional commnets.
I transferred to this role from Real Estate Administrative assistant and unfortunately most of the responsibilities from that role came along with me (lease/cam portfolio, easement/cam annual billing and maintaining budget expectations). I brought this up as a concern prior to accepting this role, however, was told the new property management software systems were the solution and going to alleviate a large portion of this maintenance and free up time to focus on my new role. As we got deeper into learning the new systems quickly realized what we thought would be automated in most cases still require the same level of effort, if not more. I’m excited for the new property management software and what it will provide for visibility & reporting capabilities however the maintenance will continue which takes me away from the instore tenant program that I am mainly being held accountable for. As we continue to grow adding more stores, market formats, grocery, ground leases and seek new business growth it’s impossible with our small team to manage these portfolios. Unlike other areas of properties and construction who have a large number of “projects”, once they are finished can check it off their list as complete but in our case, we continue to manage these “projects” as new stores or leases and there is no end. As much as it’s exciting to watch the growth in real estate over the years It’s impossible with such a small team to juggle the workload, not get discouraged or burned out while watching other areas continue to grow with headcount.
There is a known project volume by nature based on what stores are opening and when. What is most challenging to predict are the "ad hoc" assignments that layer into the day-to-day. These requests are often labeled as priority which pulls effort from the core workload. Additionally, scope change requests mid-development cycle typically require significant rework which taxes not just the Meijer team but also our outside consultants. This reduces our ability to keep moving forward because we are focused on rework.
My work is more Program/Run compared to projects, although I do have those as well. Challenges and constraints in the program include: 1) The current in-store tenant space program is currently at 30% vacant due to the impacts of the pandemic, which requires significant marketing and lease documentation efforts to increase occupancy and therefore rental income. 2) Each year we build additional stores with additional spaces, this is a constantly growing vacancy rate that needs to be addressed. Each year the number of remodels and capital projects further impacts the in-store tenant program. 3) All real estate transactions require permanent record retention, so the related document libraries (multiple) need to be maintained diligently. 4) Construction plans that need to be access by the entire Properties team and there is no bandwidth to create the single document repository, which are currently stored in IDOCs, SharePoint, ProCore, and the S:/ drive. 5) Additional responsibilities related to Fresh Thyme are controlled by outside factors of both Fresh Thyme operations and their respective tenants, so this is a wildcard that cannot be planned for in the RE program.
Work tends to bunch together and stack on top of each other. This makes it difficult to prioritize efforts.
None
my only complaint/concern is i do not feel i am doing the job that the Meijer stores deserve and that does not feel good to me. yes I am still learning and as I do some of less important steps might become less time consuming allowing me to stay on top of more projects this will be great "in my the future". well i hope you can pull something beneficial out of my rambling. i do not like to complain, or blame anything on anything i feel it is my job to figure out how to get it all done. if i put in a full day/give 110% and i still have stuff that i did not finish "i have to be okay with that" there is always tomorrow to do the same thing give a 110% every day hoping to make a little headway and not loose ground, eventually I think I will gain the experience and efficiency to get it all fit into a standard day. if this survey/process can help me with that AWESOME.
When I started working on the Fresh Thyme projects and drawings, it was very clear they needed allot of work. A number of stores only had PDFs to work from that we had to convert into drawings which are very difficult to work with. It's a very slow process to get the drawings cleaned up and updated all while having a number of projects Fresh Thyme has going on. It'll take time to slowly get them to Meijer standards but with the Fresh Thyme leadership and Meijer team helping out, I'm confident we'll get there.
I don't think I've been in role long enough to add meaningful comments here.
As the remodel program continues to change, and store count increases, the team will be challenged with the strain of travel. Facetime with the store team and onsite quality review (by a Meijer contact) is necessary. Headcount increase to include construction coordinators within the remodel program will allow for spread of the onsite presence and present an opportunity for talent growth and development of future project managers. Support on other teams will also benefit the remodel project managers. Improved efficiency in design will reduce changes/misses. Support from some type of Remodel dedicated Design Project Manager could take some of the burden of store specific prototype deviation/application away from the remodel PMs. This currently accounts for a substantial portion of remodel PM efforts. Working with the AEs to adapt the proto to conditions in existing stores, answering in-flight questions on design, and ensuring overall aesthetics/function are met through remodel facilitation represents a significant portion of PM efforts. However, decisions on these matters are much more time sensitive than on New Stores. Applying the same approach of Proto/Store Planning Design PM to remodels is not likely the solution. A design PM embedded within the team or reporting through the design team with "dotted line" accountability through construction would be a more appropriate approach. Also, increased store count will put further burden on other business partners outside of Real Estate and Store Development. Operations, MP, Visual teams are all integrally important to the success of remodels.
I believe our group faces challenges on two fronts. First the Engineering team has reduced in size. Previous team size meant that team members were assigned and focused on specific disciplines. Second, the scope of work we are responsible for has grown. This variance in work and amount of work
Administrative work at the bottom level of my group creates the biggest challenge. Each member has to dedicate a certain percentage of their time to these tasks that draw away from what they should be working on. I assist with the critical items required to keep all of the programs successful along with the special projects I am tasked with all while still completing the specific administrative tasks that I need to keep up with. The biggest burden hat is not being addressed with the current staffing levels is the growth within non-core programs like EV Charging licenses, Market Format leases, and Fresh Thyme Real Estate administration.
I enjoy the amount of variety of different projects I work on as they are always changing with new challenges and allow me to learn new things.
Bandwidth, add more project and were at 100% capacity, which means doing things out of their scope (Fresh Thyme, Fixture Trackers, etc.)
The team is currently running at over 100% capacity. As more projects get added and things adjust (vacations, leave, retirement, etc.), the team ends doing things out of their scope (Fresh Thyme, Fixture Trackers, etc.)
None at this time.
since I've only been here less than a year I haven't seen any months that have been busier than the rest.
In the past we had periods of time where we were not as busy. However, due to the opening schedules of the new stores and various formats that down time has all but disappeared. Couple that with the remodel and it is consistently busy ALL year. I will note that I have worked with Meijer for a total of almost 9 years. Since starting back in 2011 initially additional resources on the buying team have not been adjusted in accordance with the volume of work. Going from (4) new stores (Super Centers) a year with 2-3 MAJOR remodels to now (5) New Stores (Super Centers, Grocery Stores and Markets), and 20+ remodels with varying scopes per year. This has GREATLY impacted the bandwidth we have to perform our jobs properly. I will say that having the buying team under the construction umbrella has helped with the focus and where we spend the time we do have to do our jobs. However, it could still be improved. The buying team would greatly benefit from an additional Expeditor to help support the buyers and PO creation. Freeing up our time to provide cost savings ideas, support our business customers, manage our suppliers, and for me to review store drawings and building component lists with a fine toothed comb as changes occur throughout the project.
Comment isn't in regard to variety, variance and volume of projects but rather other non-human resources. There are other tools that we could get that would help drive efficiency. For example, the Pre-Qualification tool in Procore and subscription to certain commodity indices.
My personal view of variance, variety and volume is that it creates challenges for the dept but for me is exciting. motivational and a positive problem to solve. Especially as compared to the opposite. I believe the new store team should operate more in a vacuum with its own site adapt and costs estimator so as not to interrupt the "run" that other team/dept members are implementing that are deadline driven.
In my 7 years with Meijer, my responsibility list has grown significantly from the outlot disposition position that I was originally hired to manage. I have welcomed those responsibilities, and continue to do so, but it has reached a point where I work continuously but feel like I never have adequate time to do everything 100% and have to be satisfied with getting things done as well as possible so I can move on to the next item on the list. My primary concern in the future state is that our Property Management team as currently constructed will not be able to manage the increased load that will come with more headcount from the other departments, which will raise their output and therefore our incoming workload. As Meijer continues to utilize non-supercenter formats, it's clear that there will be more ground leasing and traditional leasing scenarios, which will come with more management responsibilities for both the physical property and the lease administration tasks.
Time weighs heavy on these processes. Everything has a due date and if something is late the rest of the process will be late. We experienced a huge pause on remodels this year. This unfortunately has created a scramble. Also, any changes that are made after the fact have to go through the MCT process. Which can also be a time consuming hassel.
Bandwidth is stretched on my desk and other Buyers’. We are already at 100% capacity with projects and are needing to handle things outside of our scope including assisting with Fresh Thyme, assisting with Trackers, directing partners on how to put together rollouts/funding summaries, etc. Systems could be updated to make our team more efficient. PPAO, our ordering system, is very old and not up to date.
Bandwidth, add more project and were at 100% capacity, which means doing things out of their scope (Fresh Thyme, Fixture Trackers, etc.)
Remodels have are over lapping with remodels under construction, remodels conceptuals and CAPEX projects. Priorities do not flat line - projects peak at certain times. Continuing to allow change when past cutoff time.
I have been in my current role for about 4 months now, so I expect the project variety, variance, and volume to go up as I continue to grow in the role.
I feel comfortable with the amount of volume and variety I have as a creative worker at Meijer. I believe my role and team has a unique perspective of our company and stores because we provide the functionality and aesthetic that Meijer portrays, and it is important to upkeep those design packages for our customers. The variety of formats we offer now is impressive and it feels so good to be behind the design for our spaces.
I have only been in my role for 4 months and I am still learning all of my responsibilities and additional properties that I am responsible for.
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During my (albeit short) time in role, although my projects may have a high degree of variability, my leadership does a good job of helping to prioritize work and manage workload.
We are in a position where project managers are being asked to priortize quantity over quality of projects. It is concerning for several reasons. First, i do, at times, feel a level of burnout that I am not comfortable with. Second, bandwidth concerns ultimately lead to the inability to scrutinize contractor performance and budgets as dilligently as we should. Third, it limits our ability to follow-up on completed efforts in an efficient manner. I suspect that if metrics were captured, performances likely have taken a significant hit over the last two years to the negative. Ultimately, I do have concerns that we're damaging relationships with business partners by not being given the tools to perform to our highest ability. I do also feel compelled to share that on my last employee review, I received a meeting expectations mark. That may be the goal for most, but I consistently prefer to produce results that exceed expectations. My first assistant indicates that while I am meeting expectations, they believe I could exceed if given a more reasonable work load. Further, this work load does prohibit us from participating in non-project related tasks along the lines of safety training/quality control, general employee fullfillment (Meijer sponsored events), and does impact life outside of work as well. There are quite often travel days that extend the working day and require screen time in the evenings to avoid falling behind on administrative tasks. On days when we are able to work in the office or remotely, there are still concerns about impact to life outside of work; I do often feel worn out to the point where I'm unable to do some of the things I'd like to be able to do. To be quite clear, I do feel the work loads are much too heavy.
I feel that because I have a very Hybrid position that I get pulled from many different directions from many different departments. I hate to tell people that I can't help and that I will struggle to find the time to help them out with their problems. Because I have been deemed an SME (subject matter expert), that I get even more requests than normal. I take calls from local station employees because they have questions and I want to help everyone and feel that I am not able to give everyone my total attention at all times. I am not able to give every task the attention it deserves.
Being responsible for programs/efforts outside my direct job duties (Procore development, managing a remodel, etc.) have directly impacted my ability to support my team through development/improvement of program documents and processes. This in turn results in them being less efficient, and pushes additional project management responsibilities to me to support urgent project needs across the company, further eroding my ability to support them, and the cycle continues. This has only been made worse by team member turnover in the last two years as we have seen some of our best project managers move to other roles in the company or leave the company due to family needs.
No additional comments necessary.
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I strongly enjoy my role, program, and overall projects volume and variety. I feel supported by leadership and that I have copious access to the right resources to manage the LCM program. However, for some project managers on LCM projects, the apparent lack of understanding, or education, of the difference in my role vs the PM is the most outstanding negative item that I deal with currently. Having to spend my time ensuring that the correct channels are being followed is becoming an increasing burden in certain programs.
Capital Investment Projects do not have the Procurement Support or like New Store-Remodel where there is a CM Firm, GC and a Meijer PM vs. a Cap Const. Project Manager who wears many hats.
I believe that we are not using the talent of this team efficiently. PM's spend too much time doing administrative tasks that could be done by others and the PM would be available to either do more projects or focus on doing more quality work to save money and avoid errors. I believe that the workload on the team exceeds a normal amount and the risk of burn out is high. In the past there was the ability to hire contract project management when the workload flexed. I believe this process should be reinstated and help the team avoid the seasonal overload conditions that we experience on an annual basis. I believe our team is talented and skilled, capable of doing ANY project that is conceived by this company. As PM's we will get any project done that is set before us but the reality is quality of the work will decline as the amount of work goes up. I believe the errors and the missed opportunities by our team, due to overload, is annually costing more than the salaries of 4 additional people.
No further comment.
All work is broken down in segments, during the week, there are a lot of interruptions in or workflow during the week, with special projects, MCT's, emails that need to answered. constantly jumping from different types of projects to meet our end dates.
Being the only cost estimator at Meijer, some estimates are given with a "rushed" timeline. This rush can lead to misses, dollars lost, and other project delays.
Remodels are chaotic because of all the variance previously indicated. Layering in conflicting priorities, long lead times for decision making, and all other Meijer teams being stretched too thin, it’s exhausting to manage. When other teams (Design, MP, Ops, Procurement) make mistakes upfront, it has a much larger impact once it’s caught downstream in an active remodel that is then the PMs responsibility to manage. New store team has a 1:3 PM/project ratio versus remodel 1:6 with active shopping customers. Plus the New Store team has dedicated Design Project Managers to handle the workload of deciding proto deviations (remodel examples: 2nd set vestibule doors, meat prep room scope, flooring scope, VE initiatives). There is no clear hierarchy of who has the authority to make these kinds of design decisions and who to go for what kind of scope deviation so it falls on the PM to manage on top of all the construction responsibilities.
Helping with training documents, design guidelines
I believe the current resources within my span of care are appropriate for the quantity of New Stores and Capital Projects planned within our five-year plan. The challenges with volume arise when areas outside my span of care are unable to manage their workload and/or experience attrition.
Market Formats can present additional challenges based on how the deal is structured. Warm Sheel Vs. Cold Shell, Developer & project team performance, etc. 654 is a current project for example which is a warm shell, but the last several months this store has required significantly more effort than a ground up Supercenter.
Although the variety of projects we have is high, I think that helps the keep the tasks from being boring. It helps make the work we do feel more accomplishing.
no other comments
With the large variety of projects and deliverables that I'm solely responsible for there are a few aspects of this job that either get the backseat or constantly get delayed. Most of these neglected tasks involve maintenance of libraries or systems. These include: removing old or unused items from cell libraries to clean it up for ease of finding items, making old cells from existing stores "smart", creating cutsheets that are missing for old items, adding images of product on some cells, maintaining the Prototype 3D models as MCT's are approved, cleaning up 3D components when they are converted from Microstation to Sketchup.
Up through the Director level, the amount of variance, variety and volume is known. Input from the leadership level does lead to variance, but the data gleaned from this survey shouldn't be viewed as team members trying to stifle meaningful input. Thoughtful feedback is required to ensure the high volume of projects this team delivers is implemented correctly in the end and that all levels of team members involved (up through the family & President of the company) in the projects are aligned to the final solutions. Feedback in the moment during the development process, and feedback that is actually meaningful is critical to guaranteeing our success as a team.
I feel that I have plenty of work to do on a daily basis.
I love what I do and wouldn't change anything.
In addition to the 5-10 active projects noted below there are generally others that may have less active involvement. This can include sites under consideration that do not yet have a LOI/contract or projects which I managed that have moved on to the final design / construction phase which may need occasional follow-up. I would be concerned about delay/quality of work if my workload substantially increased, but currently it feels appropriate and manageable most days/weeks.
No additional information.
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