Where in the world is Kieley Best? I am in Cheyenne, Wyoming for my second week of the One-Week Job Project at Sierra Trading Post. (In case you missed it, I was on vacation last week and am a week behind Amanda and Michelle.
If you haven't checked out their blogs, take some time to read about their adventures. Both of these girls are super sweet and have lots of great insights to share!
This week is unique since I am not confined to one department within Sierra Trading Post. Unlike the roaster job, it's more difficult to jump right in on the jobs here since they require more experience and training. With 650 employees at the headquarters, there is lots going on! In case STP (Sierra Trading Post) sounds foreign to you: they're a company that sells excess products, closeout deals, and overstock items on their website. Even if you're not into the outdoor gear they specialize in, they've got home goods, clothes, shoes, and gadgets!
Here's a recap of what I've been up to the past 2 days:
E-Commerce Department
Justin Johnson, Online Marketing Manager, gave me a short tutorial about the basics of using Wordpress for blogging. STP is constantly tracking how many people visit their website, view the blog posts, click on email ads, and more. Justin explained to me how the company uses Google Analytics (free!) to gauge how many times people view each blog post and where readers are located.
In the E-Commerce department, I have been mainly watching how Naomi interacts with STP customers on Facebook and Twitter. It's amazing how posting a simple status on facebook about a STP contest can generate a lot of excitement! To learn more about the E-Commerce jobs, I sat in on the marketing meeting. The main thing that stood out is that they are very goal-oriented. Each member of the team is expected to make a certain amount of money based on how much money they invest in their projects.
For example, Bert, Search Marketing Manager, spends money to ensure that when people search for certain brands & products on Google that Sierra's links will be close to the top of the list. If STP is not making money from Bert's work, then he's just wasting his time! With measurable goals, it helps everyone in the department to stay focused and ultimately, to make money for Sierra Trading Post!
Fulfillment Center:
As a regular STP customer, I frequently receive boxes and brown paper packages from them in the mail. Before taking a tour of the fulfillment center, I assumed that processing and shipping was a boring procedure. I could not have been more wrong!
Naomi and I got a fantastic tour by Darron, the receiving manager for the fulfillment center. Sierra buys products from hundreds of vendors that are received, stored, taken off shelves by order fillers, packed, and finally shipped to the customers! The receiving section is called "the warehouse" and is full of boxes of items that have just arrived from vendors. If the product is already individually packaged, it will be stored until an order comes in to be filled. If it's a box of bulk t-shirts, they are sent to a section to be packaged individually. After an order comes in, the order fillers collect the items from the shelves. After the items are packed into boxes and receive their shipping label, they travel down a chute to be sorted into different trucks. I was like a little kid at Disney World during the tour since the process is very fascinating. I loved seeing how the machines work and the fact that there's a personal touch since people fill orders, operate machines, and pack the boxes.
I was very impressed by the efficiency of the fulfillment center. Darron went into great detail about their energy-efficient skylights, the water pipe drainage system, and their high-tech machines that get the job done! The fulfillment center uses machines to expedite packing and shipping, but there are great people who work to send out the clothes, shoes, and other items people order. It was great to hear Darren speak so highly about their employees who are committed to both speed and accuracy.
That's all for now! I will blog more later this week to share more!
Email me with questions, comments, and feedback here: bestweekjob(at)gmail.com
-Kieley