I was really keen to try their Expressi Coffee in a can on Wednesday but looking at their delays page. It seems that a bunch of items will be rescheduled. Looking at their other special buys, there's a lot of items with the same issue.
Did Aldi just let go a bunch of people during COVID and are since using this as an excuse? Have they modified their warehouse strategy as we as customers just expect delays now? They didn't have this many issue before. It's only in the last few years.
Anyone who shops at Aldi regularly will tell you they have "Chronic" Supply chain and logistics issues.
Stuff is in stock one day, gone the next, disappears, might come back, might be replaced by another line.
You never know what will be in stock next time you go to Aldi.
Its a bit like a lucky dip and so very frustrating indeed.
Worst part is when you finally find something you like and start buying it regularly.
Then suddenly its gone for no reason.
The worst part is that they are no longer price competitive on most lines.
Thats why they stopping using that advert with a shopping trolly full of groceries and bragging how much cheaper it was to shop at Aldi compared with other supermarkets.
But that advert was misleading and deceptive because it compared their no-name house brand prices with recognised national brands being sold by the other supermarkets.
Now their slogan is..
"Good - different"
I say Good - definitely not! Different - yes! But not in a "good" way
Agree with this. And it affects the standard grocery lines, too. Going in to do a shop is a real lottery, staples missing, often for weeks. Or they've been discontinued but they never warn you, the shelf stands empty for ages, and then that vanishes too.
I used to be a Aldi-only shopper. Now, it has to be a 2-shop expedition. Even for basics like sour cream.
I don't bother going in for the special buys any more. It's pointless. When I go in, I check the centre aisle. if there's something good there, brill, I get it (provided it doesn't have an on/off switch, learned that lesson long before Covid).
The weekly catalogue is basically a work of fiction. Aspirational. They HOPE to have those things in. But they won't have all of them. Sometimes they'll only have one or two of about 20 things.
100% correct!
And Aldi does not post thier prices online either
So you cannot go online to see if an item is in stock in a store (or anywhere) or compare Aldi's prices with the other supermarkets.
To be fair, Woolies hasn't been much better with stock.
Agree on the prices though, pretty much any of Aldi's home brand stuff will have an equivalent home brand at Woolies these days (and I assume Coles but dont really shop there).
Although it does seem Woolies price some of theirs just that little bit more, coincidentally about the same as you would save after discounts, gift cards etc.
they still play the ad where its a 31 vs 50 shop in sydney
Please tell us your solution to the war in Ukraine fast.
Negotiation for peace seems one solution.
Due to rangers issuing fines for upside down Parking permit
Not sure why I read this as "Power Rangers" but that also works
Shit, me too
It's a logistical or supply chain issue. There's 594 retail stores in Australia scattered all over the country with a huge landmass and the fact that these Special Buy products sometimes come from a central location (ebikes, electric appliances, imported foods etc) it's going to take time to distribute the stock to every store.
Sure, then don't advertise it until they can guarantee stock?
Their centre aisle campaigns are arranged months in advance. Sh!t happens.
Not good enough. I want my spork with built in straw on the day it's advertised, and no later.
@brendanm: I feel a spork/straw is more of a need than a simple want.
Surely covered by the UN declaration of human rights?
Freedom from centre aisle delays.
@mskeggs: Correct, as it's a multi use utensil as well as a straw, it's not only convenient, but also fighting climate change, as well as single use plastic pollution.
yeah and maybe one or two for each store so you end up getting nothing.
But that suits most people because its either useless junk or the quality is usually CRAP!
I for one ignore the special buys aisle.
You rarely see anyone checking that rubbish out
I'm going with it being an easy excuse. World logistics have always been touch and miss, but there's literally nothing happening in the world right now that is particularly unusual, historically.
still peeved about the delay they had with the 50l bin with sensor a few months back - stock was just delayed for weeks with no set ETA- then suddenly one day i randomly checked the stock checked and some stores had changed from no stock to 1-2 or 'most likely gone' (or similar dont remember the right wording)
I just dont bother now, if i go and its there fine.
but i dont get hyped about it anymore - life of a dull guy
I’d argue that anyone getting hyped for anything that Aldi sells is the dull one…
i meant, i am a dull guy and used to get hyped about the crazy ass middle aisle releases.
not anymore though.
not sure i find joy in anything anymore.
I was hinting that by no longer getting hyped you’re no longer that dull…
You tried kicking the processed foods yet? I fell off the wagon a while ango and I’m only 4 days back into a low carb (not even keto) diet and I’m feeling, and supposedly looking, heaps better already.
@mapax: Yeah kind of indirectly I did actually!
Energy is still shot because of my sleep habits and caffeine/stims intake
But I did notice my belt needs a new notch as it’s too loose again…
As said above, the schedule is locked in months in advance. The alternative is that they just don’t say they’re experiencing delays and people go and think they’ve missed out when it hasn’t even come out yet. At least they’re trying to keep people informed.
Yes but if the schedule is locked in, then wouldn't they have confirmed they actually have stock to cover all the stores? Like it's pretty much one of their major business models and they are messing up weekly. Again this was only a real issue post COIVD. I can't think of another time before that where they had the same issues…
I suspect if you funded warehousing sizeable enough to hold the stock locally for 500 stores so they could improve logistics without increasing costs they would take you up on the offer.
Otherwise, they are prioritising low prices, which has always been their focus.
Fair point
I got some of the oat latte cans, i like em!
I'll be keen to try some when they actually get released in QLD…
How does staff levels affect the supply chain? Either there was unexpected demand and they didnt order enough (Sometimes hard to judge and you dont want to get stuck ordering too much) or there are delays anywhere along the supply chain raw materials, manufacturing delays, transportation issues and then where are they coming from the other side of the world?
Aldi is a farce. Advertised sales only have a few items to suck people into their stores!
How come noone has referenced the port congestion and disruption that has been ongoing in Australia for quite some time. All the ports have ships sitting for days before they can even come in. Then there are the disputes that as far as I can tell are still ongoing in many of our ports (all owned by the same company) and thus ships are taking longer to unload. Add to that, the Suez Canal.has been on a go slow for years (4 years ago my friends were sitting idle for several days before their cruise ship could go through and just as they were given the go ahead, a US Navy ship just took their passage without any delay) but many ships are avoiding that route all together and taking the longer route around Africa. 2 couples I've known since school days just left Sydney for a round the world cruise. Their voyage itinerary changed and they were notified a few months ago. Different departure.port and going to Mauritius, Namibia, Capetown etc instead of via Suez Canal thus missing the Holy Lands etc. now.a longer cruise as well because of the change so they had to leave earlier than planned.
A lot of Aldi's stuff comes from Europe. So it wouldn't be surprising if they are affected. No doubt their supply system on country is a problem too though. A manager told us that they have gotten a new system that is fully automated and it is causing massive headaches for the managers. That is a very recent compounding factor.
Here in Brisbane you could never guarantee to get a catalogue item ever since they've been open here. So it isn't a new problem at all.
Does "a lot" of Aldi's stuff really come from Europe? Most if not all of the special buys come from China these days. The towels and sheets sometimes come from India.
Foods, a few do come from Europe, but not many.
I used to work for an aldi supplier. They always had delays but never published them on their site. During covid they had higher than usual delays and started displaying it on their site. What you are seeing now is about the same amount they had precovid, you'd just not notice it back then as they weren't advertised as delayed.
Supply issues still exists around the world in many industries.