Tesco Jargon

Welcome to the Tesco jargon buster.
Just choose a letter (or 123) below to get started.

A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R
S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z	123

Search this page by pressing Ctrl+F on Windows, ⌘+F on Mac, or choosing ‘find on page’ in your browser menu.

S is for…

S dock

See pallet delivery.

Sack barrow

The trolley used to help Customer Delivery Drivers transport shopping from the van to the customer’s door.

See also Customer Delivery Driver (CDD).

Safe and legal record

A document with daily checks to keep stores safe and legal. In Express stores this is known as the Express store log book and contains all the safe and legal plus operational checks.

See also Express store log book.

Safe hands

When someone is temporarily appointed to a position to help with their development.

Safety stock

The amount of stock over and above what is expected to be sold before the next delivery.

Sales-based ordering system (SBO)

Automatic ordering system that orders stock based on sales and stock in the store.

Saltley

See national returns centre (NRC).

Save as you earn

A saving scheme, over three or five years, for staff with more than one year’s service, with an option to buy Tesco shares at a discounted rate at the end of the saving term.

Scan as you Shop (SayS)

Clubcard customers can pick up a handheld scanning device which allows them to scan and pack their own shopping while going around the store. They can then pay at an assisted service payment point which is purpose built for Scan as you Shop. Scan as you Shop is ideal for customers with larger trolley/bigger basket shops.

Scan item, scan tray

The Dotcom process where Personal Shoppers scan barcodes when picking to confirm they are placing products into the correct trays on their trolleys, helping to make sure we give every customer exactly what they ordered.

Scratch bakery

An in-store bakery (ISB) that produces most of its products from raw ingredients.

Secondary distribution

See stores distribution.

Seasonal event

Promotional events in-store linked to special events or seasons.

Seasonal space

Space for seasonal products or ranges, for example Easter eggs.

Section

The third level of the merchandise hierarchy used by NBS.

See also NBS.

Section manager

A manager to whom Team Leaders and staff report.

Security tag

An electronic tag placed on high-risk items to improve security.

Previously known as electronic article surveillance.

Self-service checkouts

A checkout where customers can scan their own shopping with a Customer Assistant there to help if required.

Previously known as assisted checkouts.

Selling through

Process of selling, often through price reductions, existing stock. Usually as part of a temporary delisting to replace an old version of a product with a new one.

See also temporarily delist.

Shares in success

This scheme rewards all eligible employees with free Tesco shares based on their salary. It is linked to the success of the company, so when the company profits, so will staff.

Shelf capacity

The volume of stock on the shelf calculated by multiplying the number of products wide, high and deep.

Previously known as cube and job 27.

Shelf-edge label (SEL)

The label on the shelf edge showing the Tesco product number, the number of products across the shelf, the price, the description and the European Article Number.

Shelf-identifying shelf-edge label (SISEL)

The label on the shelf edge that shows the number of the shelving unit and the letter of the shelf. Usually given in the format 04L12A, meaning aisle 4 on the left, mod 12, shelf A. Uses include identifying product location for Dotcom and stock control.

Shelf talker

A plastic holder that clips to the shelf edge to display point of sale of promotional or customer offers.

Shift Manager

The depot duty manager responsible for all people, systems and processes across a particular time period in a depot.

Previously known as Warehouse Shift Manager.

Short life

Products that have less than seven days until their ‘display until’, ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date, whichever is soonest.

Shoulder to shoulder

Putting the business in the hands of our people and enabling store teams to get out of offices and on to the shop floor with our customers.

Shrinkage

Unknown loss. Stock lost through theft or inaccurate stock recording. Shrinkage is the difference between the system stock record and what’s actually been counted in units and the value of this in pounds.

Also known as shrink.

Shroud

Long, padded material that wraps around a cage to maintain its temperature.

Shunter

Someone who works in the goods out area and drives a shunting unit, which moves trailers around the depot.

Skilled pay grade

Pay grade above Customer Assistant (B/C grade) and eligible for a skills payment. Used in stores and customer fulfilment centres.

Also known as D grade.

SKU

Type of unique identifier given to each product sold. Usually refers to a Tesco product number.

See also Tesco product number (TPN).

Smart cash drawer

Till drawer that automatically weighs and records cash levels after each transaction, to report to the electronic journal.

Also known as smart till.
See also electronic journal.

Smoothing

When stock is removed from an order at depot that is too big to handle, to make the delivery manageable.

Space and merchandising system

This system details all fixtures and space in store and what product groups are in them.

SRTB

See also back office.

Staff reception

Area by the staff and visitor entrance in large stores. Previously manned throughout the day, it’s functions have now been taken over by the customer service desk. Often used to store handheld computers and the colleague shop.

See also colleague shop.

Staff-reception buzzer

Button at staff reception in large stores to trigger an automated announcement over the tannoy: ‘there is a caller at staff reception, please attend’.

Staffroom card

See colleague room card.

Steering wheel

The tool we use to manage our business in a balanced way. There’s a sector for each area of our business plan: – Customer

Operations
Finance
People
Community

The segments within each sector show our objectives. These are scored red, amber, green or blue to show how we are performing against them.

Stock control routines report

Report, available on G drive, detailing all routines undertaken by the stock control department.

Stock exceptions

PDA app for stock control and price integrity tasks, including printing shelf-edge labels.

Stock record

The amount of stock the system believes is in a store.

Stock record check

A check carried out on the amount of stock the system believes is in store against the amount of stock actually in store.

Previously known as book-stock accuracy routine.

The method of sharing surplus stock in a depot among stores.

Previously known as apportionment.

Stocked depot

When depots put together an order for stores by store order (grocery, non-food and frozen).

Previously known as pick by store (PBS).

Stocked in-store Direct

A project aiming to have a selection of Tesco Direct products stocked in store for immediate collection by the customer.

Stockless depot

When depots put together an order for stores by products (fresh food depots).

Previously known as pick by line (PBL).

Store Director

The person who leads Store Managers and Express Area Managers within a geographical region.

Store operating manual

An online tool where staff can access all the Tesco policies and procedures.

Store Operations Manager

The person who leads Metro Store Managers within a geographical region.

Store ordering system

The computerised system that automatically orders stock for stores based on the sales through the checkout.

Previously known as continuous replenishment (CR) system.

Store-specific merchandising plan

A tailor-made plan for each store which identifies where products should go on a shelf.

Store walk

Usually carried out by the Store or Duty Manager at the start of their shift, they walk around the store looking to see how the floor looks, for example if there are any major gaps, if all promotional material is out in the correct place, if any cleaning needs doing etc.

Stores distribution

The distribution of goods from depot to store.

Previously known as secondary distribution.

Stores helpdesk

The team of people who answer store queries and diagnose and log hardware/software faults over the telephone. Featurenet 55999, option 3.

Stores Leadership Team

All the Operations Directors, Store Directors and Store Operations Managers in Tesco.

Stores Management Group

This group’s main purpose is to maximise the return on individual store investments, by ensuring that the best offer for customers is delivered in each store.

Sub class

The fifth and lowest level of the merchandise hierarchy used by NBS.

Also known as sub group.
See also NBS.

Superstore

A type of Tesco store that tends to be between 20,000 and 60,000 square feet in size and employs between 150 to 800 staff.

Superstores North

All the Superstore groups in the North of the United Kingdom, including groups in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Superstores South

All the Superstore groups in the South of the United Kingdom, including groups in England and Wales.

Supervisor number

Operator number for progress tills and back office which allows supervisor functions and authorisations to be carried out.

See also operator number, progress and back office.

Support office

A department at head office which supports our stores.

Support store

A store that has been identified as facing a different set of challenges due to:

High labour turnover
High absenteeism
High sales per square foot
Warehouse difficulties
Difficult location

Supporting your attendance (SYA)

The process used to encourage attendance and manage absence in Tesco.

System archiving reports

Reports that help manage stock records and stock loss through inaccurate stock recording or theft.