Episode Title: The Cold War: Mastering the Cooler (Episode 72)

Episode Description: You are paying electricity to cool products that nobody buys.

For a District Manager, the Cooler is often a "Graveyard" for dead inventory. "SKU Creep" happens when Managers accept new products without removing the old failures, resulting in a cooler cramped with slow-movers while the high-volume best-sellers run out of space.

In this episode of Drive, Mike Hernandez focuses on SKU Rationalization. We treat the cooler as an investment portfolio. If a stock (or a soda) isn't performing, you sell it and reinvest in the winners. Learn how to perform the "Dust Audit" and how to force your Managers to focus on Inventory Turns rather than just "filling holes."

What You Will Learn:

• SKU Creep: How "new items" slowly choke out your best-sellers if you don't manage the mix.
• The Negative ROI of Cold Stock: Understanding that holding non-moving inventory in a refrigerated environment is a double loss (Cash Flow + Electricity).
• The Dust Audit: The fastest way to spot dead inventory during a store walk.
• Volume Strategy: Why giving more space to Core Items (Water/Energy) always beats having a "wide variety" of garbage.

The Quest: Clean the Graveyard.

• Solo Quest: Perform a "Dust Audit" in your worst-performing store. Find 5 SKUs with dust on them. Check the sales history. If they haven't sold in 30 days, mandate a clearance sale and remove the tag.
• Team Quest: The "Bottom 10 Challenge." Require every Store Manager to submit a list of their 10 worst-selling cooler items and a plan to exit those products to make room for high-volume SKUs.

Resources & Links:

• 📲 Unlock the Level 4 Rationalization Guide: Text the code word COLD to 956-897-9192.