Planogram

A planogram is drawn per fixture section of a given width and records each item’s shelf, position, number of facings and depth, sometimes also the displayed pack (single units, a tray or a shelf‑ready case). Retailers build planograms per store format or per store cluster; a store‑specific planogram reflects the actual length of shelving and local demand. Placement rules, such as brand blocks or private label next to the brand leader, come from category strategy; the planogram is where they become measurable positions on the shelf.

Planogram in practice

Shelf capacity is a replenishment parameter, not only a layout decision. The units that fit on the shelf have to cover demand between two deliveries plus safety stock and still leave room for a full case when the store reorders. Take an item that sells 18 units a day in a store supplied every two days in cases of 12: demand over the cycle is 36 units, so with a safety stock of 12 units and room for one incoming case the shelf needs about 60 units. Three facings at a depth of 8 hold 24. The store then either keeps the rest in the backroom and relies on refilling the shelf during the day, or the shelf empties before the next delivery while the goods sit in the building. That shows up as a drop in on‑shelf availability, not in store inventory.

The opposite error affects slow items. A planogram that gives a slow seller two facings at a depth of 10 sets a presentation minimum of 20 units to keep the shelf looking full; for an item that sells 3 units a week, that is almost seven weeks of stock, which no forecast can reduce. Where the planogram belongs to category management and order parameters to the replenishment team, nothing forces the two to agree, so facings and shelf capacity need checking against the demand of each store before a planogram reset, not after it.

Veritico RANGE produces store‑specific planograms: the list of products, their position on the shelf, the displayed pack and the number of facings, with an automated export to downstream systems. What‑if simulations show the effect of an assortment variant on KPIs before it is approved. In one use case, a dry goods category of 400 products in 46 stores, the resulting planograms used 98% of linear shelf space. See planogram optimization, store clustering and the RANGE module.

Related terms

• Assortment Optimization
• Category Management
• On‑Shelf Availability (OSA)
• Safety Stock
• Long Tail
• Product Portfolio Optimization