If you look closely at the shop windows, you will notice that all the products are laid out on the trading floor in a certain order. A properly located product meets the following basic characteristics:
- this position should be easily located by the buyer on the counter;
- the product must be visible, it must stand out among similar positions;
- the product should promote not only itself, but also new or related products of the same brand.
The sale of a particular product in any store is controlled by the distributor. Specialists who determine the completeness of the presented assortment on the shelves, the correctness of its location and evaluate the sales of this product are called merchandisers. The main tool of such a professional is a planogram.
What is a planogram?
A planogram is one of the main tools for promoting a product on the market. It is a drawing, a graph of the location of goods on the counter, in the refrigerator, on the shelf of the store. With the help of it, a representative of a trading company looks at whether the goods are laid out correctly, whether the assortment corresponds to a given brand, how much space is occupied by a particular product. A planogram is usually a flyer with photographs of the correct arrangement of products. Each merchandiser, entering the store, has the right to go over the counter and rearrange the goods in accordance with the currently relevant planogram.
How is a planogram developed?
The product planogram is developed by order of the manufacturer or at the request of the trademark owner . In this case, the following main factors are taken into account:
- current demand for the top positions of this brand;
- the presence of the necessary minimum marketable product at this point of sale;
- current or expected promotions and sales;
- joining the main product related products in order to increase sales of the latter;
- entering into the assortment of a new product or a product with a limited stock / limited stock in order to familiarize the buyer with new products.
All these issues are being worked out by specialists from the sales departments of large companies, and a planogram appears on the basis of these developments. An example of a simple layout of food in a supermarket is shown in the figure.
How does a planogram work?
After development, planograms in the form of flyers are provided to wholesale and purchasing firms that are involved in the delivery of goods to places of sale. They are distributed to the trading departments of distribution companies, and they provide planograms to merchandisers and sales agents. It is these sales employees who are required to control the location of the goods of this brand in retail outlets. Any planogram is the main reference point of the commercial departments of supermarkets, managers and managers of retail stores. It is they who bear the responsibility for observing the correct layout of the goods according to the planogram. If the product is laid out correctly, its rotation is observed, and the necessary inventory is regularly replenished , then the sales of these products increase.
Sanctions for non-compliance with the planogram
When concluding a contract for the supply of products, a prerequisite is compliance with planograms when laying out the goods. For fulfilling this condition, bonuses are awarded to the buyer in the form of a free promotional item or cash reward. A planogram is a sure argument in negotiations with shops. If the supplier’s requirements are not met at the outlet, the rules for laying out the goods according to the planogram are not followed, if merchandisers are not allowed to the trading shelves, the supplier has the right not to pay bonus rewards, and in the future has the right to terminate the contract and completely stop delivering goods to the store.