One unit of a product visible from the front of the shelf. Three facings means three units of the same product standing side by side in the front row.

Who creates planograms?

Usually category managers or merchandisers at the retailer, often together with suppliers. A small shop can start with a photo of a correctly filled shelf and a list of products per shelf.

How often should a planogram change?

There is no fixed rule. Chains typically update planograms when the range changes, for seasonal products and when sales show that a product has too much or too little space.

What is a planogram?

What a planogram contains

The fixture: its width, the number of shelves and their heights.
The position of each product: shelf and place from left to right.
Facings: how many units of the same product stand side by side at the front of the shelf.
The order of products, for example by brand, price level or pack size.
Where price labels and promotional material go.
Often the quantity that fits in each position, which helps with ordering and refilling.

Why retailers use them

The first reason is consistency. A customer should find the same product in the same place in every store of a chain, and head office should be able to change a category in all stores at once. The second is space. Shelf space is limited, and a planogram gives more facings to products that sell well and fewer to those that do not. Positions at eye level are commonly considered the strongest, which is why they are often the subject of agreements with suppliers.

Planograms also make daily work easier. Staff know where each product belongs and how many units fit, so gaps on the shelf are noticed and filled sooner.

A small example (illustrative)

Take one metre of shelf for tea with four shelves. The best-selling black tea gets three facings at eye level, a slower herbal tea gets one facing on the top shelf, and large value packs go on the bottom shelf. When a new tea is added to the range, the planogram makes the trade-off visible: some product has to lose a facing, and the decision is made once instead of in every store separately.

How to make stores follow it

A planogram only works if the shelf matches it. Send changes with a date from which they apply, ask the store to confirm the change with a photo, check compliance during store visits, and compare sales of the category before and after the change instead of relying on impressions.

Planograms and OrgLines

OrgLines does not include a planogram editor; planograms are usually drawn in dedicated merchandising software or in a spreadsheet. OrgLines helps around them: sales per store show whether a change in a category made a difference, and the Telegram work bot lets store staff see their tasks, change statuses and send photos, for example a photo of the shelf after a planogram change.

Try it free in OrgLines