Planogram software built around the shelf that must fit
Planogram software turns product dimensions, fixture measurements and merchandising rules into a shelf layout that a store can implement. Codeblix develops custom planogram software for retailers and suppliers who need controlled product data, explainable fit checks and a clear route from layout approval to the right store fixture.
Give every placement a reason and a fit check.
A good-looking drawing becomes useful when it connects measured dimensions, the intended assortment and the fixture receiving it.
Keep product pictures and measurements aligned
Connect each image to a product and packaging edition. Store the width, depth and height of the selling unit in a declared orientation, with units and measurement authority. A case-pack dimension belongs to a different package level; treating it as a single item changes both fit and shelf capacity.
Explain the space behind each facing
A facing is one visible product front. Its width consumes shelf space, while items placed behind it contribute to physical capacity. Include dividers, reserved areas and inter-group gaps. Preserve the merchandising rule that chose the arrangement separately from the geometric check that says it fits.
Send the approved layout to compatible fixtures
Publish a specific layout edition for a store, fixture and effective window. A narrower shelf needs a suitable variant or a reviewed exception. Track receipt, implementation and verification independently so downloading the layout cannot imply that staff have reset the shelf.
Start with the physical shelf.
Measure usable space, capture the dimensions of the selling unit and translate the approved arrangement into a shelf reset.
Link approved shelf arrangements to field visits
Brand and distributor teams can use an approved layout as a reference during outlet visits. Keep the upstream assortment and fixture edition with the planner, while the field visit records what was observed and which local issue needs follow-up.
Explore outlet visit and shelf observation workflowsEvaluate store standards alongside layout implementation
A shelf arrangement answers which product belongs in which position. A store assessment can ask whether the agreed standard was met, with its own question edition and grading policy. Link the evidence without converting geometric capacity into an audit score.
Compare store standards and corrective reviewKeep shelf positions separate from stock movements
Thirty-four physical positions on a shelf do not establish that thirty-four units are available. Reference inventory quantities and movement authority when planning replenishment, preserving the stock system's own reconciliation and adjustment controls.
Review inventory records and movement contextFrom a measured product to a store-specific shelf reset
Walk through this sequence with your category planner, store representative and product-data owner when comparing a platform or briefing a custom application.
Establish the product and package edition
Import stable product references, permitted images and dimensions. Record whether the item is a selling unit, multipack or shipping case. Require a unit convention and front-facing orientation. Mark a missing or disputed dimension for measurement rather than assigning a guessed value.
Describe the fixture and its usable envelope
Record bay and shelf identifiers, clear width, usable depth and vertical clearance. Include end clearances, rails, dividers and reserved spaces. Keep a measurement date and revision for each fixture type. Identify stores with local obstructions instead of assuming that the nominal bay width is available everywhere.
Arrange the assortment and validate placement
Choose the allowed products, shelf positions, facings and orientations. Calculate width consumption, depth rows and required height. Show overhang, intersecting placements, an unsupported orientation and missing data as separate errors. A manual override needs an accountable decision; resizing an image must not resize the physical product.
Approve a layout edition with its assumptions
Review the assortment, fit results and any category rules together. Freeze the approved product and fixture revisions used for that layout. Retain the prior edition and a placement-level change list. Define what a subsequent pack-size change invalidates and which layouts require another review.
Assign the correct variant and implementation window
Match stores to compatible fixture revisions, then issue the relevant layout and product-position list. Flag a missing fixture measurement or overlapping effective dates before release. Provide a printable output where the store needs one, with edition, shelf reference and readable placement order.
Confirm the reset and route local exceptions
Record the store's receipt and actual implementation separately. Capture a relevant shelf image or a position checklist if required. A discontinued item, damaged fixture or unavailable product goes to its responsible owner for an exception decision. Keep the original layout and the accepted local change traceable through the next revision.
Permissions for data, design and store changes
- Product-data stewards approve dimensions and package references. Category planners edit assortment and placements, while nominated approvers authorize release. Store staff can view assigned editions and report implementation or local constraints without silently changing the master arrangement.
- Decide who can allow a substitution, approve an orientation or change fixture measurements. Limit those decisions to the affected store or category. Preserve the reason, previous value and approver so an urgent local adjustment cannot become an unreviewed chain-wide standard.
- Agree image licensing, exports and retention for store evidence. Limit supplier access to the assortment and layout information they need. Include the transition of store assignments when people change roles, with access removed from earlier responsibilities.
Fit errors worth showing in a demonstration
- Load the 1,000 mm shelf example below, including its reserved spaces and group gaps. Verify that the supplier returns 20 mm spare width and 34 physical unit positions, with the same orientation assumptions visible in the export.
- Assign the identical arrangement to the 900 mm shelf. Require an 80 mm width shortfall instead of automatic image scaling. Increase a product's height to 205 mm when permitted height is 200 mm; the width result may still pass, but the placement must fail its height check.
- Change the pack edition after approval and retry a store acknowledgement. Test impact review for affected layouts, preservation of the approved edition and one receipt record after replay. A late acknowledgement for a superseded edition must not complete the current reset.
Migration and interfaces for a reliable planning dataset
- Prepare the product image library, packaging dimensions, fixture register, store-format mapping and existing shelf drawings. Audit units, duplicate identifiers and front-facing orientation before import. Keep a source-row reference and quarantine disputed dimensions rather than flattening them into an apparently complete catalogue.
- If sales, stock or margin data influences allocation, identify its source, date range, refresh point and product/store mapping. Separate physical capacity from replenishment and demand calculations. Scope each documented API or file exchange, update direction and rejected-record acknowledgement with the system owner.
- Select the interchange formats your teams actually use and demonstrate a representative file before agreeing conversion. Define what can be imported, edited, exported and retained, including image rights. Include device, browser, print and offline viewing requirements in the acceptance scope.
Choose an existing platform or commission a precise fit
- A specialist package is a strong starting point when its fixture types, editor and publication workflow fit your operation. Custom development is useful when product authority, unusual fixtures, approval rules or internal assignment handoffs require a specific application design. Compare your real exceptions before deciding.
- Specify whether the project needs a 2D editor, 3D presentation, automatic assortment allocation or manual placement with fit checks. These are different development requirements. Bring one fixture drawing, three measured items and two contrasting store formats to the consultation to define a focused initial release.
- Agree responsibility for hosting, backups, image storage, data-quality checks, staff training and ongoing changes. Pilot one category across both a standard and a constrained store fixture. Include restoration, export readability and a complete approval-to-reset cycle before extending to more categories.
A planogram model that exposes the physical constraints
Use these six records to compare retail planogram software. The original worked example distinguishes visible facings, occupied width and unit capacity, then tests whether the layout can be issued to another fixture.
| Record | Example inputs | Required output and control |
|---|---|---|
| Product and package revision | Items A, B and C; selling-unit revision; front image; width/depth/height in mm; orientation; measurement source. | A measures 100 × 80 × 195 mm; B 80 × 100 × 180 mm; C 60 × 65 × 150 mm. Keep package levels and revisions distinct. |
| Fixture and shelf envelope | Shelf F-1; width 1,000 mm; depth 260 mm; clear height 220 mm; two 20 mm end clearances; 40 mm reserved divider area. | Usable width is 920 mm before inter-group gaps. Allow 20 mm vertical headroom, leaving a maximum product height of 200 mm. |
| Assortment and placement | A: four facings; B: three facings; C: four facings; one layer; two 10 mm group gaps; all items front-facing. | Product widths total 880 mm. With 20 mm of group gaps, the arrangement consumes 900 of the 920 usable millimetres. |
| Fit result and capacity | 20 mm width spare; 11 total facings; three A units, two B units and four C units deep per facing. | Capacity is 12 A + 6 B + 16 C = 34 units. These are geometric positions under the stated assumptions, not sales or replenishment targets. |
| Approved layout and store assignment | Layout L-8 edition 2; frozen product revisions; fixture F-1; effective window; store group; narrower 900 mm fixture F-2. | F-2 has 820 mm usable width with the same reservations. The 900 mm arrangement is 80 mm too wide; require a suitable variant before assignment. |
| Implementation and exception | Store receipt; reset date; shelf evidence; missing SKU; authorized substitution; acknowledgement identity; layout edition. | Receipt, implementation and review each have their own state. A repeated receipt for edition 2 is idempotent; receipt of edition 1 cannot complete edition 2. |
Assume one rectangular shelf, upright items in one layer, no stacking and measured clear space. The shelf is 1,000 mm wide. Subtract two 20 mm end clearances and a 40 mm reserved divider area: 1,000 − 40 − 40 = 920 mm usable width. Four 100 mm A facings, three 80 mm B facings and four 60 mm C facings occupy 400 + 240 + 240 = 880 mm. Two 10 mm gaps add 20 mm, so occupied width is 900 mm and spare width is 20 mm. At 260 mm usable depth, whole-item depth rows are floor(260 / 80) = 3 for A, floor(260 / 100) = 2 for B and floor(260 / 65) = 4 for C. Capacity is (4 × 3) + (3 × 2) + (4 × 4) = 34 units across 11 visible facings. Clear height is 220 mm with 20 mm required headroom; all three stated heights fit within 200 mm. If A changes to a 205 mm pack, its height check fails even though width fits. A 900 mm shelf with the same end clearances and reserved area has only 820 mm usable width: the 900 mm arrangement exceeds it by 80 mm. Create and approve a fitting variant rather than shrinking the drawing. Physical capacity does not establish demand, load suitability or a stocking recommendation; include those operating rules separately.
Use one measured shelf across your shortlist
These supplier pages describe different approaches to designing and distributing planograms. Take the same product dimensions, narrow fixture and packaging change to each demonstration.
| Option | Published focus | Ask in your demo |
|---|---|---|
| Quant | Planograms using sales and space data, store-specific templates, varied fixtures and web publication with implementation evidence. | Show how the 900 mm fixture receives a fitting variant, and how changed product dimensions affect a previously approved assignment. |
| Shelf Logic | Desktop planogram creation and analysis, floor planning and browser-based plan viewing or editing through its product editions. | Demonstrate the 11-facing, 34-position calculation and confirm the edition and authority of a change made from a store device. |
| IWD | Visual 2D and 3D planogram design, fixture editing and reuse of layouts adapted to store formats. | Preserve the physical dimensions when images are resized, then show an 80 mm width failure and a separate height failure. |
Compare the editor, physical checks, data administration and store handoff as a complete scope. Include product measurement, images, migration, licensing or development, interfaces, training and continued support. Request evidence for the cases that matter to your fixture and package types.
Category reference: Quant: planogram creation using sales and space data. Use the shelf example and twenty-case worksheet with your product-data steward and category planner to prepare a comparable supplier demonstration or a Codeblix development consultation.
Take the approved arrangement into outlet visits
Compare the design and publication of shelf layouts with the field team's visit assignments, observations and merchandising follow-up.
Open the related solutionConnect shelf planning to the wider retail operation.
Assortment, inventory and store activity supply useful context while layout planning controls its own measurements and editions.
View the retail operating contextQuestions about building a planogram application
Bring actual product measurements, a fixture drawing and the store exception that your current planning files cannot explain.
What does planogram software manage?
It manages the arrangement of products within measured fixtures, connecting product dimensions, facings, placement rules and layout editions. Depending on your scope, it can also coordinate approval, store assignment and implementation evidence. Compare these jobs against the actual assortment and fixture types you need.
Can Codeblix develop planogram software for our fixtures?
Yes. We offer custom application development around your product data, fixture geometry, placement rules and publication process. Provide measured examples and the exceptions that require a decision, then agree the editor, fit checks, permissions and acceptance cases for the quotation.
How are facings different from shelf capacity?
Facings count the visible product fronts. Capacity also includes whole items that fit behind those fronts, subject to depth, height, orientation and any stocking constraints. In the worked example, 11 fronts have 34 physical positions. That calculation is separate from sales demand and replenishment policy.
Should one planogram be assigned to every store?
Only where its assortment and fixture assumptions are appropriate. Match the approved layout to measured store fixtures and effective dates. A narrower bay, local obstruction or different pack size can require another variant and approval instead of a scaled image.
Do we need 3D design or automated optimization?
Decide according to the buying job. A 2D editor with reliable dimensional checks may suit straightforward shelves. 3D presentation, unusual fixtures and allocation based on commercial rules add distinct requirements. Test each against your real data and include it explicitly in the development scope.
Can we import existing planograms and product data?
Bring representative files, product images and the dimension register. Validate the source identifiers, units, rights and revision information first. Scope a supported import and export format with reconciliation; confirm whether an imported drawing carries editable placements or only an image.
How should sales and stock systems connect to planning?
Identify the system that owns each value and agree its store/product keys, refresh period and error handling. Sales and stock inputs can inform your allocation rules, while the planogram retains its approved geometric assumptions. Define every file exchange or documented API with the responsible system owner.
What affects a planogram development quotation?
Fixture variety, editor complexity, product-image handling, dimension quality, layout volumes, languages, store assignment rules and external interfaces affect the work. Agree hosting, backups, training, support coverage and an initial category pilot so the estimate reflects a specific usable application.