By Jeff B. Copeland
Once you could manage all the stock in your store with a map of the shelves you kept in your head. Now your floor space is growing and you’re adding branch stores. Congrats! Next, get yourself some planogram software that builds drawings to show you where to place your products in the best places.
More than just a shelf-mapping tool, planogram software can help you manage restocking and influence customers to make impulse buys by strategically placing products in their path. You also can show your workers where to place the products. For a good rundown on the benefits, see this Planogram 101 from software maker ezPOG. On the high end, “visual merchandising” software lets fashion retailers try out different store designs via virtual reality.
Here are some choices in planogramming software. All of these offer free trial downloads:
SmartDraw, a leading software package for creating visuals for presentations, also generates planograms; you choose from among thousands of standard shelf layouts and customize your own. Current license cost: $197.
ezPOG is web-based planogram software, meaning no worry about updates and it’s easy to share with co-workers. The system can import your database of products, their sizes and other attributes, and turn them into little images that you drag and drop onto the representation of your shelf. Current license cost: $999.
PlanoGraphics comes as a Windows or Mac package and offers databasing of your products for rapid prototyping of many planograms at one time. Current license cost: $499.
Shelf Logic is a pioneer in planogram software. It bills itself as beginner-friendly and offers lifetime phone support. The software includes many options to tweak product placement and shelf design, as well as sales analysis tools on the more expensive package. Current license cost: $479-$1,000.
These planogramming solutions are more suited to big companies, but take a look for comparison:
JDA makes a complete package of space management and inventory tools used by retail chains and by manufacturers (who often give suggested planograms to retailers).
The Nielsen Company draws on its expertise as a major consumer research company for its Spaceman Suite of space planning, stocking and merchandising tools.
vrSoftware Mockshop gives fashion retailers a virtual reality tour of store floors to test how different color schemes and fixture placement would work to best show off the stock.
