How to automate the planogramming process in a large retail chain.

Case study PlanoHero and Chervonyi Market.

 

 

Progressive retail. The Ukrainian store chain has automated the process of planogramming and now effectively manages the layout in each store of the chain. This is the result of the PlanoHero service integration.

 

 

Pavlo Pogoretsky, PlanoHero Business Analyst:

 

Over 4 years of the PlanoHero service work, we have automated planogramming in more than 40 store chains. While working with different chains, we have seen how their business processes have changed due to automation. After all, automation reduces the load on chain specialists, helps to manage the layout, and creates a single reality for all participants in the process.

 

In order to understand why the chain needs planogramming automation, we propose to find out what happens without it.

 

Without planogramming automation:

 

• there are difficulties with building planograms, especially when it comes to large chains with a big number of planograms and data;
• no monitoring over the layout compliance according to planograms at retail outlets;
• impossible to analyze the effectiveness of the layout and the buyer's behavior.

 

For avoiding these problems, store chains begin to use special services to automate planogramming. 

 

 

Their main benefits:

 

1. Reducing the time for creating planograms and minimizing manual work and the human factor.

2. The ability to analyze the results of various methods of the layout.

3. Quick layout of goods, based on brands, agreements with suppliers, and merchandising rules.

 

Automation of planogramming, like any other process, is effective if it goes step by step and has clear goals.

 

This is how our partners worked - the chain of stores, "Chervonyi Market".

 

 

 

The chain Chervonyi market is a national retailer with stores for household goods:

 

• 8 years on the Ukrainian market;
• about 200 stores;
• 2000 company employees.

 

 

Before  service integration 

 

Igor Rudenko, head of the merchandising department of the Chervonyi Market chain, shared the details of the implementation and what the processes were like before integration with PlanoHero.

 

“Most of the processes of the Chervonyi Market used to be in manual or semi-automatic mode. It was costly both in terms of time and resources.

The company has formed a goal - to reduce the time for task completion associated with the planogramming process, increase the efficiency of the shelf space and create a common reality for all participants in the process.”

 

Before choosing the right tool for automation, the chain conducted thorough research. The goal was to use a licensed program that can be integrated with the 1C base for the effective construction of planograms with a follow-up analysis.

 

It was important for the chain to have a convenient service for planogram creation and implementation. The working stability, technical support, and cost of using the product were also a priority. They chose the PlanoHero service.

 

 

How did it go?

 

“The integration process coincided with the first introduction of quarantine measures. This made the process a bit complicated because the operations were transferred to a remote mode. And it was necessary to integrate with the 1C base, to make about 450 planogram sets for the chain stores.

Onboarding itself and the introduction to the service went gradually according to store formats. The mobile application was installed on data collection terminals to work with store planograms.”

The application made it possible to receive planograms for execution in the store and send photo reports on the display.

 

 

After integration with PlanoHero

 

 

Thanks to the service, the chain managed not only to solve problems with planograms but also to simplify the interaction between different departments, synchronizing their tasks.

 

“Despite all the difficulties, we managed to carry out successful onboarding. Now all departments are in the same business process cycle within the PlanoHero platform.”

 

Previously, it was not easy for a category manager to find product placement, what shelf, and why it was out of the sale. In order to get this information, he had to contact the merchandising department. Now he can quickly check all the data about the goods and their placement on the planogram in the service itself.

 

“The commercial department, the retail sales department, the merchandising department, and marketers of the Chervonyi Market also work with planograms in the PlanoHero service.

Marketers most often use the service to work with promotional goods and their placement. For promotions, they develop separate planograms. So, all employees participating in the promo can control the display and promotional products using the service. Working with the service is accepted at the company level, many processes are based on it.”

 

 

The chain Chervonyi Market managed to achieve the main goals that were set for integration with PlanoHero:

 

• set up a full cycle: from building a store plan, and commercial equipment to the planogram itself;
• synchronize tasks and interaction of different departments;
• increase the productivity of planogram makers.

 

Employees managed to master all the subtleties and nuances of the service in the shortest possible time.

“We won in the speed of training specialists. You can learn and understand the service very quickly.”

 

 

How to determine if your chain needs automation?

 

 

Retail chains need to be automated for various reasons: unprofitable expenses, resources, and time, inefficient setting of business processes, lack of control, analysis of indicators, etc.

 

To stay on top of it and understand whether your chain needs automation, ask yourself these questions:

 

 1. How do you currently create planograms and how many are there?

 2. What tools are used? Are they easy to use?

 3. How long does it take you to create a planogram?

 4. How do you control the process of planogram creation and execution?

 

When you answer these questions, you can evaluate how effective your chain processes are and understand what issue needs to be improved and what to start from the very beginning. If you intend to set up the planogramming process properly, try a free demo version of the service at planohero.com.