In the third part of an ongoing series, Plantensive’s Eric Bachrach, Practice Director for Category Management, tackles some of the most frequently asked questions about JDA’s Planogram Generator tool.
1. How does Planogram Generator create visual merchandising rules?
Visual merchandising rules are created using a user-friendly, Windows-type interface built within the Space Planning Plus application. There are many functions within the Planogram Generator Designer used to build what’s called the “Action List”.
The good news is that creating commands in the Action List doesn’t require any specialized programming skills. The Action List is developed and tested by the Space Planning user. The commands in the Action List are grouped into phases based on the type of object and/or the adjustments needed to complete the planogram. The phases include Settings, Fixtures, Products, Positions, Bands and Families, Reduce to Fit, Fill Out, and Final. In version 2016.1 and beyond, you can even stack multiple actions lists, which provides even more merchandising flexibility and control of planogram creation.
2. Is Planogram Generator an assortment tool?
No, it is not. However, Planogram Generator can optimize the assortment on the planograms based upon the provided data and commands developed within the Action List (sales, unit movement, product ranking, inventory requirements, adjacencies, etc.).
Proper category management assortment decisions require the precision of an X-ACTO knife; using Planogram Generator as an assortment tool would be like using a chainsaw. It does not use complex algorithms or predictive data patterns, but rather a combination of user-defined rules (actions) and data feeds to ensure shelf capacity meets demand and visual aesthetics are maintained. Understanding merchandisable space constraints, along with quality object data, Planogram Generator will create planograms that compliment your merchandising strategy, avoid excess inventory, increase revenue, reduce labor efforts, and improve overall shopper satisfaction.
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