How to build a planogram shelf by shelf

Help center / Planning shelves

A planogram in headoffis is one fixture with products placed on its shelves. You create it, place products and set their facings, then clear the layout checks so the layout can go to review.

Create the planogram

1. Open Planograms and choose New planogram.
2. Name it, pick the store and the fixture, and start from a blank shelf or the Simple starter layout.

Place products

1. Find a product in the library on the left and press + to add it, or drag it onto a shelf.
2. Select a placement to change its shelf, its position from the left edge, its facings, or its note.
3. Use the zoom control in the canvas toolbar to work at the size that suits you.

Clear the layout checks

The editor checks every placement against the shelf it sits on. It flags a row that runs past the shelf width, two placements that overlap, a product too tall for the gap to the shelf above or too deep for the shelf, and products or fixtures whose measurements are not confirmed. Fix each one by moving the product, reducing facings, or correcting the measurements. A planogram cannot be approved until every check is clear.

Undo and redo

Undo and redo in the toolbar cover your placement edits for the current session, up to the latest 50. See Keyboard shortcuts for the keys.

What should be on a planogram?

Each layout needs three kinds of information before it is useful on the floor:

• The fixture. Usable width, depth, the clearance between shelves, and the number of shelves, up to 12. headoffis spaces shelves evenly.
• The products. Width, height and depth of each package, with the measurements confirmed in the catalog.
• The placements. For every product: its shelf, its position in inches from the left edge, its facings, and an optional note for the person stocking it.

Products are arranged one unit high. Stacking is not modeled, so a product that the store stacks two high still takes one row in the drawing.

Planogram step by step: a worked example

This is a worked example with made-up figures. Take a 4 ft grocery gondola: 48 in wide, 16 in deep, five shelves with 12 in between them.

1. Create the fixture once with those measurements and confirm them.
2. Choose New planogram, name it "Snacks bay 1", pick the store and the gondola, and start blank.
3. Add a snack box that measures 6 in wide, 9 in tall and 3 in deep. Press + and it lands in the first open space with one facing.
4. Select the placement and set facings to 4. The row is now 24 in wide, half the shelf.
5. Read the capacity: 16 in of depth fits five boxes behind each facing, so four facings hold 20 units.
6. Add the next products until the shelf is full, then check the issue list. If a row ends at 50 in, remove a facing or move it to a shelf with room.

The same steps work for any gondola planogram, wall unit or cooler, because each one is a fixture with measured shelves.

Start from the Simple starter

The Simple starter option works as a planogram template. It places up to 12 catalog products that fit the fixture, one facing each, in the first open space, starting from the top shelf. Treat it as a draft: change shelves, positions and facings, and remove anything that does not belong on that fixture.

A blank shelf suits a fixture whose assortment you already know. One planogram layout can serve several physical fixtures, since more than one location on the store map can use the same planogram.

Working in the planogram editor

headoffis is a drag and drop planogram tool, but nothing requires dragging. Every action has a button or a form field, and the keyboard covers the common moves:

• Left or right arrow moves the focused product by 0.5 in. Add Shift to move by 2 in.
• Up or down arrow moves it to the shelf above or below.
• Delete or Backspace removes the focused placement.
• Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z undoes, and Ctrl+Shift+Z or Cmd+Shift+Z redoes.

Exact positions are easier to type than to drag. Select a placement and enter the distance from the left edge when two products need to sit flush.

Planogram design tips

• Confirm fixture and product measurements before placing anything. Unconfirmed sizes stop approval later.
• Fill one shelf at a time from the left, so each row's width is easy to read against the shelf.
• Use the placement note for anything the drawing cannot show, such as "pull old stock forward before filling".
• When a row runs long, reduce facings on the slowest product first rather than squeezing every product.
• Keep heavy items low. The checks cover fit and overlap, not weight limits or fixture stability.

Common planogram mistakes

• Measuring the outside of the unit. Width is the space between the inside edges of the uprights, where a product can sit.
• Mixing units. CSV imports need an explicit in, cm or mm on every measurement. One inch is exactly 2.54 cm, as set out in NIST's unit conversion guidance.
• Using the largest shelf gap. If your shelves are spaced unevenly, enter the smallest gap so every product that passes the height check fits on every shelf.
• Skipping the issue list. A layout with a single overlap cannot be approved, so clear the checks while the shelf is fresh in your mind.
• Deleting a product with stock. A product with stock recorded against it cannot be deleted. Move the stock or count it to zero first.

When every check is clear, send the planogram for review. See Review and approve a planogram for the next step.

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