Common Definitions, Terms And Acronyms When Working In The DotActiv Software

The purpose of this article is to provide you with a range of common retail terms you will come across while space planning or floor planning in the DotActiv software.

Applicable Products: DotActiv Free, DotActiv Lite, DotActiv Pro,
DotActiv Enterprise

As there are many different retail terms and acronyms, we have split them into various sections and included only the most common.

Data Terms and Acronyms

Raw Data	Data that has not been checked for missing, misspelled or duplicated data.
Clean Data	Data that has been reviewed and corrected where necessary.
SQL or Structured Query Language	A computer language used to organise and simplify the process of adding, retrieving, editing, and deleting information stored in a database
Key	A column index which allows you rapid and/or sort access to a table’s row.
Primary Key	The unique identifier used to draw links between each row in a table to draw the correct data. It is used to identify a row of data in a specific table. You only have one primary key.
CSV or Comma-Separated Values File	Colloquially known as CSV’s, a comma-separated values file is used for moving tabular data (numbers and text) between programs that operate on incompatible formats.
FLP	The DotActiv file extension used for a planogram and floorplan.
DRT	The DotActiv file extension used for a custom reporting template.
License Key	The unique number given to each DotActiv license holder.
Data Cube	A data cube consists of any data that you, as the user, decides to use. A data cube cannot be used in isolation. It merely contains less data than the entire database, making it faster to work with and more efficient.

Category Management Terms and Acronyms

BMC	Base Merchandise Category (BMC) is a term used by some retailers to determine their product classifications.
Category	A group of items or products that a customer sees as a reasonable substitute for each other.
Category Hierarchy	The group of categories into supergroups (larger groups), sub-categories and segments (smaller groups).
Consumer Decision Tree	A record that outlines the consumer buying habits and decision-making process while shopping a category.
Flow	This indicates the position of one category, sub-category or brand in relation to another, shown on a planoguide.
KVI	This stands for known value item and refers to an item that is purchased frequently and therefore the customer is familiar with the market price for the product.
Status	This is an indicator referring to the status of a product. For example a product can be ‘Active’ or ‘Inactive’.
Supergroup	This refers to the category hierarchy which is used for the classification of products. Consumer behaviour is important to consider when defining your category hierarchy because it must be in line with how your customers look for products in your store. For example, Supergroup A could refer to Edible Groceries and Supergroup B could refer to Beverages.

Space Planning Terms and Acronyms

POG / Planogram	A planogram is a visual representation of a department, shelf, or display for allocating products by the number of facings and/or the depth of the display.
Planoguide	A visual guide to how the category should flow i.e. from one sub-category or segment to the next.
Realogram	An exact virtual copy of a category as it currently is in a store before any optimisation has taken place.
Gondola	This free-standing fixture has a flat base and vertical component featuring shelves, notches, slat walls or pegboards.
End Cap	End-caps are display units located at the ends of gondola aisles.  They are perpendicular to the gondolas.
Segment or Drop	A section of the gondola spanning one shelf length, from top to bottom.
NOD / Number of Drops	This represents the amount of drops or segments. It is also often referred to as drop count.
Notches	A slot that the shelf fits into securely.
Hanging Bar	A horizontal bar with metal hooks on which products can be hung for display purposes.
Pegboard	A board with a regular pattern of holes for pegs or hooks on which products can be hung for display purposes.
Upright Fridge / Freezer	These fixtures look similar to conventional refrigerators but with only one door that can be installed to open from either the right or left side.  Customers can easily see the items without opening the doors.
Island Fridge / Coffin Freezer	A usually long, flat box fixture that stores frozen items in a lying flat position.
Cassette	A usually flat case or cartridge that holds products in an upright position.
Clip Strip	A vertical bar with metal hooks or clips on which products can be hung for display purposes. This usually is found hanging vertically between drops or segments.
Basket	A container that is placed on a shelf to hold usually smaller items that may roll-off.
Snake Queue	A gondola that is narrower in shelf depth and either longer or shorter in length when compared to the other gondolas. This gondola is at the checkout points. It can appear as a long aisle directing traffic flow to the checkout. Or they can be short gondolas separating each checkout. They encourage impulse purchases.
SKU or Stock Keeping Unit	It refers to the unique identification number on a product and allows for differentiation.
UOM	Unit of Measure (UOM) is assigned to each product as it relates to the measurement of size. The size of an item might be ‘500’ but the UOM defines whether it’s grams, litres and so on.
Fronts	This is the number of items that appear on the shelf above and behind a single facing.
Facing	The number of products with a single barcode in a linear measure (across, up or back) in a 3-dimensional space.
Actual Facings	On the Shelf Report, this would indicate the total number of facings of the product on the gondola.
Capacity	The actual number (total count) of a product on a planogram. Or on a Shelf Report, this would refer to the capacity of a product at that specific position i.e. a specific shelf.
Actual Capacity	On the Shelf Report, this would indicate the total capacity of the product on the gondola.
X Facing	The number of front horizontal facings of a product in an area.
Y Facing or Facings High	The number of front vertical facings of a product in an area.
Z Facing or Facings Deep	The number of facings of a product moving to the back or deep into the shelf.
Caps	This specifies the number of products that can be laid out under or over the stack. When an item is laid on top of another item in a different orientation, it’s called a layover. For example, if cereal boxes are arranged on the shelf in a front end orientation, if sufficient headroom exists you could lay a box on top of the others in the end front orientation
Variety Width or Breadth	This describes the number of different kinds of products that the retailer has available.
Assortment Depth	The number of each item or a the particular style of a product.
MDD	Minimum Display Depth (MDD) can be used when wanting to set a minimum limit to the number of products that can run deep into a shelf.
Movement (Unit/Weekly)	The number of products sold per day or per week. Based on the period of data, it is referred to as daily movement or weekly movement.
DOS or Days Of Supply	Days of Supply refer to the number of days a product is on the shelf before replenishment. You calculate DOS by dividing your capacity by the number of units you sell per day.
Cubic Space	This calculates the volume or space of a product in cubic feet. It can be used to rationalise the amount of space given to a particular sub-category or segment of product.
Forward Share	This calculates the forward-sharing space a product occupies across the planogram. It is a relative measure for ensuring brands receive the forward-sharing space they deserve to entice a customer to purchase.

Although these are the most common terms that we believe you will come across, the list is most certainly incomplete as you will come across many more in your career.

If the term you want to know more about is not on the list, let us know and we can add it.