The purpose of this article is to unpack the difference between the process followed for a new category, or when a review or refresh is completed.
New
A new planogram is when you have to use completely new data sets and create a new planogram from the start to the end. It is usually a new category that is implemented in the store and that has never been planogrammed or merchandised before.
This will happen frequently as the business expands its brand, categories and offers.
Read more about when you should introduce a new product category here.
Review
A review is when new data sets and sales data, as well as old data, are used to analyse and evaluate the growth within the category. Thereafter changes are made to the planogram in terms of, new products added, discontinued products, category flow or subcategory and segment flows. The space allocation of all products on the planogram is reviewed based on the new data set. The strategies for the category would also be reviewed and the planogram would be adjusted according to that.
The frequency of the review depends on how often there is innovation in the category and how important it is for the business’s income and growth. This could be done either every 3 months, quarterly, every 6 months, or every year.
Learn more about a product range review in this article linked here and four ways you can prepare for your next category review here.
Refresh
A refresh is done as a quick import of new data, to determine if any new products were added or discontinued. This shouldn’t take more than an hour or two depending on the category and size of the planograms. Additionally, the space allocation isn’t changed as this only happens in the Review process once the data is reanalysed.
The frequency of the refresh depends on how often there is innovation in the category and how important it is for the business’s income and growth. It also depends on how often products are added and the product offering grows. This could be done either every week, 2 weeks, 3 months, quarterly, every 6 months or every year, depending on the retailer and category.
A tip: should the number of new products added during the Refresh process require you to make major changes to the space allocation, consult with your Account Manager to rather take the category through the Review process instead. This will ensure that the changes made to the space allocation are based on factual data.
Learn more about this topic on the DotActiv blog linked here.