Custom planogram software development
Appfront builds custom software for shelf layout and planograms: layouts based on real product dimensions and rotation speed, variants per store type rather than per store, distribution to the shop floor in a form that is usable there, and feedback on whether the shelf was actually set up as planned. For retailers and suppliers who want their floor space to perform.
What is planogram software?
A planogram is the layout of a shelf: which product goes where, at what height, with how many facings side by side. Planogram software creates and manages these layouts, takes into account the actual dimensions of products and fixtures, and ensures that what has been designed at head office can be realised in the store.
It differs from range decisions. What you sell and at what price is a different question from where it is placed; for the analytical side there is AI retail analytics. It also differs from stock management, which tracks how much is on hand; see stock management.
In practice, this work often happens in drawings or spreadsheets that get adjusted per store and then take on a life of their own. After a year, nobody knows which version is hanging in which branch. See also our broader approach to building custom software.
Variants per store type
Rather than one plan per store, use a base layout with variants for shelf length and store format. That keeps the number of layouts manageable, and a change to the base plan flows through to every store.
Built from real dimensions
Height, width, depth and stackability per product determine what fits. Without reliable dimensions, every plan is an estimate that gets adjusted on the shop floor anyway, and then your records no longer match.
Feedback from the shop floor
A photo and a short confirmation per shelf show whether the plan has been carried out. Without that check, you only know what was intended, not what is actually on the shelf.
How we build your planogram software
We start in a store, not behind a desk. Category management, store operations and the people who actually stock the shelves are involved early, because a plan that doesn't work on the shop floor will be ignored regardless.
We map your store types, fixture types and shelf lengths, and look at how layouts are currently created and distributed. We also assess how reliable your product dimensions are, as the model stands or falls on them.
We design the model for fixtures, shelves and items, the variant structure per store type, and the way a plan is issued and fed back. We also determine which deviations a store is allowed to make itself.
We build in short iterations and test each version with one category in a few stores. We connect to your item file and sales figures early on, because a layout without rotation data is of little value.
Rollout by category or by store group, with support for the people on the shop floor. After that, ongoing management and expansion to more categories, which is mainly data entry rather than development.
What planogram software does in practice
A supermarket format has different requirements than a specialist shop or a supplier that sets up its own shelf space in other retailers' stores. These are the features we most often deliver.
Recording shelves & fixtures
Your fixture types with their actual dimensions, number of shelves and adjustment options, so a plan can only be made within what physically fits. That prevents layouts that look right on paper but don't work in store.
Creating layouts
Place items by number of facings, height and position, with immediate feedback on the space required. If an item changes packaging, it becomes visible which plans are affected.
Variants & exceptions
A base plan with automatically derived variants for shorter or longer shelves, plus a route for stores that demonstrably differ. Exceptions are recorded rather than arising unnoticed.
Space versus revenue
Allocated space set against revenue and rotation per product and per category, so you can see which part of your shelf is underperforming. Connects to our retail app for the store side.
Issuing to the store
A view that is usable on the shop floor: per fixture, per shelf, with product photos and placement order. Not a technical drawing that can only be read in the office.
Monitoring & compliance
Feedback per shelf with a photo and a confirmation, so you can see per store whether the plan has been carried out and where structural deviations occur. You can then have that conversation with figures rather than impressions.
Who we build planogram software for
Requirements differ greatly depending on the number of locations and on whether you own the store or only have a shelf in it. These are the types of client we most often build for.
Retail chains and formats
Organisations with multiple stores of different sizes, where one base layout has to fit ten variants. For them the variant structure matters most, as maintaining a separate plan per store is not sustainable.
Suppliers and brand manufacturers
Parties who advise their customers on shelf layout and want to know whether it is followed. They need plans per customer format and feedback from the shop floor, which they cannot get from their own systems.
Specialist shops and chain stores
Shops where the range varies by season and by branch and the shelf changes more often. See also our retail and e-commerce apps.
Wholesalers with their own shops
Organisations that both supply and sell, and want to use the same item data for both. For them, the integration with the item file and the point-of-sale system matters most.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
We build with a modern, maintainable stack and connect to the systems that already hold your product data and sales figures.
Why choose Appfront for your planogram software?
Appfront builds custom software and starts with your shops as they are. Almost every chain has fixtures that do not fit the standard model and branches with an unusual floor plan, and those exceptions are what determine whether a system is actually used.
We work with variants rather than a plan per shop. That is the difference between a manageable set of layouts and hundreds of loose drawings that nobody can trace back a year later. A change to the base plan then carries through everywhere, and a deliberate exception stays visible as an exception.
We build field feedback in from the start. A planogram system without checks only tells you what was planned, and the gap between planned and executed in store is large enough to make every analysis after it unreliable.
See also our wider services: custom software development and AI retail analytics. Questions about your situation? Get in touch.
- Variants per shop type instead of a plan per shop
- Layouts bounded by the actual dimensions of your fixtures
- Visibility of which plans are affected by a packaging change
- Exceptions recorded rather than arising silently
- Space set against revenue and rate of sale
- Output in a form that is readable on the shop floor
- Photo feedback per shelf
- Version control, so you know which plan applies where
- Clear documentation your own team can maintain
- Ongoing maintenance and expansion to more categories
Security and management in planogram software
Planogram data contains little personal data but commercially sensitive information: your range decisions, your revenue per product and the agreements you have with suppliers. We set up authorisation by role and by category, so that a supplier who manages its own shelf cannot see a competitor's figures.
Photo feedback from the shop floor can inadvertently capture people, which makes it personal data. We limit how long those images are kept and record what they are used for, in line with the GDPR. If you also use these images to assess staff, that is a conversation to have with your works council.
Technically, we build to the OWASP security standards, with encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access and audit logging of changes to plans. More about our approach: information security policy and vulnerability disclosure policy.
- Authorisation by role and by category
- Suppliers see only their own shelf and figures
- Short retention period for photos from the shop floor
- Documented purpose for imagery
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest
- Audit logging of changes to plans
- Version history kept per layout
- Built to the OWASP standards
Frequently asked questions about planogram software
Answers to the questions we are asked most often about custom software for shelf layout.
A planogram is the layout of a shelf: which product goes where, at what height, and with how many facings side by side. Planogram software creates and manages these layouts based on the actual dimensions of products and fixtures, and ensures that what is decided at head office can also be carried out in the store.
What you sell and at what price is a different question from where it is placed. Range is about the selection, planogram is about placement. The two do influence each other, as a product given too little space will underperform and then disappear from the range for the wrong reason.
Because they determine what fits. Without reliable height, width and depth for each item, every plan is an estimate that will still be adjusted on the shop floor, and from that point your records diverge from reality. Cleaning up those dimensions is often the first and most underestimated part of such a project.
That is exactly what you want to avoid. Work with a base layout per category and automatically derived variants for shorter or longer shelves and for store formats. A plan per store means hundreds of loose versions that nobody can trace after a year, and in which a change no longer propagates.
Only with feedback from the shop floor. We build in a short confirmation with a photo per shelf, so you can see per store whether the plan was followed and where deviations are structural. Without that check, you only know what was planned, and the gap with what is on the shelf is larger than most organisations assume.
Yes, and the emphasis shifts. A supplier creates plans per retail format and has no access to its customer's systems, so shop-floor feedback is the only way for it to know whether its shelf advice was followed. That makes the control side more important than the design side.
Yes, by setting allocated space against revenue and rate of sale per item and per category. This shows which part of your shelf is underperforming. It requires an integration with your sales figures; without that data, it remains a layout tool without judgement.
We build custom solutions. Fixture types, store formats and the extent to which a store may deviate differ considerably by format, and international packages often assume a store structure that is slightly different here. After an intake conversation we determine together which category to start with and which variants to set up first.
Ready to build your planogram software?
Tell us how your shelf layouts are currently produced and where it falls short: in creation, in store-specific variants, in distribution, or in whether the plan is followed. We are happy to think along with you on the furniture model, the variant structure and the integration with your product data. In a no-obligation first conversation, you will get a clear picture of what is possible.