Vending Concepts: Planogram Design And Use

The term ‘category management’ denotes a system designed to enable you to take advantage of market research in selection of products fro your Planet Antares vending machines.

As part of this system, planogram designing consists of three major steps:

a) Identification of product categories
b) Space allocation to each category
c) Deciding on specific products for each category

No doubt, this is an issue of individual judgment. However, it is better if you divide these categories into further sub-categories. Actually, it is easier to do a planogram if there is lesser number of categories. Still the more categories identified, more the planogram will ensure variety.

After this, the next step will be to allocate space in the Planet Antares vending machines. At least one facing should be available for each category. Factors like category sales and the way products fit into the shelves will determine the number of facings required.

Next comes the product selection. You need to consider several factors for this difficult task, such as:

Core products
These are items that sell consistently in all machines and represent 20% of the total product mix.
Cycle products
These are filled in each machine during the menu cycle but changed between such cycles. Majority of the products constitute cycle products.

Choice products
These are items that can be provided for a particular location to meet specific requirements. These are usually less than 20% of the product selection.

All in all, a planogram enables you to gain control over what products to be included in the vending machines. In absence of such a technique, there will be no efficiency in operations as drivers will use personal preferences to save time.