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In short: a planogram is a scaled drawing of a shelf that says which product goes where and with how many facings. In a pharmacy it turns the category plan into a shelf the shopper can read in seconds. To build one, define the category by the shopper’s need, draw a decision tree, give space in line with sales and then adjust it on purpose, block products so each need reads as one unit, put the products that matter most at eye level, and keep pharmacist-only products in their own area. Write a short brief before you draw anything, and check the shelf after it is set.
In a well-run pharmacy the open shelves look calm: cough products together, children’s products easy to find, leaders at eye level. That is rarely an accident. Someone decided what goes where and wrote it down in a planogram.
This guide explains what a planogram is, how to read one, and how to build one for a pharmacy category. It is written for brand and trade marketers, key account managers (KAMs) and pharmacy owners, with examples from Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, but the method works in any market. If you need the wider picture first, the guide to category management in pharmacy explains the process a planogram comes from, and the guide to pharmacy merchandising strategies covers everything else that happens on and around the shelf.
Contents
- What is a planogram?
- Planogram vs shelf layout and category flow
- What are the parts of a planogram diagram?
- How do you read a planogram, step by step?
- How do you build a pharmacy planogram?
- Who owns the planogram in a pharmacy?
- Planogram brief template
- Worked example: a cough and cold bay
- Common planogram mistakes
What Is a Planogram, and Why Do Pharmacies Use One?
Short answer: a planogram is a diagram that shows where every product sits on a fixture: the shelf, the position, and the number of facings. Pharmacies use it to make the shelf easy to shop, to give space in line with what sells, to keep stores consistent, and to make shelf agreements with suppliers checkable.
The word combines “plan” and “diagram”, and that is exactly what it is: a plan of a shelf, drawn so that someone who was not in the meeting can set the shelf correctly. A good planogram answers four questions for every product on the fixture:
- Is it on the shelf at all? The planogram is also a range decision. A product that is not on it is, in effect, not stocked on that fixture.
- Where does it sit? Which bay, which shelf from the top or bottom, and which position from the left.
- How much space does it get? The number of facings across, and often how deep and how high the stock goes.
- What sits next to it? The neighbours a product has shape how shoppers compare and choose.
In a pharmacy the shopper is often unwell, in a hurry or buying for someone else. A shelf organised by need (dry cough, chesty cough, sore throat, blocked nose) helps them find the right product and helps the pharmacist advise. A shelf organised by manufacturer makes both jobs harder.
The planogram also records shelf agreements between a chain and a supplier in a form that can be repeated across stores and checked on a visit, which is why it sits at the centre of trade marketing in the pharmaceutical industry.
What Is the Difference Between a Planogram, a Shelf Layout and Category Flow?
Short answer: the store layout and category flow decide where each category lives in the pharmacy and in which order shoppers meet them. The planogram works inside one fixture and fixes every product’s place and space. Layout first, planogram second.
These terms are often mixed up in meetings, which leads to conversations where one side talks about moving a category and the other about moving a product. It helps to separate three levels:
| Level | What it decides | Typical owner |
|---|---|---|
| Store layout | The floor plan: where the counter, the fixtures, the entrance and the aisles are, and how much fixture space the store has | Retailer, store design or operations |
| Category flow (macro space) | Which category sits in which bays, how many bays each gets, and the order a shopper walks past them | Retailer, category or space planning |
| Planogram (micro space) | Inside one category’s bays: which products, on which shelf, in which order, with how many facings | Retailer, often with a supplier’s proposal |
The practical lesson for a supplier: a planogram proposal cannot create space the category flow did not give. If you believe the category deserves more bays, that is a separate conversation, held in the category review with whole-category evidence.
What Are the Parts of a Planogram Diagram?
Short answer: six parts: the fixture and its dimensions, the shelves and their heights, the products drawn as facings, the position of each product (its SKU and location), the shelf-edge labels, and the notes that tell the store how to set and maintain the shelf.
Planograms look different from one retailer to the next, but almost all of them contain the same building blocks. Once you know them, any planogram becomes readable.
| Part | What it shows | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Header block | Planogram name or number, category, store cluster or format, version, effective date | Makes sure the store sets the right version on the right date |
| Fixture | The type of unit (wall bay, gondola, end-cap, counter unit), its width, height and depth, and the number of bays | Every other measurement depends on it; a planogram drawn for the wrong fixture cannot be set |
| Shelves | Number of shelves, their heights from the floor or base, and sometimes the shelf type (flat, with dividers, with pegs) | Shelf height decides which packs fit and which shelf is at eye level |
| Facings | Each product drawn as one box per facing, often to scale, sometimes with pack images | Shows how much width each product gets and how the shelf will look |
| SKU positions | A code or number on each product box, linked to a product list with name, pack size, barcode, facings, and position (shelf and order from the left) | Lets the store find the exact product and place it without guessing |
| Shelf-edge labels | Where each product’s label or price ticket sits, usually under its first facing | A label in the wrong place sends the shopper to the wrong product or price |
| Notes | Instructions such as fill depth, minimum stock, dividers, shelf-strips, products that must not be moved, and what to do with items not on the planogram | Covers what a drawing cannot show |
Facings, depth and capacity
The shelf also has depth. A product with two facings and room for eight packs behind each holds sixteen packs. If it sells faster than that between two refills, it runs out on the shelf even with stock in the back room, which is why many planograms list fill depth or capacity.
How Do You Read a Planogram, Step by Step?
Short answer: check the header first, then the fixture and shelves, then read the products shelf by shelf from the top left, using the position codes and the product list. Finish with the notes and with a comparison against the real shelf.
Reading a planogram is a skill every field representative, merchandiser and pharmacy team member needs, and it is quick to learn. Use this sequence:
- Confirm it is the right planogram. Check the category, store format, version and effective date in the header. Chains often run different versions for stores of different sizes.
- Match the fixture. Count the bays and measure the width. If they do not match the planogram, ask before moving anything.
- Set the shelves first. Adjust the shelf heights to match the planogram before placing any product. Most problems with packs that do not fit come from skipping this step.
- Read the orientation. Most planograms number shelves from the top or from the bottom and positions from left to right, as the shopper sees the shelf. The legend or header says which. Get this wrong and the whole shelf comes out mirrored.
- Work shelf by shelf, left to right. For each position, find the code on the drawing, look it up in the product list, and place the right number of facings. Place the shelf-edge label under the first facing unless the notes say otherwise.
- Apply the notes. Fill depth, dividers, products not to be moved, and instructions for products that are not on the planogram (return them, move them to a promotional unit, or report them).
- Check and record. Compare the finished shelf with the drawing, take a photo, and note anything you could not set, such as a product out of stock. The planogram compliance checklist gives a list of checks to run on every visit.
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How Do You Build a Pharmacy Planogram?
Short answer: eight steps: define the category from the shopper’s need, draw the decision tree, choose the range, allocate space by sales share and then adjust it on purpose, choose vertical or horizontal blocking, place products by shelf level, plan adjacencies, and separate open-shelf products from those that need a pharmacist. Then fit it to the real fixture and test it.
The steps below apply whether you are a supplier preparing a proposal for a chain or a pharmacy owner resetting your own shelf. The merchandising guide gives a shorter version of the build with a pain and fever example; here each step goes deeper, with the decisions and the trade-offs behind it.
Step 1: Define the category from the shopper’s need state
Start with what the shopper is trying to solve, not with how products are registered or who makes them. A shopper with a cough does not think “antitussive” or “expectorant”. They think “dry tickly cough”, “chesty cough”, or “something for my child’s cough”. These are need states, and they are the backbone of a pharmacy planogram.
Write down the category’s boundaries: what is in, what is out, and what sits next door. For cough and cold, decide whether throat lozenges, nasal sprays, chest rubs and vitamins belong in the bay or in neighbouring categories. There is no universal answer; there is only an answer that matches how your shoppers buy and how the store is laid out.
Step 2: Draw the consumer decision tree
A consumer decision tree ranks the choices a shopper makes, from the first to the last. In a pharmacy category the first split is usually the need (which symptom), the second is often the user (adult or child), then the format (syrup, tablet, lozenge, spray), then the brand, then the pack size. The order is not fixed. In some categories shoppers are loyal to a brand first and choose the format second, and the planogram should follow that.
Arrange the planogram in the same order: the first split becomes the main block on the shelf, the later splits the order inside each block. If you have no shopper research, build the tree from what pharmacists hear at the counter and mark it as an assumption to test.
Step 3: Choose the range
Decide which products earn a place on the fixture. Start from sales, in value and in units, over a period long enough to smooth out one-off peaks. Then look at what the ranking misses: a product that is the only option for a specific need (a sugar-free syrup, a children’s format) may deserve a place even if it sells slowly, because without it the shopper with that need leaves without buying. This is the difference between a product that is slow and one that is incremental. Remove the products that are slow and also duplicated by others that do the same job.
Step 4: Allocate space by sales share, then adjust on purpose
The starting rule is fair share: a product’s share of the shelf broadly matches its share of category sales. It is simple and easy to defend, which is why it is the usual starting point in a category review.
Fair share is a starting point, not the answer. Adjust it on purpose, and write down why:
- Days of supply. A fast seller in a small pack may need more facings than its share suggests so it does not empty between refills.
- Pack size. A large bottle takes more shelf width per unit than a blister pack, so equal sales do not mean equal facings.
- Launches. A new product has no sales history. It needs space based on the forecast and the role it is meant to play, reviewed once real sales arrive.
- Minimum presence. One facing is often too little for a shopper to notice. Many planners set a minimum of facings for any product that stays in the range.
You can work out fair share by hand with a simple calculation, shown in the worked example below. The free pharmacy shelf space calculator does the same arithmetic for a whole bay.
Step 5: Choose vertical or horizontal blocking
Blocking means grouping products so a set of them reads as one unit on the shelf. There are two basic options:
| Vertical blocking | Horizontal blocking | |
|---|---|---|
| How it looks | Each group runs top to bottom in a column across several shelves | Each group runs left to right along one shelf |
| How the shopper scans | Finds their need, then looks up and down without walking | Walks or looks along a shelf to compare |
| Strength | Every group gets a share of the eye-level shelf; easy to find a need quickly | Works when shoppers compare across one dimension, such as format or size |
| Weakness | Needs enough width for each column; tall or wide packs can break the column | Groups on the top and bottom shelves get far less attention than the one at eye level |
| Common use in pharmacy | The main split by need state (dry cough, chesty cough, sore throat) | Inside a need block, for example adult products above children’s |
Most pharmacy planograms combine the two: vertical blocks for the first split in the decision tree, horizontal order inside each block, and each brand’s variants kept together.
Step 6: Place products by shelf level
Not every shelf gets the same attention. The shelves around eye level are seen first and are easiest to reach; the bottom shelf asks the shopper to bend; the top shelf can be out of reach or out of sight. A common way to use them:
- Eye level and just below: the category leaders and the products that drive the category’s results, plus products the retailer wants to grow.
- Top shelf: specialist products that shoppers look for on purpose, and lighter packs.
- Lower shelves: large and heavy packs, value packs and products shoppers buy by habit.
Step 7: Plan adjacencies
Decide what sits next to what, inside the bay and at its edges. Put products that shoppers compare side by side, so the choice is easy. Place the category’s strongest pull, often the leading brand of the biggest need, where it draws shoppers into the bay rather than at the far end. At the edges of the bay, think about the neighbouring category: a cough bay that ends next to throat care or next to vitamins and immunity products follows the shopper’s logic better than one that ends next to foot care. For a broader view of which categories belong together across the store, see the guide to merchandising in consumer healthcare.
Step 8: Separate open shelf from pharmacist-only areas
This is where a pharmacy planogram differs most from a supermarket one. Products sit in different areas depending on how they may be supplied: some can be on open shelves for the shopper to pick up, some must be kept behind the counter, and prescription medicines are dispensed. Each area has its own plan, and a product’s area is decided by its registration status and the rules that apply to it, not by the planner.
- Confirm each product’s status with regulatory before it goes on any planogram, and check current SFDA rules for what may be displayed where.
- Plan the behind-the-counter area with the same need-state logic, because the pharmacist reaches for what is in sight and easy to reach.
- Keep promotional material within the rules for each product type; the SFDA marketing compliance checklist explains how promotional review works inside a company.
Then fit, test and plan the seasons
Draw the plan to the real fixture with actual pack dimensions, set it in one store and look at it: a bottle taller than the shelf gap or a label under the wrong product shows up at once. Then prepare the seasonal versions (in the Gulf, cooler months for cough and cold, summer for sun care, Ramadan and the pilgrimage seasons) ahead of the retailer’s reset date.
Who Owns the Planogram in a Pharmacy Chain and in an Independent Pharmacy?
Short answer: in a chain, head office owns the planogram and stores set it; suppliers propose and check. In an independent pharmacy, the owner or pharmacist in charge decides, and supplier representatives often do much of the work on the shelf. Either way, the retailer has the final say.
Who decides changes how a supplier should work. The table sets out the usual roles; your own accounts may differ, so confirm them in each one.
| Task | Pharmacy chain | Independent pharmacy |
|---|---|---|
| Decide the category flow and space | Category or space planning team at head office | Owner or pharmacist in charge |
| Draw the planogram | Head office, sometimes from a supplier’s proposal | Often no formal drawing; the shelf itself is the plan, sometimes arranged with a supplier’s help |
| Approve changes | Category manager, usually at a scheduled review | Owner, at any time |
| Set the shelf | Store team or a merchandising team, on a reset date | Pharmacy staff or supplier merchandisers, when needed |
| Check compliance | Store operations, with suppliers’ field teams reporting gaps | Owner and supplier representatives |
For a supplier, the difference is timing and evidence. A chain decides on a calendar, so a proposal that misses the review waits for the next one. An independent can change its shelf the same day, so a clear, ready-to-set layout often shapes it. The guide to pharmacy channel management in Saudi Arabia explains how chains and independents differ as customers.
What Should a Planogram Brief Include? A Fill-In Template
Short answer: before anyone draws a shelf, agree a one-page brief: the category and its boundaries, the fixture, the objective, the decision tree, the range, the space rules, the blocking, the regulatory constraints, the timing and the measures. Copy the table and fill the brackets.
A brief forces the decisions that otherwise get made by accident on a screen, and gives retailer and supplier one reference. Anything in square brackets is a placeholder.
| Brief element | What to write | Your category |
|---|---|---|
| Category and boundaries | What is in, what is out, and the neighbouring categories | [Category]; includes [list]; excludes [list]; next to [category] |
| Stores and fixture | Store format or cluster, fixture type, number of bays, bay width, number of shelves | [Format]; [fixture]; [bays] x [width]; [shelves] |
| Objective | What the new planogram should change, in one sentence | [For example: make the children’s range easier to find] |
| Decision tree | The order of the shopper’s choices, and the evidence for it | [Need] then [user] then [format] then [brand]; source: [research or assumption] |
| Range | Products in, products out, new products, and the reason for each change | [In]; [out, and why]; [new, and forecast basis] |
| Space rules | Sales basis and period, fair share rule, minimum facings, days-of-supply rule | [Value or units] over [period]; minimum [n] facings; at least [n] days of supply |
| Blocking | Vertical and horizontal blocks, and the order inside each | [Vertical by need]; inside: [adult above children, brand together] |
| Regulatory constraints | Products that must sit behind the counter or in a restricted area, checked with regulatory against current SFDA rules | [List and confirmation date] |
| Measures | How success will be judged and when | [Category sales, out-of-stocks, compliance score] reviewed at [date] |
| Owners and dates | Who drafts, who approves, when it is set, when it is checked | [Draft by]; [approved by]; [set on]; [first check on] |
If you prepare the category review that leads to the planogram, the category review pack gives you a ready structure for the numbers, the story and the asks that the brief draws on.
What Does a Pharmacy Planogram Look Like? A Worked Cough and Cold Example
Short answer: below is a fictional cough and cold bay, built with the eight steps: four need-state columns, space set by sales share and then adjusted, leaders at eye level, children’s products in their own row, and pharmacist-only products moved to the counter. All brands, sales shares and sizes are invented.
The setting. A fictional pharmacy has one wall bay for cough and cold self-selection: four shelves, each 100 cm wide, so 400 cm of shelf in total. The brands are called Brand A to Brand F. Every number in this example, including the sales shares, is invented to show the arithmetic; none of it describes a real market, product or store.
Step 1 and 2: need states and decision tree
The pharmacy team agrees that shoppers first choose by symptom, then by user (adult or child), then by format and brand. That gives four need-state columns: dry cough, chesty cough, sore throat, and blocked nose. Inside each column, adult products sit above children’s.
Step 3 and 4: range and fair share
The fictional sales shares below are for the products that may be on the open shelf. Fair share of shelf is the sales share multiplied by the 400 cm available. Facings are the fair-share width divided by the pack width, rounded, and then adjusted on purpose.
| Product (fictional) | Need state | Sales share (fictional) | Fair-share width | Pack width | Facings by fair share | Final facings and reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand A dry cough syrup, adult | Dry cough | 20% | 80 cm | 8 cm | 10 | 8: the shelf is deep enough to hold stock between refills, so two facings go to the children’s range |
| Brand B dry cough syrup, children | Dry cough | 5% | 20 cm | 8 cm | 2.5 | 4: the only children’s dry cough option, needs to be seen |
| Brand C chesty cough syrup, adult | Chesty cough | 15% | 60 cm | 8 cm | 7.5 | 7 |
| Brand C chesty cough syrup, children | Chesty cough | 5% | 20 cm | 8 cm | 2.5 | 3: minimum of three facings for any product kept |
| Brand D throat lozenges, two flavours | Sore throat | 20% | 80 cm | 5 cm | 16 | 16 |
| Brand E throat spray | Sore throat | 10% | 40 cm | 5 cm | 8 | 6: slower seller with deep shelf, capacity still covers a week |
| Brand F saline nasal spray, adult and children | Blocked nose | 15% | 60 cm | 5 cm | 12 | 12 |
| New launch: Brand A honey and lemon lozenge | Sore throat | No history (fictional forecast 10%) | 40 cm | 5 cm | 8 | 6: set from the forecast, reviewed after the first full cycle |
The fictional shares of the existing products add up to 90%, and the launch is planned on a forecast of 10%, so fair share uses the whole 400 cm. After the adjustments, the final facings take 376 cm (facings multiplied by pack width), and the remaining 24 cm is left for dividers and the gaps between columns. The adjustments show the point of Step 4: Brand B gets more than its share because it is the only option for its need, and Brand A gives up two facings because its shelf depth already holds enough stock between refills. A product that is supplied only under a pharmacist’s supervision (in this fictional pharmacy, a combination cold tablet) is not on this planogram at all. It goes on the behind-the-counter plan, after its status was confirmed with regulatory.
Step 5 to 7: blocking, shelf levels and adjacency
The resulting fictional bay reads like this, from the top shelf down, with the four need-state columns running left to right. A product’s facings can run across more than one shelf inside its column:
| Shelf | Dry cough | Chesty cough | Sore throat | Blocked nose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Brand A dry cough syrup, adult (part of its facings) | Brand C chesty cough syrup, adult (part of its facings) | Brand E throat spray | Brand F saline spray, adult (part of its facings) |
| Eye level | Brand A dry cough syrup, adult | Brand C chesty cough syrup, adult | Brand D lozenges and the Brand A launch | Brand F saline spray, adult |
| Below eye level | Brand B dry cough syrup, children | Brand C chesty cough syrup, children | Brand D lozenges, second flavour | Brand F saline spray, children |
| Bottom | Brand A dry cough syrup, adult (remaining facings) | Brand C chesty cough syrup, adult (remaining facings) | Brand D lozenges (remaining facings) | Brand F saline spray, adult (remaining facings) |
The launch sits at eye level inside the sore throat column, next to the lozenges shoppers already compare it with, instead of at the edge of the bay where it would read as separate. The bay’s right edge, after blocked nose, meets the neighbouring vitamins and immunity category, and its left edge meets pain and fever, which shoppers with a cold often buy at the same time.
For more bays laid out the same way, including other pharmacy categories, see the planogram examples for pharmacy.
What Are the Most Common Planogram Mistakes?
Short answer: arranging by manufacturer instead of by need, giving space by habit instead of by sales, ignoring days of supply, drawing for a fixture that does not exist, forgetting the rules for pharmacist-only products, and never checking the shelf after it is set.
- Organising by manufacturer. It is easy for a supplier and hard for a shopper. A shelf arranged by company makes the shopper search for their symptom across several blocks.
- Space by history, not by sales. Facings that were agreed years ago and never revisited protect slow products and starve growing ones.
- Fair share without judgement. Applying the sales-share rule mechanically leaves fast sellers empty by midweek and removes the only product for a niche need.
- Drawing for the wrong fixture. A planogram that assumes more width, different shelf heights or a different number of shelves than the store has cannot be set as drawn, so the store improvises.
- Mixing open-shelf and pharmacist-only products. A product placed in the wrong area is a compliance problem, not only a merchandising one. Confirm status first.
- No seasonal version. A cough and cold bay that is the same size in every season either runs out in the peak or wastes space outside it.
- Set once, never checked. Shelves drift as stock runs out and products are moved. Without regular checks against the planogram, the plan only exists on paper.
Key Takeaways
- A planogram is a scaled drawing of a fixture that fixes each product’s place and number of facings
- Read a planogram by checking the header, matching the fixture, setting the shelves, then working shelf by shelf from the product list
- Build it from the shopper’s need state and decision tree, not from the manufacturer list
- Start space from fair share of sales, then adjust on purpose for days of supply, pack size, launches and products with no substitute
- Block vertically by need, order horizontally inside each block, and put the category leaders at eye level
- Keep pharmacist-only products on their own plan, and confirm each product’s status against current SFDA rules
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a planogram in simple words?
A planogram is a drawing of a shelf that shows exactly which product goes where: on which fixture, on which shelf, in which position from the left, and with how many facings side by side. It turns a decision about shelf space into an instruction anyone in the store can follow, so every store that uses the same planogram ends up with the same shelf.
What is the difference between a planogram and a shelf layout?
A shelf layout, or category flow, decides the big picture: which categories sit in which part of the store, which bays they use, and the order a shopper meets them in. A planogram works one level down, inside a single bay or fixture, and fixes the position and facings of every individual product. The layout comes first and the planograms fill it in.
Who creates the planogram in a pharmacy chain?
In most chains the category or space planning team at head office owns the planogram. Suppliers can propose one, but the retailer approves, stores set the shelf, and field teams check it. In an independent pharmacy, the owner or the pharmacist in charge usually decides.
How often should a pharmacy planogram change?
There is no single correct frequency. Many retailers review each category on a fixed cycle and add seasonal versions for periods when demand shifts, such as cough and cold in the cooler months or sun care in summer. In between, a planogram should change when something important happens: a launch, a delisting, a pack size change or a clear change in what shoppers buy.
What software is used to make a planogram?
Large retailers use dedicated space planning software that draws the planogram to scale from product and fixture dimensions. A supplier or an independent pharmacy can start with a spreadsheet: a grid for the shelves, one box per facing, and a product table next to it. The thinking matters more than the tool.
What is a facing on a planogram?
A facing is one unit of a product visible at the front of the shelf. A product with three facings shows three packs side by side, with more packs behind each one. The number of facings decides how much shelf width a product gets, how visible it is, and how much stock fits on the shelf before it needs refilling.
Can medicines that need a pharmacist be on a planogram?
Yes, but usually on a different planogram. Products the shopper can pick up freely follow the open-shelf planogram; products that must be supplied by or under the supervision of a pharmacist follow the behind-the-counter plan. Which product may go where depends on its registration status, so check current SFDA rules and your company's regulatory team before moving any product between areas.
How do I check that a store follows the planogram?
Compare the shelf with the planogram, product by product: is each product present, in the right position, on the right shelf, with the right number of facings and the correct shelf-edge label? Record gaps with a photo and a simple score, then fix what can be fixed on the spot. The planogram compliance checklist on this site gives a ready list of the checks.
What to Do Next
Pick one category you care about and stand in front of its bay in a pharmacy this week. Write down, in order, the choices a shopper would make in front of it: symptom, user, format, brand. Then look at the shelf and ask whether it is arranged in that order. If it is not, you have the first line of your planogram brief.
Copy the brief template above and fill in the parts you already know. Mark the rest as assumptions to test. When you are ready to compare your draft with finished layouts, go to the pharmacy planogram examples, and for the wider category process that the planogram belongs to, return to the guide to category management in pharmacy.
