When deciding whether or not to place a product, Quant must respect not only the replenishment criteria settings or business data, but also the block priority levels. 

Priority levels serve as a tool to regulate optimized planograms in cases where products must be placed in the planogram due to, for example, contracts with suppliers. In such cases, it must not happen that a product drops out of the planogram due to low sales. 

This manual describes:

1. Colour differentiation of priority levels and their description
2. Process for evaluating priority levels
3. Setting priority levels
4. Setting the priority weighting

Color differentiation of priority levels and their description

Optional

Blocks with selectable priority levels give Quant the greatest freedom in terms of optimizing the number of pieces placed. These blocks may not be placed at all if their sales are too low. Optional blocks are the only ones that can be removed from the planogram completely after evaluating the replenishment criteria. This priority level is used for products where you have absolute freedom in the number of BUs placed, and can therefore take full advantage of store-specific planograms and have Quant place only those products whose sales are high in the planogram.

Required

Blocks with a required priority level must appear in the planogram, unlike optional blocks. While Optional Blocks will have the block removed from the planogram if sales are low, Required Blocks will have Quant place the minimum number of BUs calculated by Quant (MIN column) or set by the user in the Block tab. The higher value of the minimum is always respected. The number of BUs is optimized based on sales and replenishment frequency requirements. Required blocks take precedence over optional blocks.

Fixed

Blocks with a fixed priority level in the planogram respect the package quantity limits set in the Block tab, regardless of how the product is sold. Fixed blocks are especially recommended for new releases without sufficient sales history, or wherever it is necessary to precisely define the quantity of packages placed regardless of sales. Fixed blocks take precedence over required and optional blocks.

The priority levels are ordered as follows: Optional < Required < Fixed.

Priority level evaluation process

The diagram explains the process for evaluating priority levels. It clearly shows that Quant has the option to exclude a product from the planogram completely due to low sales only if the product fails the replenishment criteria and also has an optional priority level set.

Priority level evaluation process

Setting priority levels

Priority levels can be set in several places in Quant: on the Products tab, on the Actions tab, or in the Project Editor on the Block tab.

Products tab

The basic priority level for a product is set in the product properties on the Products tab.

Setting priority in Products tab

Action tab

The priority level set in the Products tab can be overridden for a certain period of time for products included in an action in the Action tab. If you include a product in an action and set to the action Adjusted Priority Level, then this priority level takes precedence over the one set in the Products tab if the Adjusted Priority Level is higher than the priority level set in the Products tab.

Actions tab

The modified priority level via actions can be used:

• For new products that have no sales history, so they need to be set to a Fixed priority level for a certain period of time so that Quant does not drop them from the planogram due to low sales.
• Discounted products listed in the leaflet that you need to issue for the time period that is listed in the leaflet.

Block tab

In the Project Editor, you can set a modified priority level in the Block tab.

This modified level can be used, for example, if you want to exceptionally set a block to a different priority level than the block's product in the Products tab. For example, you have the product displayed in two locations in the store and you want to make this change in priority level only in one of them.

Setting up Priority Level   

The procedure for evaluating priority levels is as follows: Priority on the Products tab < Priority on the Actions tab < Priority on the Block tab.

Setting the priority weighting

In the Project Editor on the Block tab, you can set the Priority of the block for each priority level. In this row, you can enter a number that will determine the importance of the block within one priority level. Similar to grading in school, the lower the number, the higher the priority of the block, i.e. it is more important. By default, each block is inserted with the same priority, so their priority when placed in the planogram is determined by the number of units sold or profit. However, if you don't want Quant to decide the priority of the products based on your selected sales value, you can set the priorities here.

In the template row, there are blocks with a selectable priority level (green marker). They all have the Priority row set to 10. Quant has not placed one block that has lower sales than the others.

Priority 

We still want to place the discarded block in the planogram. So the last block will have its priority set to 1. Quant will give it priority and place it, taking the block with the lower priority out of the queue.

Priority change