The conception of your pharmacy design is absolutely essential to the success of your pharmacy. So, there are a number of goals that you'll want to accomplish with the layout of your pharmacy:
- Keep your retail products well-organized and easy to find for customers
- Draw attention to certain products
- Make it easy for customers to move from one aisle to the other without feeling like they've become trapped in a maze of shelving
Accomplishing these goals is easier said than done. For example, have you ever moved into a new home or apartment and found that the way you envisioned setting up your furniture just isn't going to work for one reason or another? You had to reconfigure everything on the spot, and it took you way longer than it should have.
Now imagine having to do this in your pharmacy space! It's one of the reasons why you should seek the guidance of a pharmacy design firm that can provide you with professional planning and design services that includes the use of a plan-a-gram.
What is a Plan-A-Gram?
A plan-a-gram is essentially a visual representation or model of your pharmacy design that allows you to see how your shelves will be set up and where the placement of your products on those shelves will be. By using a plan-a-gram, you can try out several different layouts to see what pharmacy design will be the most effective for your space.
How Can a Plan-A-Gram Benefit Your Pharmacy Design?
A plan-a-gram can improve your pharmacy design by helping you to:
- Effectively design the space in your pharmacy so that you are using it as efficiently as possible without wasting space or cluttering your store.
- Ensure that the traffic of customers will flow smoothly throughout the entire pharmacy. You want your customers to feel comfortable browsing your shelves without bumping into other customers or displays.
- Figure out what materials and colors are best suited for your displays and fixtures.
- Decide what equipment should be removed when altering your pharmacy design, whether it's to update fixtures or to add displays for new promotions.
- Figure out where to install new equipment, fixtures, or displays.
- Measure everything out properly. You'll get a much more accurate view of how large your space is and how your fixtures, shelves, and displays will fit within that space with the use of a plan-a-gram's computer-aided drafting floor plans and 3D plans.
Plan-a-grams are also very helpful as a communication tool between you and your construction or remodel contractors. Not only can it be difficult for you to exactly verbally express what you are wanting to see happen in your space, but it can also sometimes be difficult for contractors to explain to you why something will or won't work, as well. A plan-a-gram helps to eliminate these potential communication issues, giving you a tangible representation of your space to better visualize what can (or can't) go where.
Developing a plan-a-gram also gives you the opportunity to discuss your desires and preferences with a pharmacy designer in advance of construction. This helps you clarify your own thoughts more efficiently and also allows you to play a more hands-on role in the design process.
Creating an effective pharmacy design can be a challenging task, whether it's figuring out how to set up your fixtures and displays or simply trying to communicate what you want your contractor to include in your space. This is where a plan-a-gram can be extremely helpful in visualizing various pharmacy design ideas.