Pharmacy 911 is a large pharmacy chain in Europe with 1,788 stores and a wide portfolio of 26,900 SKUs across pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical categories. To ensure consistent customer experience and compliance across such a vast network, efficient merchandising and planogram management were critical.
Before LEAFIO AI
Prior to implementing LEAFIO Shelf Efficiency, Pharmacy 911 relied on manual, fragmented processes. Planogrammers physically visited pharmacies, created test layouts, photographed shelves, and then recreated them in Photoshop. Visuals were embedded into Word documents with accompanying tables and uploaded to a shared folder for pharmacists. Pharmacies searched for the right planogram by category and length of shelving, with no feedback mechanism. New store openings required printing planograms and pinning them to empty shelves for staff to follow.
Key Challenges
- Scalability: Maintaining and distributing planograms across 1,700+ locations was highly inefficient.
- Time-consuming process: Creating accurate planograms in Photoshop required precise manual sizing of products. One planogram took up to 1.5 days to complete.
- Data inaccuracies: Errors in product dimensions were hard to identify and correct.
- Communication gaps: Assortment updates from category managers often came via email or chat, leading to delays.
- Limited coverage: Not all product categories were planogrammed, reducing merchandising consistency.
Why LEAFIO AI
The pharmacy chain sought to systematize planogram management and ensure scalability.After positive past collaboration with LEAFIO`s partner (ABM Cloud), Pharmacy 911 selected LEAFIO Shelf Efficiency over other space planning systems.
Implementation process
The rollout was structured in three phases:
1. Integration
The first stage focused on bringing structure and consistency to the data. Two separate product directories — pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical — were unified into a single hierarchy, making the system easier to manage and scale. Special attention was paid to the ATC/ATX pharmaceutical classification standards to ensure full regulatory compliance. At the same time, data exchange between LEAFIO Shelf and the company’s internal systems was carefully tested, with LEAFIO AI’s project team providing active support and feedback throughout the process.
2. Pilot Phase
Once integration was complete, the project moved into the pilot stage. Test planograms were created for selected pharmacies to validate the setup in real conditions. During this phase, the team worked on correcting data discrepancies and fine-tuning the system to reflect the company’s operational realities.
3. Scaling
The final stage was the full-scale rollout. Planograms were gradually expanded across all pharmacy formats, supported by the deployment of the mobile app that enabled store-level execution and feedback in real time. In parallel, planogram data was integrated into the company’s address storage system, ensuring that the new process was seamlessly connected with core business operations.
“The implementation brought together the merchandising team, IT, category managers, and the commercial director, which ensured full alignment from the very beginning. Communication with Pharmacy 911 was always harmonious and responsive, making the rollout both smooth and effective,” Alex Mako - LEAFIO AI PM
Business Process Transformation
With LEAFIO Shelf Efficiency, Pharmacy 911 completely transformed its merchandising workflows. Planogram distribution shifted from shared folders to instant access through the mobile app, allowing pharmacists to quickly view or print layouts directly from their devices. New store openings also became seamless, since planograms were available in the system from day one, eliminating the need for manual preparation and printing. In addition, continuous feedback loops and system enhancements were integrated into regular LEAFIO AI product updates, ensuring the solution evolved in line with business needs.
Results & Benefits
- 3× faster planogram creation: from 1.5 days to just half a day per planogram.
- 10× increase in assortment coverage: all categories now planogrammed across formats.
- More frequent updates: changes made on demand, rather than once every six months.
- Accuracy & efficiency: precise space calculations without physical test layouts.
- Simplified communication: format-level updates now cascade automatically to all relevant stores via the mobile app.
- Improved staff efficiency: pharmacists quickly access relevant planograms from their own or work phones, even when PCs are busy.
- Data security: LEAFIO’s ISO 27001 certification ensured safe, compliant operations.
Voices from Pharmacy 911
A particularly memorable moment came when a regional supervisor independently launched a new pharmacy opening using the LEAFIO AI system. With enthusiasm, she trained her managers to adopt the app, who in turn passed the knowledge to their teams.
“That’s when we knew the system wasn’t just useful — it was inspiring our people to work better. Before LEAFIO, planograms were created almost ‘blindfolded.’ Now, the process is faster, more accurate, and covers our entire assortment. The mobile app became a real game-changer for store staff and managers.”
Key Outcomes
- 3× faster planogram creation and updates
- 10× increase in assortment coverage
- 100% rollout across 1,568+ pharmacies already completed
- Faster, error-free communication between category managers, planogrammers, and stores
Pharmacy 911 successfully transformed its merchandising operations, ensuring consistency, scalability, and agility across one of the largest pharmacy chains in Eastern Europe.
