The item codes can be reused in different departments, as well. The item codes should be created in a sequential order (thus, each new item you get in will just be assigned the next available number). Here’s a visual example of how that would be put together for a small pet store: Category First, if your inventory is simple enough, you may only need to specify a single category and combine it with a sequential set of numbers to refer to the item. There are a number of ways this can be done. For instance, if you have an 8 digit SKU, the first two digits could refer to the item category, the second two digits could refer to sub-category, the third two could refer to item color, and the last two can be the unique identifier. By that I mean, segment the digits out to refer to certain things. However, it’s better to imbue your digits with some meaning. When choosing digits, you could go totally random. (Grocery cashiers, for instance, often end up memorizing swaths of produce SKUs in order to be able to ring faster.) You can also choose to use only numbers or letters – or do a combination of the two. The length is up to you, but do take into consideration that your staff will need to be able to easily read and even remember SKUs. You can generate SKU numbers any way you want, but it’s probably easiest to use your inventory/retail management system. They are also used to run product remarketing on a site like Facebook.Īt the end of the day, SKUs take your physical items and turn them into pieces of data a computer can easily track. For instance, SKUs are what are used to generate suggestions for other items you might like on a site. SKUs also enable some really amazing marketing activities. I was actually able to locate all 5 pieces she wanted to buy because our SKU numbers were well set up to direct me to the right items. Coincidentally, our inventory management system also chose that particular hour to go out. True story: When I was working retail, a woman once came in with a list of SKUs from the catalogue that she wanted to buy, but no other descriptors. When done right, a SKU number can even tell an employee what item should be attached to your SKU. Once within your system, SKUs will make it possible for you to record loss easily, make smarter inventory decisions, track the exact location of each item, increase the accuracy of your inventory and warehouse activities, and for your employees to easily look up inventory to help your customers. Each SKU is recorded within your internal tracking system (which is hopefully an inventory management system and not a manual spreadsheet). SKU numbers are important for every store to use because they make life way easier. They can also be used to track warranty information. It’s that number on the barcode tag on the bottom of your laptop.) Serial numbers are used to track the ownership information of an item. (If you’ve ever had an issue with your laptop, you’ve probably encountered the serial number as you’ve given details to a help desk or customer service, for instance. Serial numbers are unique to each specific product and are most frequently used for electronics. If two companies are selling the same item, those items will have different SKUs, but the same UPC. It also means that the UPC is not unique to a store. That means anyone with a barcode scanner can read the number. The UPC number is the twelve-digit number that runs along the bottom of the barcode and, as the name implies, is a universal number. We know what a SKU number is, but what are the others and how are they different?įirst, there’s the UPC number (universal product code). There are quite a few numbers associated with products and inventory-keeping and it can be hard to tell what makes them all different.

SKU numbers can be anything you want to be but are most often about 8 alpha-numeric digits. SKU numbers are unique to each store and allow the store to keep track of each item in inventory. Have you ever looked at a price tag and wondered why on earth there are so many numbers and letters on it? What are they all for? One of those numbers sets is usually the SKU number (stock keeping unit). How to generate SKU numbers and how your POS system can help.The difference between SKU vs UPC vs Serial numbers.What SKUs are and why they’re important.Quick take : Get a crash course on SKU numbers.

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