SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit. It is a unique identifier for every product you sell.  For efficient product management each product in inventory should have an unique stock keeping units (SKUs). SKUs are unique identifiers assigned to each variant you sell, helping you account for each piece of inventory as you scale your operations.


Why Use SKUs?

SKUs help you reduce operational overhead and increase sales opportunity in several important ways:

  • When you integrate multiple channels, Easyops automatically link channel inventory to Easyops inventory by SKU.
  • Having a shared SKU helps your team search, find, and sell your products.
  • Wholesale buyers are accustomed to quoting SKUs when they buy. SKUs speed up quote to cash—with fewer mistakes and without exposing your supply chain.


SKU Conventions


Unlike barcodes, SKUs should be human readable and unique to your company. There are two common formats:


1. Numeric

All-numeric SKUs are easier to pick and read aloud when taking or placing orders. Each group of digits captures a specific aspect of an item. In the below example, 4000 signifies the brand, 513 signifies the straight-leg style, and 32/34 is the size.



2. Alphanumeric

Alphanumeric SKUs clearly identify items at a glance without additional reference codes. Alphanumeric SKU are easily identifiable without special training.

                

Tips for Creating SKUs

  • Never start a SKU with a 0. Excel and other spreadsheet software removes leading zeros.
  • Separate all-numeric SKUs with dashes or underscores.
  • Keep it simple. Stick with numbers, capital letters, and separators such as dashes or dots.
  • Limit SKUs to no more than 32 characters.
  • Don’t reuse SKUs.
  • Avoid ambiguous characters (ex: letters O, I and L)
  • Don't use a manufacturer's part number for your SKU. This exposes your supply chain and doesn't scale across multi-vendor product catalogs.