<span style="font-weight: 500;">Are you someone struggling to organize and manage your eCommerce store? Then, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll be discussing everything you need to know about the SKU number, which will help you manage your merchandise better. Read on to find them out!</span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">If you think you require any professional assistance for working with SKU numbers, feel free to connect with us. Our <a href="https://vividreal.com/digital-marketing/">team of digital marketing experts</a> would be more than happy to help you!</span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>What is an SKU Number &amp; How Does SKU Work?</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is a scannable barcode that appears on the packaging of any saleable product. The SKU number is an alphanumeric code with a character limit depending on its database structure that appears along with the barcode. This number can distinguish between one product variant with other ones in your store. In fact, you can distinguish and keep track of the products on your store based on its colour, style, brand, gender, size, type and so on. Also, distinct businesses use the SKU number for tracking different things, depending on what type of products they sell.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">What makes SKU unique is its ability to target any specific business while creating codes. It allows you to create codes oriented in the direction of what customers or vendors ask most often about your product. You can prioritize elements of your code based on its importance according to you. For instance, look at the following example codes and what each of its elements denotes.</span>
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 	<li><span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>PO-TS-32-WHT</b></span></li>
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<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">PO: Polo, the brand name</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">TS: T-Shirt, the item</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">32: The shoulder size 34</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">WHT: White, the colour</span></p>

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 	<li><span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>LIM-TS-LS-10-BK</b></span></li>
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</li>
</ul>
<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">LIM: Limon, the brand name</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">TS: T-Shirt, the item</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">LS: Long Sleeve, the type</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">10: The size 10</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 80px;"><span style="font-weight: 500;">BK: Black, the colour</span></p>
<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>What is the Difference Between SKU and UPC?</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Most retailers use both SKU and UPC codes, but they’re actually made to serve two different purposes. Universal Product Code (UPC) is a 12 digit code given to the manufacturer. This number is issued by the Global Standards Organization. It aids companies in identifying the product manufacturer and hence, much more generalized when compared to SKU barcode. As you'd have noticed from the examples mentioned above, an SKU is specific to a company, which is quite different from UPC, which always stays the same.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">A lot of companies use both SKU as well as UPC codes in their product packaging. They do this to utilize the benefits of accessing more specific details of their product from the SKU number and identify a complete batch of products (for instance, if anything went wrong) from the UPC code. Basically, if something goes wrong with your store inventory, UPC will let you track down where it went downhill and SKU will show you where the product exactly is within your inventory. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>How to Generate SKUs for Your Own Business?</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">First things first, do not use your supplier’s or wholesaler’s SKUs for your specific business, because it can put you in trouble for using someone else’s SKUs. Also, there is a chance of code duplication since SKU is something that is generated for different products, and that too by different vendors. So, there is a possibility of SKU code duplication. The duplicated codes can cause serious confusion while trying to locate and sell products. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Some quick rules to keep in mind while generating SKUs is to have a clear picture of your customers, needs, and priorities. The SKUs must be created considering what’s most helpful to you and your company. Other than these, ensure that your format is easy to comprehend, and devoid of the number 0. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Some Additional SKU Hacks</b></span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Reuse SKUs</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">You can always reuse your SKUs. You can reuse the codes after multiple total catalogue refreshes, i.e, after selling all the products attached to that SKU.  You might have to wait for a couple of years to use the old SKUs again. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Represent Highest Category in the First 2-3 Digits</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">The SKU number is all about helping you identify all your merchandise better.  So, it is better to use the first few digits of the SKU number to represent what is the highest category of importance to you. Further, use the other places of the SKU number to indicate more unique features of the item. After this, you’ll form a formula, which can be followed for writing the rest of SKUs (in the same order). </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Refrain Using Number 0 in the Beginning</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">It is an ideal practice to avoid using the number 0 to begin any SKU. This is because certain data storing software may interpret the number 0 as null. For instance, the software can interpret the number “098765” as “98765”. This can cause errors which we don’t want to deal with. So, refrain from using the number 0 in general for anything that relates to data storage. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Begin SKU with Letters</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Another quick tip that you can definitely consider is to begin your SKU numbers with letters. This helps you differentiate between SKUs and other data on the spreadsheet which is loaded with numbers. You can easily identify where the code begins and distinguish it from the continuation of a number in the cell before it. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Avoid Number-Looking Letters</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Most of us get confused and may even go wrong while interpreting or reading letters that look like numbers. For instance, the letter “I” can look like the number “1” or a lowercase “L”. Misinterpreting the code will trouble your employees who usually type SKUs in by hand. Such letters will also waste their precious time struggling to interpret the code. So, it is better to avoid the use of such letters to save time and effort. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">If you have trouble using SKUs without using such letters, divide the codes into sections and use uppercase letters in one section &amp; even numbers in the other. Now, you and your team can easily recognize “O” as a letter and not as the number zero (in the codes) since the sections are distinguished in this way. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Refrain Use of Manufacturer Numbers Within SKU</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Always avoid using the manufacturer numbers as your SKU number since such practices could bring in confusion. After all, it is better to keep the SKUs unique since it is exclusively meant for each business. You could be using manufacturer numbers for SKUs to escape from the fuss of creating new ones. Instead of doing that, create a format and follow them to create your SKUs.</span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Avoid Overloading the SKUs with Meaning</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">SKU numbers are made with an intention to distinguish your merchandise clearly without any trouble. In the pursuit of adding meaning to the code, people often end up creating codes that are too long to remember and even difficult to fit within your tags. You don’t have to include every detail about the product in the code, instead, use only essential details. So, use a few elements from the product and form the code. Also, keep the codes as short as possible. For instance, you can do this by assigning a single digit to indicate a manufacturer (if you have many) instead of abbreviating their name into a 2-3 letter code.</span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Benefits of Using SKU</b></span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>1. Inventory Accuracy</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">One main concern in inventory management to maintain an optimal amount of merchandise in-store. Stocking up too much means you’ll have to bear the expense of storage space and maintaining too little inventory can mean a severe loss of potential business. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">You’ll also require to keep up with the inventory numbers even at the times of order influx. Also, these orders have to be processed through different stages from the time the order is placed until it is delivered. So, the status has to be constantly updated. All these aspects of inventory management can be handled effortlessly with the help of SKUs. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>2. Crisp &amp; Accurate Order Picking</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Order placement to delivery needs to happen swiftly since that sends out a better picture of your brand. Every buyer expects speedy product delivery and your inventory management need to be efficient to meet their expectations. SKUs will help you manage everything better without any trouble. Suppose, you have to identify and pick a product that has 12 colour variants. In such situations, your order picker can easily recognize the product with the SKU. This way you can speed up the whole process with ease.</span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>3. Accurate Packing &amp; Shipping</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">We’ve already discussed how SKUs speed up the whole order picking process. Just like that, the packing process is also made simpler using SKUs. SKU barcodes can be used to directly print packing slips as well as shipment barcodes. Employing SKUs digitalizes the whole process, saving much of your time. Such a system will ensure that your work goes on without any mistakes. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>4. Precise Cycle Counting</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Inventory auditing procedures like cycle counting are done by a lot of warehouse managers to maintain precision in the merchandise log. Cycle counting process can be efficiently carried out using SKU barcodes. This ensures that the warehouse operations are carried out without disrupting the day-to-day works. So, maintain a robust SKU system to speed up and simplify the process. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>5. Improved Brand Loyalty with Reduce Backorders, Incorrect Orders, &amp; Shipment Delays</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">You can deal with backorders, incorrect orders and shipment delays using SKUs. Moreover, the customers’ needs can be addressed with speed and accuracy in an efficient SKU system. You can use the codes to respond quickly to customer queries and minimize (or even eliminate)  out-of-stock situations. This way, you can improve customer satisfaction to a great extent. </span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>6. Better Suggestions for Customers</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Product characteristics can be recognized using SKUs. The sales team can suggest alternatives when what your customer wants isn’t available with this. For this, SKUs will give you insights into the particular type of item that people want and help you identify alternatives that satisfy them. Your online store can also employ SKU based algorithms to give customers similar product suggestions.</span>

<span style="color: #00ccff;"><b>Conclusion</b></span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">SKU number is a huge solution to the many concerns that sellers deal with. Having knowledge about where your inventory is at every point of time simplifies your job.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">We hope this article will help you use SKU numbers more efficiently in your business. Always remember to keep your SKUs short and unique. Avoid space (as well as special characters) and product titles in SKUs. To follow all the SKU rules that we mentioned in this article, you can employ a format or use an SKU generator to do the job. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 500;">Still in search of help? We’ve got you covered. Feel free to connect with our <a href="https://vividreal.com/digital-marketing/">team of digital marketing experts</a> to assist you.</span>