When you publish products to your Shopee, Lazada or other online stores, you may need to fill in SKU numbers. Do you know what SKU numbers are and how to create your own SKUs? In this article, we will discuss what SKU means and how to generate SKU.

 

What is SKU?

SKU, it is also called Stock Keeping Unit, it is a unique number used to track inventory internally. If there are some variations in one product, for example different colors and sizes, each variation has a unique SKU number.

Most SKU numbers are 8 to 12 alphanumeric digits, and SKUs are unique to your business and created by your own. It allows you to identify every product or variation so you can easily find out available stock or create threshold limits. SKUs are also used in the field of inventory control and inventory management. 

 

Why use SKU?

SKU numbers are essential to inventory management, the managed SKU numbers can help you a lot with these points: 

1. Help to track inventory. SKU numbers can help you ensure the inventory is tracked, and help you deduct stock when you have sales. Also, you can know which items are popular and which items remain on the shelves for an extended period of time.
2. Easily to manage multiple stores. If you own multiple stores, you are expected to have SKUs. If you use ERP software to manage your SKUs, for example, BigSeller, it can help you reduce stock to other stores when you have sales in one store. 
3. Help you stock-in on time. With SKUs, you can know which SKUs are low stock or out of stock, then you can purchase from your supplier on time and make sure there is enough stock to sell.

 

How to create SKU?

You can create a SKU in any way you would like, normally it is a combination of letters and numbers. The combination gives insights about the product, for example brand, model number, color of the product, size, quantity, and so on. 
There is no standard technique to create a SKU number. You can bring in your own style that is convenient to yourself to construct the SKU number. Here are a few tips may help you create SKU number: 

• Do not reuse the SKU number. Each SKU number should be unique and used for a unique product. For example, if the SKU number for a specific product is BS0001PINK, no other item can use this SKU number. 
• Keep it simple. Make sure you have a simple SKU number. Avoid long SKU by choosing two to three traits that you want to reflect in your SKU number system. 
• Don’t start with 0. When you work with SKUs in Excel, it drops the first character if it’s a zero, which causes problems. For example, your SKU is 0BS0001PINK, it may be read as BS0001PINK. 
• Avoid ambiguous characters. Do not use letters that can be mistaken for a number, for example, 0 & O, I & 1.
• Don’t confuse them with other identifiers. The SKU name should not be the same as other identifiers, for example manufacturer numbers, otherwise it may cause confusion. 

 

Conclusion

Adding SKU to products is necessary when you sell on Shopee, Lazada or other platforms. It is used for your business internally, so you can use your own ways to set up your own SKUs.