A SKU system will organize your stock and streamline your eCommerce footprint.
WHAT IS A SKU?
A SKU stands for “Stock Keeping Unit” and is a code used to differentiate items typically by an alphanumeric combination of characters. A SKU number is assigned to an item in order to identify specific information such as, color, style, brand, etc.
TIPS TO CREATE A SKU SYSTEM:
DETERMINE A PREFIX
To create your SKU, start with a prefix that is unique to your business. Utilize the first 3 or 4 letters of your company name, for example, RON.
CATEGORY IDENTIFIER
If your inventory consists of multiple categories, consider adding either letters or a specific number which will easily identify the category, such as L for lighting or FUR for furniture.
IDENTIFYING NUMBERS
Numbers will uniquely identify the item. Determine what number sequence you would like to start with and increase it by 1 each time you add another item, for example 1000, 1001, 1002 and so on. TIP: Refrain from starting with 0.
KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE
The rule of thumb is that SKUs should be no longer than 20-30 characters long. Determine what works best for you and your business. We recommend between 7-10 characters.
AVOID SPACES AND SPECIAL CHARACTERS
Keep it simple and stay with simple characters: letters and numbers. Only use dashes as separators. You’ll want to avoid spaces, quotes, commas and other special characters.
AVOID ITEM TITLES
It’s best to leave longer descriptive words for the item title, versus the SKU, because YOUR SKU needs to be YOUR SKU.
Using the above information the SKU would look something like this: RON-L-1000