Sku Generator

Businesses wishing to accurately track inventory often use a sku generator to assign individual identification codes to products. Skus, or stock keeping units, are unique internal product identifiers that can be scanned to relay information to inventory software about the product name, description, quantities, components, costs, etc. UPC codes, on the other hand, are universal product codes assigned to manufacturers’ products by GS1 US. Their numbers remain constant even when product is transferred to the wholesalers and retailers who sell their products. Sku numbers will vary from one business to another, even for the same product, because they are business specific.

When sku numbers are affixed to stock, they can comprise letters and numbers or appear as varying thick and thin parallel lines typical of barcodes. When scanned, they transmit the tracking number set up by the barcode sku generator. The sku number may contain references to manufacturer, description, model, material, size, color, packaging, and warranty terms.

SKU Number Generator FAQs

How are SKU numbers different from UPC or barcode numbers?

SKU numbers and UPC (Universal Product Code) or barcode numbers serve different purposes in the retail industry. A SKU number is an internal code created and used by retailers to manage their inventory and track products within their system. It provides more detailed information about the product, such as variations in size, color, or style.

On the other hand, UPC or barcode numbers are standardized codes that are assigned to products by manufacturers and are used for universal identification of products at the point of sale. They contain information such as the manufacturer’s identity and a unique product identifier. Barcode numbers are typically scanned at the checkout counter to retrieve product information and facilitate sales transactions.

Why are SKU numbers important?

SKU numbers play a crucial role in effective inventory management and retail operations. Here are some reasons why they are important:

Accurate tracking: SKU numbers enable retailers to track individual products accurately, allowing for better control over inventory levels, reducing the risk of stockouts or overstocking.

Efficient inventory management: By assigning unique SKU numbers to products, retailers can categorize and organize their inventory more effectively. This makes it easier to locate products, manage stock rotations, and optimize replenishment processes.

Sales analysis: SKU numbers enable retailers to analyze sales data at a granular level. By associating each sale with a specific SKU number, retailers can identify top-performing products, track trends, and make data-driven decisions about pricing, promotions, and product assortment.

Enhanced customer experience: With SKU numbers, retailers can quickly locate and fulfill customer orders, reducing delivery times and ensuring a smoother shopping experience.

How Sku Generation Empowers Inventory Management

sku generatorAccurate tracking relies upon the set-up of skus. Inventory software can follow stock throughout its journey through the business, whether that begins with delivery of materials or finished goods and concludes with delivery to the customer or servicing a warrantee after purchase.

How to Create a Sku

The best inventory management technique for developing industry skus entails using numbers unique to your business, avoiding the manufacturer’s or wholesaler’s tracking numbers. The sku is comprised of letters and numbers – the shorter the string the easier to manage. Meaningful skus can be helpful and common abbreviations for colors and sizes are often used. Dashes can separate different elements of the sku.  Avoid using punctuation characters which may not be recognized when scanned.

Click the button below to download our free sku number generator tool.

free sku number generator

 

 

To create sku numbers at scale, it’s more efficient to use sku generator software than to work with an excel spreadsheet. If you are working with an ecommerce platform, normally the platform will autogenerate skus based on preferences set by the user.

The sku used in SOS Inventory will sync to skus in your QuickBooks Online account, Big Commerce or Shopify to update the information across the platforms thereby speeding up operations and making inventory management easier for your entire staff.

 

sku number exampleSOS Inventory can scan your SKUs and import all information you would like to track. Sku tracking allows your business to record inventory at any location, identify waste, create transparent reports, determine reorder points, and distinguish the profitable products from dead stock.

Any time you are working across platforms, your items will be matched up by SKUs. That can be when importing from QuickBooks Online or synching to Shopify. All product software will have a required field for the SKU number.

Using SKUs is standard across most industries; no business can be fully operational without tracking sku numbers. They are used across all ecommerce platforms as the main identifier for the product. While UPC numbers are only numbers, SKUs serve as abbreviations that are quickly understood at a glance by employees.

barcode sku generatorAmazon, being the giant that it is, has its own variation of the sku called ASIN, short for Amazon Standard Identification Number. Even though the seller may have his or her own sku numbers on a dedicated online store website, those SKUs do not apply when the item is sold on Amazon.

SOS Inventory makes easy work of tracking and managing all product sku numbers across your business no matter the size or complexities of your industry. You may download our free SKU generator spreadsheet at the button above. If you’re looking for a user-friendly platform that lets you manage SKUs at scale at a low monthly fee, SOS Inventory will be a great fit for your business and give you a leg up in efficient SKU inventory management.

 

What our customers say

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Alexander2

This is a sophisticated, powerful inventory system that is very simple to use. It is very stable. The creators put their efforts not in fancy pictures and animations for the displays, but into the simplicity of use. The support is excellent. All the problems that I created were decoded and solved by support people. Recently, I messed up the synchronization with QuickBooks Online but Shari, the support person, figured it out immediately.

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BWalter

We had to move quickly from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, and needed lots of help with our inventory builds and bundles. Steve was a tremendous help with correcting most of the issues we had with a painful transition, plus he had tremendous patience with our team as we worked through it all. Kudos to Steve!

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