The abbreviation SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit, and it is an important identifier in the process of keeping inventories or data. It’s a product code that may be used to find it and identify it in the lists or offer forms. For every firm that sells items, inventory monitoring with SKUs is essential.
An SKU can be a random alphanumeric sequence or a specific business and product designation. This is how each unique product gets their name. You’ll never discover two things with the same ids if you do it this way. The only stipulation is that no two goods must have the same product name. You ought to be different. For example, a computer’s model number must be the same for all identical units created, but their SKUs will change depending on their colour, geographical distribution channel, or manufacturing facility.
Benefits of SKU
Tracking Inventory
Products that are produced and received for a company purpose should be meticulously documented in the form of a record. This aids in the simple tracking of products. A cloud inventory management system can readily track a product variant, such as the Large Red Bucket. Stock availability is straightforward to assess if the goods in a warehouse or storage room have SKUs.
Identification of the profits
The best aspect is that you can track both the main product line and the variations of the items in terms of colour, size, material, and so on after you have the products assigned with their appropriate SKU numbers. The thing to remember about SKUs is that they may be really useful in determining which SKUs are selling the best. The common elements are amongst them. For example, you may obtain the best-selling objects in this manner. You’ll be able to tell which things are underperforming in a similar way. This not only lets you see your primary earnings streams more clearly, but it also helps you make strategic product selections to help your firm expand.
Replacement of the inventory
If you try to manage the full inventory of the products by hand, you’ll soon realise how time-consuming it may be. As a result, SKU can assist smartly with the situation. When you add an SKU to each product, you’ll instantly see how many total goods are currently available in the inventory. Then, for each product, a threshold limit and reorder point may be defined for each production, indicating when a new purchase order is required. Inventory management using SKUs allows you to keep better track of your inventory levels, restock just when necessary, and reduce inventory holding expenses.
Easy stocktakes
In any business, stocktakes are very important. You should constantly check to see if the number of goods in the record is the same as the number of products alcykaluty sitting about in your warehouse. For example, you’ll need to give each variable product a unique SKU, which means each item you sell will have its own code. The use of SKUs to organise and identify items makes stock level reconciliation a breeze.
Identify shrinkage
Tracking and recognising inventory shrinkage, or the quantity of things a firm cannot sell or that are missing, is an important element of any business. Damaged or missing products can occur at any point in the supply chain, and are frequently lost as a result of theft. Inventory classification with SKUs allows for transparency in stock movements and aids in determining where and how product goes missing, reducing the risk of theft.
Guidelines for SKU best practices
- Make each SKU distinct. Never use the same SKU again, and ensure each product has its own SKU.
- Keep SKUs to a minimum. Long SKUs can be difficult to read, and some inventory management systems won’t accept them.
- Use no spaces or special characters in your text. People may be confused if an SKU contains spaces or unusual characters.
- Avoid using letters that may be confused for numerals. Avoid using letters like O and I, which can be confused with 0 and 1.
Conclusion
By now, you should have a good understanding of what SKU is and how it can benefit any business. It may be beneficial in both scenarios if you are a small business owner or have a large warehouse. After all, personally handling the items will be a waste of time if they aren’t managed properly. As a result, SKU will be required in each and every stage.