Recommended SKU Naming Cadence

Creating a SKU naming strategy is very important in keeping your products organized and scalable. Adding in a new color, size, or a brand new product should fall into place rather than creating more work. Lets go! 

First, what is a SKU?

SKU is an abbreviation for Stock Keeping Unit. A SKU can be made up of letters and numbers, and is used to name a specific product for inventory management purposes. SKUs may include naming schemes that indicate the product’s manufacturer, name, model, size, color, description, material, packaging, warranty terms, or other specified parameters.

For SKUs, we recommend a cascade method :

PRODUCT-COLOR-SIZE: HAT-BLK-Z, HOTSAUCE-400-4, SOAP-WHT-E

or STYLE-COLOR-SIZE: Island-400-5, 

PRODUCT-COLOR-SIZE-KIT: SOX-300-KT, SOX-300-T

Tips:

Length of a SKU:Having the same SKU length is important. Try abbreviating Products, etc. to fit

Items without a size: Hats, socks, CPGs: Z, X, E (Each)

Sizes of items: Use numbers for XS, S, M, etc. For a bottle of liquid that is 4oz, put 4 at the end. 

Benefits of proper SKU naming include:

• Easy identification of products and variations that conveys the  information quickly
• Increased efficiency, accuracy, and fulfillment speed
• Decrease fulfillment errors
• Improved quality control
• Makes work easier for staff;
  • Inventory Manager
  • Warehouse staff
  • Customer Service
  • Sales team
  • and All Operations
• Helps to scale your business