what is an sku number

An SKU, short for "stock keeping unit," is a unique number combination used by retailers to identify and track products. It is usually an eight-character alphanumeric code assigned to products to keep track of stock levels internally. If a product has different colors and sizes, each variation has a unique SKU number. Retailers use different SKU numbers for different products based on their features like price, manufacturer, color, style, type, and size. SKUs are specific to a business and can be customized to meet the needs of vendors and customers. They help retailers keep track of products from the supplier to the customer. SKUs are important because they help retailers accurately track their inventory to prevent having phantom inventory and to pinpoint when to order new products so their merchandise is always in stock. SKUs are typically 8-10 characters long, with each character (or sets of characters) representing a particular feature of the product that SKU is assigned to. There are no standardized rules for creating SKU numbers, and every business is free to create SKU numbers using whatever characters and referencing whatever features make the most sense for their operations.