What is an SKU, the internal code for each product?
Photo: Avila Ops Tecnologia
SKU stands for stock keeping unit: the code identifying each product variant inside your company. A black size-M T-shirt is one SKU; the same shirt in L is another. It ensures the store, inventory and invoice refer to the same item without relying on its name.
SKUs prevent selling what you do not have. When the website, spreadsheet and shelf use different names for the same item, such as “black top,” “basic black T-shirt” and “black basic M,” stock records diverge. With one unique code, website sales deduct the correct item and you know what to reorder.
How do you define an SKU standard?
Photo: Avila Ops Tecnologia
There is no official rule. There is the standard you define and keep consistent. These choices prevent most problems:
- Short, without accents or spaces: letters, numbers and hyphens.
- Visible logic: category, model, color and size. Example: CAM-BAS-PRE-M for a basic black size-M T-shirt.
- Never reused: if a product is discontinued, its code retires with it.
In a cosmetics store with 12 foundation shades, an order without an SKU arrives as “foundation shade 4”; with one, it arrives as BASE-LIQ-04, requiring no interpretation from the person picking it.
The code appears in the product listing, explained in what a product listing is and what it needs.
Are SKUs and barcodes the same thing?
No. A barcode (EAN or GTIN) is issued by GS1 Brasil, costs money and identifies a product across the entire market in any store. Your SKU applies only inside your company. A product can have both: the manufacturer’s EAN and the SKU you created.
Include the EAN in the listing when available because marketplaces and Google request it, and use the SKU internally. Website inventory: what customers see when stock runs out explains what follows once codes are in place.
What to do now
Open your product list and check whether each variant has a unique code appearing identically in the store and inventory records. If the answer is “more or less,” standardize before expanding the catalog. To move beyond spreadsheets without losing history, see avilaops.com/sistema-para-pequenas-empresas or WhatsApp wa.me/5517997811471.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need SKUs if I sell only five products?
Yes, but they can be simple. Five sequential codes suffice. Each product needs one so the store deducts the correct inventory when it sells.
Can customers see the SKU?
They may see it in the product listing. It does no harm and helps when someone calls asking about “that model.”
Can I change the SKU later?
Avoid it. Changes break that item’s sales and inventory history. If the standard is poor, use the new one only for new products.
Turn what you learned into your next step.
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