SKUnummer

SKUnummer, commonly referred to as an SKU number, is an internal product identifier used by retailers and manufacturers to distinguish individual products and variants within an inventory system. Each SKU is unique within a company and typically corresponds to a specific combination of attributes such as product family, size, color, material, or style. SKUs are used to track stock levels, manage reordering, pricing, and fulfillment, and they serve as a practical reference across sales channels, warehouses, and purchasing.

SKUs are not globally standardized; they are defined by the company and can be alphanumeric or numeric. A well-designed SKU should be concise, human-readable for employees, and capable of accommodating new variants. Some organizations encode information in the SKU to reveal attributes at a glance, while others use internally assigned codes with a separate attribute table.

SKUs differ from global product identifiers such as GTINs, UPCs or EANs, which are standardized and barcoded. A single product variant may have one or more GTINs across markets, and retailers often map SKUs to the corresponding GTINs for supplier data and barcode scanning. In practice, SKUs support internal processes such as inventory control, pricing, and order fulfillment, while GTINs enable external identification in supply chains and retail listings.

Effective SKU governance requires clear naming conventions, change control, and a mapping strategy to avoid duplication and orphaned records. SKUs should be reviewed with product lifecycle changes, and retired or merged SKUs should be managed to maintain data integrity and cross-channel consistency. Costs and benefits of SKU systems hinge on disciplined maintenance and alignment with broader inventory and e-commerce strategies.