Tootekood

Tootekood is a term used in Estonian to refer to a unique identifier assigned to a product within a company’s catalog, inventory, or sales system. It serves as a stable reference that distinguishes products and, when necessary, their variants such as size, color, or model. In practice, a tootekood can be an internal stock-keeping unit (SKU), a globally standardized code such as a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), or any other unique alphanumeric string used by a retailer or manufacturer.

Many tootekood are linked to barcodes. Encoding the code into a barcode enables fast scanning at points of sale, warehouses, and logistic centers, reducing data entry errors and speeding up processes.

Creation and governance: The entity that creates and maintains the tootekood is responsible for its uniqueness within the relevant system. Changes to a product’s code should be coordinated across affected information systems (inventory, ERP, e-commerce, and reporting) to avoid confusion and data inconsistencies.

Standards and interoperability: GTINs, EANs, and UPCs are common global standards that may serve as a tootekood, especially for retailers participating in cross-border supply chains. In Estonia and other markets, many businesses assign internal SKUs for product variants while also aligning with GS1 standards to facilitate supplier communications and interoperability across partners.

See also: SKU, GTIN, EAN, UPC, barcode, inventory management, ERP, GS1.