productid

Productid is a unique identifier assigned to a product within a system that manages items, such as an inventory management system, ad e-commerce platform, or ERP. It provides a stable reference that distinguishes one product from another, independent of descriptive names, prices, or attributes. In databases, productid often serves as the primary key for product records and is used in transactions, reports, and integrations.

External product identifiers commonly used alongside or in place of internal IDs include UPC (Universal Product Code), EAN (European Article Number), and ISBN. These are standardized barcodes that may be scanned at points of sale. The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a family name that encompasses UPC and EAN and is frequently treated as the canonical external productid.

In internal systems, productid may be a sequential numeric key, a UUID, or an alphanumeric code. It is used for inventory tracking, order fulfillment, pricing, promotions, and data analytics. Many platforms expose productid in APIs and URLs to retrieve product data or manage catalog operations.

Products with variants—such as different sizes or colors—may have separate productids for each variant, while a parent product can have a distinct identifier or be linked via a variant relationship. Careful design supports consistent lookups across channels and systems.

Best practices include ensuring uniqueness and immutability, documenting the coding scheme, and maintaining consistency during migrations or mergers to avoid mismatches in catalogs and transactions.