The product identifiers are a unique identification of a particular product that contains the entire information about the product because the information of the product needs to be transparent for the customers. The information or details like name and location of the manufacturer’s, Dimensions, Weight, category, size etc. are available through the identifiers. Now, unique identifiers of a product like (SKU,UPC,BARCODES) become an identification that defines your product in the marketplace. The identifiers also help in optimising and enhancing feeds and Google search of the product.
STOCK KEEPING UNIT (SKU)
SKU is a custom alphanumeric code assigned by a seller or a merchant to their particular product. The SKU consists of 8 to 12 characteristics of letters and numbers. SKU of products is differentiated on the basis of information like, specification and characteristics of the product. This SKU is used to identify the inventory of a business.
It provides information about the inventory keeping, sales data and characteristics of a product. Many companies used SKU for the internal unique code to distinct the product from each other and to manage its inventory records easily.
Some of the traits of SKU are:-
- SKU is used for the purpose of tracking or managing inventory.
- It can be of any length but 8 to 12 alphanumeric series is recommended.
- It is widely used inside the organisation.
- They are customised by the manufacturer for a product.
- They are used in warehouses, e-commerce platforms, etc.
UNIVERSAL PRODUCT CODE (UPC):
Unlike SKU which is unique to the company, UPC of a product is unique for the external use. The universal product code or UPC is a 12 digit unique identification numeric code. This numeric code comes along with its corresponding barcode. The manufacturer needs to purchase the UPC for their products from GS1, an international non-profit organisation that assigns the UPC . The UPC’s are machine readable.
It has three parts, its first six digit is assigned by the GS1 while its next five digits which is called an item number, is on the company to issue. The last digit is called check digit which is used to check if the digits of the code is correct or not.
Some of the traits of UPC are:-
- UPC is accepted by all retailers.
- Helps in tracking inventory more accurately.
- It only consists of numeric digits.
Barcode is a machine readable visual unique identification consisting of black and white lines which are parallel to each other. The length and width of these parallel lines are different from each other. The barcode is a visual representation of SKU and UPC.
Some of the traits of UPC are:-
- Barcodes are not always the same as UPC or SKU, instead it represents the numeric series of SKU and UPC.
- This helps in enhancing the inventory management system of an organisation.
- Barcodes need to be scanned with a barcode reader, which is a device that transits the code into information.
Difference between SKU, CPU and Barcode
