#SERIAL NUMBER VS UPC SOFTWARE#

In our shoe store example, a sales clerk could easily check stock for a customer by scanning the product SKU on the display pair. Since SKUs can also contain product details, many businesses use them for sales purposes. Shorter, alphanumeric codes are just easier to sort, organize, and manually enter into your system. Just imagine trying to find item BT8721 in your warehouse versus item 966192087215. That way, any entries in your inventory or POS systems are tracked by SKU rather than UPC-without the extra hassle of adding extra barcode stickers to each product.Д«ecause thereвЂ™s no required length for a SKU, many retailers use SKUs to simplify their inventory tracking.

ThatвЂ™s assuming, of course, that youвЂ™re unable to work with the manufacturer to print your SKU barcode alongside the UPC on the product packaging itself.ДЄlternatively, you can simply use the UPC barcode for scanning purposes but set up your barcode scanning system to translate the UPC into your SKU. Since the barcodes printed on the product packaging are usually UPCs instead of SKUs, youвЂ™ll have to add extra barcode stickers or store tags to your merchandise and shelves if you want barcodes that are uniquely for your SKUs. But if that isnвЂ™t an option for your business, you can definitely create SKU barcodes for your items.Д¬reating barcodes is relatively simple, but it may be time-consuming. Some companies are able to work with their manufacturers to print their own SKU numbers or SKU barcodes directly on their product packaging.

#SERIAL NUMBER VS UPC SOFTWARE#

For example, there might be some overlap If your store releases another blue high heel from the same manufacturer in the first quarter of 2020.ДЇortunately, many inventory management software platforms include SKU management, which helps you keep your SKU architecture consistent across your business without repeating product codes.ДЄnd if you donвЂ™t want to sign up for inventory management software, there are still a lot of free SKU generators on the web-though youвЂ™ll have to set up a SKU system to manually monitor your codes to avoid duplication. The tricky part is ensuring that each product has a unique SKU. The вЂњQ120вЂќ might refer to the release date for the product (first quarter, 2019), while вЂњBLUвЂќ refers to the shoeвЂ™s color and вЂњ09вЂќ refers to the size. Within the code, the вЂњ12вЂќ might refer to a specific manufacturer (for recall purposes, if needed) or the item type (high heel). For instance, a shoe store may assign the following SKU to a blue high heel: However, most businesses try to structure their SKUs to convey relevant product details. Since SKUs are only used by your company, you get to create them however you want.

Serial number vs upc