Last Updated: December 2024
Unlock the power of precise inventory management with our comprehensive guide to the Shopify SKU generator. Dive into the world of product identification and streamline your e-commerce operations like never before. Let’s embark on this journey to efficiency and accuracy in managing your online store.
Table of contents
What is SKU in Shopify
SKU, which stands for Stock Keeping Unit, is a unique code comprising numbers and letters assigned to products and their variants by online merchants. These identifiers are essential for efficiently tracking inventory in an e-commerce store powered by Shopify.
Shop owners typically incorporate the following elements into their SKU codes:
- Manufacturer
- Brand
- Styles
- Sizes
- Color
- Product details
- Pricing
- Product code
- Product variant code
- Categories
This strategy acts as a proactive safeguard against:
- Stock shortages for popular items
- Order confusion
- Incorrect product shipments
- Inventory mismanagement
Furthermore, implementing your custom product SKU system using a Shopify SKU generator is crucial. It ensures precise tracking and accountability for every product unit available in your store.
Where do businesses use a SKU?
Stock-keeping unit (SKU) codes serve as identification and tracking tools for businesses in various locations, including:
- Retail stores
- Online stores
- Warehouses
- Printed catalogs
- Online catalogs
- Fulfillment centers
Any other facilities requiring inventory management and tracking.
Creating Unique SKU Codes for Shopify
Here’s your step-by-step guide to crafting distinct SKUs for every product and product variant in your Shopify store.
Create a Code With a Fixed Format
Start by creating an SKU format with a fixed order. It’s essential for clarity and consistency. Begin your stock-keeping unit codes with letters instead of numbers. This change simplifies tracking.
To differentiate letters from numbers within your code, use a dash. After that, follow your letter combination with a numerical sequence.
For example, you can use
- SKU-1111
- SKU-1112
- SKU-1113
- SKU-1114
- SKU-1115
It’s also wise to avoid using the number 0 in your SKU to prevent potential confusion with the letter O.”
Leveraging Automated SKU Generation
Employing an automated SKU generation tool can prove highly advantageous.
Numerous options exist to cater to e-commerce enterprises, warehouses, and dropshipping businesses.
Explore the following examples:
- BigCommerce
- 3Dsellers
- Logiwa
- Katana
- Gorgias
- SKUGen
- Zoho
- MageCloud
- Easy Auto SKU Generator for WooCommerce
Calculate the Required Number of Codes
The size of your product catalog directly impacts the quantity of SKU numbers needed. Therefore, retail and online stores with vast inventories will likely require more extensive codes.
Nevertheless, a general guideline is to maintain concise Shopify SKU codes to enhance readability and comprehension.
Excessively long or intricate SKU codes could lead to difficulties in human readability and hinder efficient inventory management.
Incorporate Your SKU Codes into Your Online Store
To add SKU codes to your Shopify store, follow these steps:
Adding a New Product:
Step 1: Log into your Shopify admin dashboard.
Step 2: Navigate to the Products section located on the left side.
Step 3: When you initiate the addition of a new product, proceed to the Inventory segment within the product page.
Step 4: Input your code in the designated SKU field.
Step 5: Preserve the changes by selecting “Save.”
Editing an Existing Product:
Step 1: Visit the Products section on your Shopify admin dashboard.
Step 2: Identify the specific product requiring SKU code modification.
Step 3: Within the Inventory portion, scroll down and insert or adjust the SKU code in the corresponding input field
By following these steps, you can seamlessly integrate and modify SKU codes in your online store.
Assign SKU Codes to Product Variants
For products featuring distinct variants, allocate distinct SKU codes to each. Go to the variants section and incorporate the SKU codes alongside each variant.
Key Guidelines for SKUs
Keep in mind that each of your product SKUs should maintain its uniqueness. While Shopify doesn’t explicitly prohibit duplicate SKUs, it’s advisable to ensure that every SKU remains distinct. This practice enables seamless automatic updates of pricing and inventory upon customer orders.
Does Shopify Display SKUs on Product Pages?
By default, Shopify does not display SKUs on product pages. To show SKUs on your product pages, you’ll need to engage a developer since modifications to your theme’s code are necessary.
5 Shopify SKU Generator Apps
Here are the top 5 Shopify SKU Generators:
1.EasyScan: Barcode & Inventory
Rating:⭐5.0
Pricing: Paid plans start from $9.9/per month
Optimizes order fulfillment and inventory management through barcodes and SKUs. Offers broad scanner compatibility and efficient issue resolution, supporting smooth and error-free business operations.
Key Features
- Precise Order Fulfillment: Streamline order packing with a barcode scanner, ensuring accurate fulfillment and reducing mistakes.
- Swift Inventory Checks: Conduct quick inventory audits for any location by scanning products and generating reports.
- Bin Location Management: Efficiently organize inventory and easily locate items using bin locations.
2. Lightning Inventory
Rating:⭐5.0
Pricing: A free trial is available & paid plan starts from $9.95/per month
Provides the solution for swift and precise inventory transfers. Powered by barcode scanning, CSV functionality, and split transfers, it simplifies the management of transfers, adjustments, and supplier inventory reception.
Key Features
- Lightning-fast transfers: Swiftly relocate inventory for efficient stock management.
- CSV data: Quickly create transfers and adjustments using SKU or barcode data.
- Split transfers: Easily manage separate origin and destination adjustments.
3. Magestore Retail Barcode Label
Rating: ⭐5.0
Pricing: Free
Magestore Retail Barcode Label is a time-saving inventory solution. It empowers businesses to effortlessly create, print, and manage barcode labels, streamlining operations and reducing errors.
Key Features
- Barcode Label Generation: Easily create and print barcode labels for your products.
- Customized Barcode Designs: Design personalized barcode labels to match different items.
- Centralized Barcode Management: Manage all barcodes in one place for convenient inventory tracking.
4. Yanet: Retail Barcode Labels
Rating:⭐ 4.7
Pricing: A free plan is available
Offers a professional and user-friendly solution for crafting and printing product barcode labels. Empowers you to design distinctive label styles, effectively enhancing brand visibility.
Key Features
- Custom Label Design: Create unique label styles to match your branding and usage needs, increasing brand visibility and recognition.
- User-Friendly Design: No coding skills are required to design label templates, making the process accessible to all.
- Preview Functionality: Preview your label designs before printing to ensure they meet your expectations.
5. Multi‑Label Barcodes
Rating:⭐ 4.6
Pricing: A free trial is available & paid plan starts from $9.9/per month
A versatile app designed to boost e-commerce businesses. Furthermore, its ability to improve customer shopping experiences and streamline the fulfillment process can contribute to business growth.
Key Features
- Custom Barcode Labels: Easily craft custom barcode labels to showcase essential product information
- Inventory Management: Assign sequential barcodes and SKUs to products for efficient inventory management.
- Powerful Liquid Support: Leverage robust Liquid support for various functions to enhance business operations.
Choosing the Best SKU Format
An ideal SKU format is usually straightforward, concise, and unique to ensure rapid identification. While SKU codes can vary to suit each company’s specific requirements, they generally adhere to a similar structure.
- SKU codes usually follow a common structure with 3-4 sections, each spanning under 15 characters.
- An example SKU for an online clothing store might represent brand, size, style, and color.
- A format like 984-3230-501-1 could signify brand (984), size (32 x 30), style (501, slim cut), and color (1, black).
- Different businesses may require unique SKU formats tailored to their specific needs.
- Finding the right SKU style is about ensuring it’s easy to understand and aligns with best practices.
How SKU Codes Look on Printed Labels
Adding an SKU code to printed labels is a valuable practice for online stores and e-commerce businesses. Although not obligatory, it offers customers an additional means of order tracking. When printing labels for Shopify orders, the distinct code or SKU number is prominently displayed above the barcode.
Optimal Guidelines for Shopify SKU Codes
Enhance your SKU tracking and simplify stock-keeping unit identification using the following strategies:
- Label products and their descriptions using your code. The initial letter may represent the product type, followed by the color. For instance, when creating an SKU code for blue men’s sneakers, use a unique code like MSB-115.
- Categorize SKUs based on similarities. When selling T-shirts, it’s more effective to differentiate them by color. For plain women’s shirts in blue, pink, white, and red, utilize these SKU codes:
- PWB-111
- PWP-112
- PWW-113
- PWR-114
- Avoid repeating the same letter within a single code.
- Refrain from using special characters.
- Organize your SKU numbers and codes based on their significance.
Recommend read: Shopify Split Payments: Complete Guide
Conclusion
To sum up, the Shopify SKU generator is your key to improved inventory management. With this guide, you’ve learned to improve operations, reduce errors, and enhance the customer experience. Embrace SKU efficiency and watch your business grow. Happy selling, and may your Shopify store thrive with an organized and streamlined inventory.
