Are SKU #s required?

[watkincm]

Why would I bother with SKU #s in item library?

[JK_Fiber_Art]

Hi Watkincm,

Not necessary or a requirement.   SKUs are for internal use, while UPCs are for external or broad use by retailers.  SKUs make it much easier to determine what you have in stock, and therefore to identify when products need to be reordered and avoid stock-outs, especially if there are supply-chain disruptions.  Businesses can use point-of-sale, or POS, systems to collect data on sales through product SKUs.   When each product is individually labeled, you can create reports and predict future growth, allowing you to plan ahead for restocking and investing in certain product lines.   SKUs can help identify less popular items and dependably sought-after products to keep in stock.

[Candlestore]

@watkincm ;

A SKU might be required if selling Online to make sure the correct item is being assigned to the sale.

A SKU is also known as a Stock Keeping Unit.  If you sell in person a SKU is not needed but can help for using a Barcode Scanner to check a person out at your POS.  I make my own SKU's up based on the product I make.  for example an 8oz candles SKU for me is '8oz Lilac' for example, and then I print the matching SKU on the item as a Barcode to check people out faster then typing in or searching at the POS for a 28oz Lilac candle.

And as was mentioned by having these items Labeled with a SKU it might help with your reports to define what are hot sellers.  Now you can do this with Item Names also if your names are not overlapping.  Meaning I also sell Votive holders and alot are Glass but different sizes or shapes.  If I have them all as Glass Votive Holder..... which one of my 8 Glass votive holders sells more or less?  But with a unique SKU I can identify these.  Now a GTIN vs a SKU vs a UPC are 3 different things which all do the same thing. 

GTIN is a Global Trade Identification Number which has a special format and needs to be bought and paid for every so often.

UPC - Universal Product Code This symbol is encoded with a series of numbers known as the GTIN, which makes up a complete barcode. The UPC is scanned at the point of sale, along with these lines and digits. They make up the barcode and often allow systems to properly identify items and look up their price. Paid for...

SKU -Stock Keeping Unit,  can be anything to help keep track of Your Stock, but if you sell to bigger outlets you would need a GTIN.