SKU
Business & Finance abbreviation · Logistics, Supply Chain & Trade
| Stands for | Stock keeping unit |
|---|---|
| Categories | Business & Finance |
SKU stands for Stock keeping unit, a logistics, supply chain & trade abbreviation.
Unique code a business assigns to each distinct item it stocks, so that every combination of product, size, color or pack size can be tracked separately in inventory, sales and reordering. A T-shirt sold in three colors and four sizes needs twelve SKUs.
Example: We're cutting 300 slow-moving SKUs to free up warehouse space.
Usage notes
Pronounced "skew" or as letters. Unlike a UPC or EAN, which is a standardized barcode number shared across all sellers of a product, a SKU is internal: two retailers can use different SKUs for the identical item. Good SKU codes are short and readable, often encoding category, style and variant, and avoid letters such as O and I that look like digits. "SKU proliferation" describes the cost and complexity of offering too many variants.
Related abbreviations
More logistics, supply chain & trade abbreviations
- RMA – Return merchandise authorization
- ROP – Reorder point
- RTV – Return to vendor
- S&OP – Sales and operations planning
- SCAC – Standard Carrier Alpha Code
- SCM – Supply chain management
- SS – Safety stock
- SSCC – Serial Shipping Container Code
- SWB – Sea waybill
- TEU – Twenty-foot equivalent unit
- THC – Terminal handling charge
- TMS – Transportation management system