What is a Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU)?
A stock-keeping unit, or SKU, is a unique code that a seller assigns to every type of item it sells. These record-keeping units enable sellers to fulfill orders and manage inventory quickly. SKUs are also an important part of a merchandising structure, allowing merchants to arrange inventory in their stores or warehouses according to product SKUs.
Importance of Seller SKU on Amazon
A seller SKU on Amazon is a unique alphanumeric code assigned by sellers to their products to manage inventory and monitor sales performance. Example: A shoe seller might use seller SKUs like Running Shoes: "SHOE-001" or Dress Shoes: "SHOE-002" to aid stock management, order fulfillment, and platform listing optimization.
Guidelines for Amazon Seller SKU Creation
Here are some guidelines on how to create SKU for Amazon according to AMZN Seller Central: All of the products that you sell must have their unique SKUs. Every new seller SKU uploaded will create a new record in AMZN’s catalog. If an Amazon seller SKU already exists, it cannot be changed anymore. You must delete the SKU in the catalog first before editing and changing it to a new one.
Miscellaneous
Both SKU and ASIN are used to identify products. But they have different purposes — SKUs are used to manage inventory, while ASINs are unique identifiers for each product listed on Amazon. Additionally, SKUs are generated by businesses themselves and can be anything that works. ASINs are generated by Amazon once a product is listed. Amazon sellers are encouraged to use both SKUs and ASINs to monitor their inventory.
MSKU and Seller SKU are essentially the same thing. The SKU refers to a Stock-Keeping Unit, Meanwhile the MSKU is an acronym for Merchant Stock Keeping Unit. Both of which is a unique identifier for each product and service that can be purchased on Amazon.
Rules for Amazon Seller SKU The fundamental SKU guidelines for Amazon sellers are listed here-. Every item listed in your inventory file needs to have a special SKU, for example, YETI‘s red and blue bottles will have different SKUs.