2017 was the year Etsy finally introduced SKUs and Expandly are proud to confirm that, of course, we not only support SKUs but we excel at them.
What Is An Sku?
SKU stands for stock keeping unit: A set of numbers and/or letters, which are assigned to unique products.
Why Should I Be Using SKUs?
SKUs have many benefits, the main being:
1. It’s a simple way of quickly identifying your products.
Sure, the English language is quite good at identifying individual products too but when dealing with a lot of products on a lot of channels, GMB6 is much easier than halloween fancy dress ghoul mask with glow in the dark fangs (mwahahaha).
2. Location, location, location
Etsy claim that it helps you quickly locate your stock for picking and packing. DE82 – diamond earrings, cabinet 8, second shelf; gotcha! Whether you want to assign a permanent stock location to products is, however, your call.
3. Invoicing and Reporting
It’s so much easier when your reference numbers on invoices and reports actually mean something to you, rather than having to go and look up what the item is.
4. Multichannel Selling
We like this one: It makes multichannel selling simpler. You might have different product names for different channels, different orders coming in, in different formats – having a quick, easy and universal way of identifying products just makes things simple. And we like simple.
How Do I Use SKUs?
The benefits of SKUs rely on you implementing and following a logical SKU system, that means something to you. Let’s give you an example:
You sell socks that come in cotton, wool and cashmere (fancy). You might, therefore, use SKUs: SC (socks in cotton), SW (socks in wool) and SCA (socks in you get the idea).
Your socks come in dots or stripes. You might therefore use SKUs:
SCD, SCS, SWD, SWS
You also keep your different socks, in different locations. Etsy suggests that you might, therefore, use SKUs:
SCD1, SCS2, SWD3, SWS4, SCA5
This relies on your keeping your stock permanently in that location, only – something you may or may not want to consider.
How Does Expandly Help?
Expandly makes it easy to transfer your SKUs between channels. You input your product’s SKU into Expandly and hey presto, it’s on each of your channels. We did say we like simple.
About Expandly
Expandly is multichannel management software that is all about saving you time and effort.
From the moment you login in the morning to the moment you ship your orders, Expandly aims to reduce your workload. It is simple, easy to use and focussed on helping small eCommerce businesses go from home-office or unit to warehouse and beyond.