Sku

/skuː/ noun

Definition

Stock Keeping Unit; a unique identifier assigned to each distinct product and service that can be purchased.

Etymology

Modern business acronym from 1970s, formed from Stock Keeping Unit. Originally developed for inventory management systems as retail and manufacturing became more complex and computerized.

Kelly Says

SKUs are like fingerprints for products - even the same item in different sizes or colors gets its own unique code! Modern retailers can have millions of SKUs, and Amazon alone manages over 350 million different SKUs across their marketplace.

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