Why is the item number important?
The most important identification of a product is the SKU or item number. This code identifies and keeps track of the products internally. It is what identifies your products, and gives them identity.
We collect and prepare products for an order based on their item numbers. Our system refers to the item numbers during inventory synchronization to update the items and quantities available at webshops.
For these reasons it is imperative to determine the SKU very carefully. This is the identification presented in product lists, shipments and orders. Often the manufacturer has already provided them for products sold in retail shops. You’ll even find the item numbers of each product (washing machine, fridge, TV etc.) in sales catalogues.
Large chains keep track of their products by their item numbers too. So Webshippy too requires you to provide an item number for each and every one of your products.
What rules do you need to follow when creating an article number?
Use appropriate characters. Given that the item number is a crucial piece of data, it is important that the characters used do not hinder the identification of the product. It is possible that the system is unable to recognize or replaces certain characters due to computer operations during internal communication. This can occur with a space character for instance. Some systems may interpret differently: One ignores it, the other replaces it with an underscore (_), and a third will not recognize it. This is why it is crucial to strictly use small and capital letters, numbers or perhaps hyphens, but no accents. Don’t include spaces or any special characters either. The characters allowed are: "0...9"; "a...Z"; "-" .
Provide a different item number for all of your individual products. If an item in your webshop is available in different colors and can they be selected individually, all colors must have a separate item number (and barcode).
Make the article number descriptive. Your article number should be unique in the way it describes the qualities of the product. It helps you to identify the item as well, if it refers to some of its characteristics (type, color, size etc. Let’s say the article number of a white, patterned 4 dl tea cup could be TEAC04-W-P).
Choose the right length. An article number must contain between 4 and 32 characters.
It can’t begin with zero (0). Certain webshops may change the zero or delete it, which would create a completely different, new article number.
Related pages:
Another important identification of a product is the barcode. For further information on barcodes, go to this page: