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This is a numeric identifier for a particular product that is sold. Do not confuse this with the product brand or BOMs. As an example, look at Valentina Office Server. Valentina Office Server is a business ready database server sold by Paradigma Software - it is a product. Yet, if you go to purchase Valentina Office Server, you have a list of items you can buy - in fact 15 different options or skus.

SKUs may seem unimportant or boring, but they are not to your channel development and sales team.

Problems to Avoid with SKUs

Too Many Skus

If you have too many skus, then channel partners can be confused as to what to buy. And for that matter, your staff can be confused about what they should be selling.

What is this Sku?

Proactive International has set up sku systems for many vendors, but there have been times when an internal efficiency expert has tried to fix them in disastrous ways. Many times we’ve set up skus that are very human readable - you can figure out, if you know the sub-codes, what a product is at a glance. In one case, a vendor had over 600 skus and decided that it would be more efficient if each sku was randomized. The number of order errors exploded as a result - reseller orders that would take less than five minutes suddenly ballooned into very long affairs.