![]() ![]() Many leaders in the retail supply chain require suppliers to affix UPC barcodes to items as a condition of doing business with them. It also means there is a cost for a universally interoperable UPC. That interoperability and standardization mean that the UPC for an item doesn’t change, and any business can identify the item by scanning its barcode. ![]() GS1 is a licensing and standards organization that ensures each UPC is a unique identifier and assures interoperability between organizations. The label printers below are compatible with desktop and laptop computers. Manufacturers can purchase and license UPCs from GS1. Note: Barcode creation and printing are not available with Square for Retail Free. A UPC is a standardized, 12-digit, numeric-only code. How is a UPC Different From a SKU?Ī Universal Product Code (UPC), or UPC barcode, is a type of Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), which makes items trackable through the global supply chain. Depending on the system used to generate SKUs and the number of items an organization needs to label, repetition (and chaos) can be a risk. So if two companies have identical SKUs on different products, it shouldn’t matter, because SKUs aren’t for external use. can all be attributes reflected using letters, and numbers in the SKU.īecause they’re used internally, they only need to be unique inside that organization. For example, manufacturers, production dates, colors, etc. ![]() SKUs are typically alphanumeric-that is, they include both letters and numbers-and businesses often code attributes of the item into that alphanumeric code. SKUs can be printed on barcode labels affixed to items as well as their corresponding shelves or storage spaces. Many companies use SKUs to keep track of products and manage inventory and/or assets internally, whether for retail or operational purposes. At the same time, there’s no cost to create or protect one-but managing a system of SKUs can require time, effort, and tools. So they’re not licensed or managed by any standards-maintaining organization. SKU is short for “stock-keeping unit,” and SKUs are essentially internally generated and used. Let’s take a quick look at what they have in common, as well as the key differences between a SKU and a UPC. While these two types of codes have several things in common, they’re actually quite different-and they’re not simply interchangeable. If you’re new to barcodes and product identification codes, you may hear the terms “SKU,” “UPC,” or even the redundant “UPC code,” and you might hear them used interchangeably. ![]()
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