Stock keeping unit
In inventory management, a stock keeping unit is the unit of measure in which the stocks of a material are managed. It is a distinct type of item for sale, purchase, or tracking in inventory, such as a product or service, and all attributes associated with the item type that distinguish it from other item types. When a business records the inventory of its stock, it counts the quantity it has of each unit, or SKU.
SKU can also refer to a unique identifier or code, sometimes represented via a barcode for scanning and tracking, which refers to the particular stock keeping unit. These identifiers are not regulated or standardized. When a company receives items from a vendor, it has a choice of maintaining the vendor's SKU or creating its own. This makes them distinct from Global [Trade Item Number], which are standard, global tracking units. The Universal Product Code, International [Article Number|European Article Number ], and Australian Product Number are special cases of GTINs.