Showing posts with label SKU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SKU. Show all posts

Sep 6, 2019

UPC vs. SKU vs. PLU

Stores use many codes for inventory tracking. Here are a few you might have seen, but not sure how they are used.
A UPC, or Universal Product Code, is the number (usually under the barcode) universally used to identify a certain product. Identical products at different stores will have the same UPC. There are multiple UPCs. UPC10, UPC11, UPC12, and UPC14 are frequently used, with UPC12 being the most popular.
A SKU, or Stock Keeping Unit, is the product code used by an individual store. Many SKUs, for simplicity’s sake, were simply their UPCs, but most store-brand items have shorter SKU numbers. If a product’s packaging changes there might be two different UPCs represented by one SKU, because the newer item would eventually replace the older one.

A PLU is a Price (or Product) Look-Up. Some are universal, such as 4011 for bananas and some can be assigned by the store for unique items. Items with a PLU are generally sold by weight, or volume, or quantity. An item sold with a PLU could have 3 different numbers to represent its price, UPC, and the store’s stock keeping unit.