Seller SKU on Amazon – What It Is and Why It Matters
Keeping your business organized from the start will save you a lot of headaches down the road. As your business grows, having your warehouse in order and being able to respond quickly to customer queries can make a big difference and accelerate your growth. Putting effective seller SKUs on Amazon in place early on is a smart move that will pay off immediately.
What Is a Seller SKU on Amazon?
A Seller SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) on Amazon is a unique identifier that sellers create to track and manage their own inventory. It helps distinguish between products, variations, and fulfillment methods within their Seller Central account.
With intelligently created SKUs, you can:
What Makes the Seller SKU on Amazon so Important?
SKUs may seem like a behind the scenes technicality at first, but they play a crucial role in your Amazon success, especially as your catalog grows. Here’s why:
Inventory Made Easy
SKUs let you know what’s in stock, what’s low and what needs reordering – without relying on Amazon’s built in labels.
Product Variations Simplified
If you sell one shirt in five sizes and three colors, SKUs let you track each variant exactly. So you never confuse inventory or fulfillment.
Performance Attribution
When looking at sales reports in Seller Central or third party tools, SKUs let you see which exact product is selling well or underperforming – critical info especially for ad spend and pricing.
Returns and Customer Support
A well structured seller SKU on Amazon lets you trace every return back to the original product and batch. It’s a time saver for refunds, replacements, and (keeping your team’s sanity in mind) customer support queries.
Multi-Channel Fulfillment
If you’re selling via FBA and FBM or across multiple platforms (e.g. Amazon, Shopify, Walmart) SKUs are your internal reference across systems.
In short, SKUs are your internal control panel – giving you clarity, traceability and structure in a platform that thrives on scale.
Smartly created SKUs are a great starting point for efficient warehousing, but there are many other strategies to consider. Read more about how to level up your product assortment optimization on our blog.
How to Create a Seller SKU on Amazon
While there’s no “right” way to build an Amazon SKU number as a seller, a strategic approach will save you time and a lot of headaches later on. Here are your options:
Manual Creation: Best Practices
Creating your own SKU gives you full control and clarity. Follow these:
Further Examples:
SOCKS-ANKLE-WHITE-40/43 – Ankle socks in white for sizes 40 to 43
TSHIRT-M-BLU-2024Q1 – Blue Medium T-Shirt from 2024 Q1
USBCHARG-WHT-V3 – White USB charger, version 3
FBA-BAG-BLK-L-2023 – Large black bag sold via FBA in 2023
Let Amazon Generate Your SKU
If you leave the SKU field blank when listing a product Amazon will assign a generic SKU. This may seem convenient at first sight, but makes tracking harder as your catalog grows. It is certainly not ideal for sellers with variations, private label products or cross channel needs.
Using an SKU Template
Consider using an Excel or Google Sheets template to plan and manage your system. This will enable you to organize your SKU number on Amazon by product category, launch date, fulfillment method, etc.
Where to Find Your Seller SKU in Amazon Seller Central
To view or manage your SKUs:
You’ll also find SKUs on:
Seller SKU vs. ASIN, FNSKU, UPC, and GTIN – What’s the Difference?
| Code | Who Creates It | Purpose | Unique To |
| SKU | Seller | Internal tracking | Seller’s catalog |
| ASIN | Amazon | Catalog identifier | Product listing |
| FNSKU | Amazon | FBA fulfillment tracking | Each seller-product combo |
| UPC | Manufacturer | Barcode identifier | Global product identity |
| GTIN | Manufacturer | Global Trade Item Number | Parent to UPC/EAN |
Each code has a function and place in the Amazon supply chain, but only the SKU is fully under your control.
Common Mistakes When Managing SKUs (and How to Avoid Them)
How to Optimize SKU Management Efficiently
Full control of your business from the outset is what makes your business thrive even more once it’s expanding. This is why it’s important to run a tight ship and not waste any time on mundane and repetitive tasks that you can leave to automations. As your product catalog grows, managing hundreds (or thousands) of seller SKUs on Amazon manually can quickly become overwhelming. Here’s how you can keep everything under control:
Going one step further, it also makes sense to automate tasks like pricing as early as possible – not only to save time but also to unlock additional benefits like winning the Amazon Buy Box and outpacing the competition. Tools like the SELLERLOGIC Repricer have been helping Amazon sellers – both beginners and advanced – scale their businesses since 2016 and are the only solution offering a freemium package for startups.
Final Thoughts
Optimizing your SKUs may be a small tweak, but a powerful one. A smart, scalable SKU strategy will save you time during your Amazon SKU search, prevent mistakes and give you control over your inventory. Start simple, stay consistent and let your SKUs grow with your business.
FAQs
An Amazon Seller SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique identifier for products created by the seller to track their inventory and differentiate products internally.
Your Amazon Seller SKU is a custom code you assign to each product when listing it on Amazon. It helps you manage your stock.
No, once a SKU is created, it cannot be changed. To update it, you must delete the listing and create a new one with the desired SKU.
No, the SKU is not customer-facing and does not influence search ranking or product visibility on Amazon.
Amazon allows SKUs up to 40 characters in length.
Image credits in order of appearance: © POV Studio – stock.adobe.com
