Selling on Amazon can be overwhelming – especially for new sellers looking to private label their first product. Here is a brush up on the different types of labeling and bar codes you should understand before setting up your product listing.
SKU – Stock Keeping Unit
It is a unique code assigned by a company who is keeping track of stock. You will want a unique identifier to help manage and organize your products whether it is on your website or in your warehouse.
MPN – Manufacturer Part Number
It is created by the manufacturer when they create a new product. It help them to manage and organize the product with employees and resellers.
The MPN is pretty much is the manufacture SKU in most cases, but needs to be unique since retailers and distributors need to have their own identifier for their own system and to avoid duplicates
ASIN – Amazon Standard Identification Number
This number is generated by Amazon when you create a product listing. This helps Amazon manage and organize their online catalog. You can think of ASINs as Amazon SKU’s. An ASIN can have an MPN associated with it as well as the SKU number. You’ll also notice when creating new product listings, a lot of categories will require you to have a valid GS1 UPC Code for your product.
UPC – Universal Product Code
UPCs is a type of code printed on retail product packaging to aid in identifying a particular item. It is used to identify product features, such as the brand name, item, size, and color. They improve efficiency and productivity, by eliminating the need to manually enter product information. You will need a valid UPC code if you are private labeling your products and planning to sell them on Amazon.
EAN – the European Article Number
The EAN is the same as a UPC, except it has a single digit country code prefixed to it, thus making it 13 digits long. EAN numbers are also valid codes that can be used to set up your amazon product listing.
