Demystifying Walmart SKUs: An Expert Seller‘s Guide to Managing Inventory with Walmart‘s Product Identification System
As an experienced Amazon seller now expanding to Walmart, one of the first things I needed to understand was Walmart‘s SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) product identification system. Navigating inventory management and forecasting with Walmart‘s 75+ million SKUs can be daunting for sellers who are used to relying just on UPC barcodes.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explain everything sellers need to know about how to use, find, read, and leverage Walmart SKUs based on my years of FBA experience. Consider it your handbook for maximizing inventory control and insights using Walmart‘s internal product codes.
A Walmart SKU is a Unique Internal Product Identifier for Walmart‘s Inventory
First and foremost, a Walmart SKU is a special 8-12 digit alphanumeric code that Walmart internally assigns to each distinct product variant it sells. The primary purpose of the SKU is to help Walmart track and manage inventory.
Unlike UPC barcodes which are standard 12-digit numbers identifying products universally across all retailers, SKUs are internal identifiers specific to each retailer‘s inventory system.
For sellers, understanding how to find and use SKUs is crucial for having visibility into inventory levels, storage locations, sales velocity, and more granular product performance data in Walmart stores.
Looking Up An Item By Walmart SKU
Searching for an item by its designated Walmart SKU is straightforward:
- Go to Walmart.com and search for the product name
- Click through to the specific product page
- The SKU is the last string of numbers in the URL
For example, a Mainstays bath towel has this product page:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Basic-Solid-Bath-Towel/565106034
So the Walmart SKU is 565106034.
Another easy way for sellers to lookup SKUs is using Brickseek‘s Walmart Inventory Checker tool. Just enter a product name or UPC and Brickseek will return the matching Walmart SKU.
How Sellers Can Find Any Product‘s Walmart SKU
If you don‘t already have the SKU for an item, use these seller-approved tactics to find it:
Search Walmart.com for the product, click through to the details page, and grab the SKU from the URL
Use Brickseek‘s SKU Finder by entering a product name, keywords, or UPC barcode
Browse Walmart stores and scan items with the Brickseek app to reveal the SKU
Check category-specific Walmart product databases like GMD for general merchandise items
Use EDI transaction data to match products with their Walmart SKUs
Once you have the SKU, record it in your product catalog along with the UPC for future reference.
Strategic Ways for Sellers to Use Walmart SKUs
As a seller, here are some of the key ways you can utilize Walmart SKUs in your inventory strategy:
Check item availability by inputting the SKU into Brickseek to see real-time in-stock quantities per store.
Forecast demand by tracking sales velocity of SKUs across regions.
Optimize storage by assigning storage locations based on SKU velocity.
Improve supply chain by using Brickseek data to source high-velocity SKUs.
Identify dead stock by pulling low-velocity SKU reports.
Inform pricing by tying pricing algorithms to SKU demand data.
Kit building by bundling SKUs based on association rules mining.
Loss prevention by analyzing SKU shrinkage rates.
The level of granularity provided by having 75+ million Walmart SKUs allows sellers to tap into powerful inventory insights and analytics.
Walmart SKU vs. UPC Summary
Here is a comparison of how Walmart SKUs differ from the more commonly known UPC barcodes:
| Walmart SKU | UPC |
|---|---|
| Internal number assigned per product variant by Walmart | Standard 12-digit number identifying the product universally |
| Used for Walmart inventory tracking and management | Used for broader product identification across retailers |
| 8-12 digits, alphanumeric | 12 digits, numeric |
| Varies for the same product at different retailers | Consistent for a product across all retailers |
So remember, the SKU and UPC serve different purposes for retailers and sellers!
Walmart SKUs vs. Barcodes
To clarify another common misconception, the Walmart SKU is not the same as the product barcode:
The SKU is the internal inventory number assigned by Walmart to each product variant.
The barcode is the globally standardized 12-digit UPC printed on product packaging.
When selling on Walmart, it‘s important to distinguish between the two identifiers.
The Power of Walmart SKUs for Inventory Management
Given Walmart‘s unrivaled scale and scope of products, SKUs are essential for managing its retail operations. Here are some of the key ways Walmart leverages SKUs:
Track inventory – Walmart uses SKUs to record exact real-time inventory available across over 4700 stores.
Locate products – SKUs help Walmart identify the precise storage location of each item within stores.
Manage stock – By monitoring SKU levels, out-of-stocks can be prevented through replenishment.
Enhance accuracy – Granular SKU data improves overall inventory accuracy vs. relying only on UPCs.
Monitor losses – Unusual SKU shrinkage or anomalies can reveal shoplifting hotspots.
Lookup details – Employees can quickly pull up item details like price, features, and dimensions just by searching the SKU.
Walmart‘s retail empire would not run smoothly without the inventory visibility provided by its catalog of 75+ million active SKUs.
Example Walmart SKU
To give you an idea of how Walmart SKUs appear, here is an example:
19144010012 – Parent‘s Choice Sensitive Baby Wipes 64 Count
This SKU identifies the specific Parent‘s Choice baby wipes product in the 64 count pack size.
Notice how the SKU provides much more detail about the product variant versus just the 12-digit UPC.
The Staggering Scale of Walmart‘s SKU Database
As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart carries an astonishing 75 million+ SKUs in its retail system globally.
To put that into perspective, Walmart‘s SKU count exceeds:
The population of the UK (67 million)
Three times as many products as the #2 retailer, Amazon (~200 million)
Over six times as many SKUs as Target (11 million)
This massive volume allows Walmart to offer unparalleled variety and assortment spanning categories like clothing,fresh food, electronics, home goods, toys, groceries, and much more.
Managing product identification at this scale is a monumental task – and it‘s why Walmart SKUs are so essential as internal inventory codes.
How Walmart‘s Systems Auto-Generate SKUs
Walmart relies on its industry-leading retail management software and point-of-sale systems to automatically generate and assign SKUs to products.
When new products are added to Walmart‘s catalog, the technology works in the background to create unique SKUs with the following process:
The system pulls in key product attributes like brand, name, category, color, size, etc.
Advanced algorithms sort and combine the attributes into optimized 8-12 digit strings.
SKU barcode labels are printed and affixed to each product variant.
The final SKUs are synced across stores and Walmart‘s online platform.
Auto-generating 75+ million perfectly unique SKUs ensures consistency and scalability as inventory rapidly changes.
Why Walmart SKUs Sometimes Change
One complexity sellers need to be aware of is that Walmart SKUs can occasionally change even for existing products. Typical reasons include:
The manufacturer repackages or slightly modifies the product.
New size variants, flavors, or styles are introduced.
Inventory is moved to a different department or category.
When changes like this occur, Walmart‘s systems assign a new SKU to essentially recategorize the item.
As a seller, if you notice one of your top SKUs is discontinued, check if a similar new SKU has been created for a modified version of the same product before removing it entirely.
Final Thoughts
For sellers listing products with Walmart, deeply understanding the retailer‘s SKU identification system unlocks powerful inventory management capabilities far beyond just UPC barcodes.
Leveraging the data within Walmart‘s network of 75 million SKUs allows granular tracking of inventory levels, sales performance, product locations, losses, and more. And looking up items by SKU enables insight into real-time availability across stores.
The bottom line is that SKUs are the lifeblood of Walmart‘s retail operations. And by incorporating SKUs into your Walmart selling strategy, you can make smarter decisions to maximize sales and growth.
