SKU matching and the Item Master
Lesson 7 of 15 7 min read
How Supply Lens matches order lines to Enterpryze items, when to use a cross-reference table, and how to audit your SKUs before go-live.
SKU alignment is the single most common cause of Enterpryze integration errors and go-live delays. The good news is that it is entirely in your control, and you can fix it before you switch anything on. By the end of this lesson you will know how matching works and how to audit your SKUs.
How matching works
When an order arrives, Supply Lens matches each line to a product in the Enterpryze Item Master using the SKU. There are two approaches:
| Exact match | The SKU on the order must match the Item Master exactly: same case, same separators, same leading zeros. Use this when your systems already share one set of SKUs. |
|---|---|
| Cross-reference table | Supply Lens translates an external code, such as a retailer's product code, into the Enterpryze SKU before creating the order. Use this when another system genuinely uses different codes that you cannot change. |
Exact match is simpler to run, because there is no table to keep up to date. Choose a cross-reference table only when the codes cannot be aligned at source, for example a retailer's own product codes or barcodes on EDI orders.
What happens when a SKU does not match
If any SKU on an inbound order cannot be matched, Supply Lens holds the whole order and raises an alert. It will not create a partial order. Resolve missing SKUs in the Item Master before you activate the Integration, and you avoid a queue of held orders on day one.
Existing but unusable items
An item can exist in the Item Master and still be refused by Enterpryze: if it is frozen, or is not a sales item. When Supply Lens checks codes after a rejection, it reports these too. Check both flags on your items during the audit.
Audit your SKUs before go-live
Work through this checklist with an export of each connected system and the Item Master side by side:
- Every SKU that will appear on orders exists in the Item Master.
- The format matches exactly, including case, separators and leading zeros.
- No SKU is duplicated in either system.
- Variants are agreed: if your storefront has parent and child products, the child (variant) SKU is the one that maps to Enterpryze.
- Bundles and kits are addressed: decide whether a bundle SKU is its own item or should become its components.
- Products without a SKU are handled, not left to fail.
- A cross-reference table is built wherever formats genuinely differ.
- Items that will be ordered are not frozen and are marked as sales items.
Common mismatches and fixes
| What you find | What to do |
|---|---|
| Storefront SKU has a colour or size suffix that Enterpryze does not | Align the SKUs, or use a cross-reference table |
| Parent product SKU used instead of variant SKU | Map the variant SKU |
| Retailer EAN or barcode instead of your SKU | Cross-reference table for that retailer |
| Bundle SKU in the storefront, components in Enterpryze | Agree how bundles are handled before go-live |
| SKUs being renamed during the project | Freeze SKU changes around the go-live window |
Do not forget shipping lines
Shipping charges often arrive as a line on the order. List the item codes your documents use for shipping in the shippingLineItemCodes setting, so they are treated as shipping costs rather than product lines. More on this in the settings deep dive.
Fernhill's SKU audit
Fernhill exports 240 WooCommerce variants and the Enterpryze Item Master into one spreadsheet and uses a lookup to find each WooCommerce SKU in Enterpryze. It finds:
- 12 SKUs in lower case. Fixed in WooCommerce.
- 3 gift sets that exist only in WooCommerce. Fernhill creates them as items in Enterpryze.
- 1 discontinued item still on sale in WooCommerce but frozen in Enterpryze. Fernhill removes it from the store.
Every SKU now matches exactly, so Fernhill uses exact matching and needs no cross-reference table.
Recap
- Supply Lens matches each order line to the Item Master by SKU, using exact match or a cross-reference table.
- An unmatched SKU holds the whole order and raises an alert. No partial order is ever created.
- Frozen items and non-sales items are refused by Enterpryze even though they exist.
- Audit SKUs before go-live: existence, exact format, duplicates, variants, bundles and missing SKUs.
- Prefer exact match. Use a cross-reference table only where codes cannot be aligned at source.
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