Product identifiers
Every identifier type you can give a Product, what each is for, and how scope and units of measure work on Product identifiers.
A Product identifier is a code that a system or trading partner uses for one of your Products. A Product can carry as many as you need, and Supply Lens tries every identifier value on an incoming line against them.
Available Product identifier types
| Type | What it usually is | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| SKU | Your stock keeping unit code, as held in your ERP or inventory system. A field on the Add new product window. | Your own systems, such as your ERP, inventory system and web shop |
| Buyer Product Code | The customer's own code for your item | Wholesalers and retailers with their own catalogue numbers |
| ControlPort Product ID | ControlPort's ID for the item | ControlPort |
| GTIN-13 | A 13-digit barcode, usually for the single consumer unit. A field on the Add new product window. | Retail and EDI orders by barcode |
| GTIN-14 | A 14-digit barcode, usually for the case or outer. A field on the Add new product window. | Wholesale and EDI orders by the case |
| Seller Product Code | Your own code for the item, as the seller | Partners who quote your code back to you |
| UPC | A barcode used mainly in North America | Partners in the US and Canada |
| WooCommerce Variation Identifier | WooCommerce's ID for a product variant | WooCommerce stores |
When you add an identifier, the type list only shows the types that apply to your organisation's Integrations.
Scope: narrowing where an identifier applies
An identifier with no scope applies everywhere. You can narrow a Product identifier to:
| Scope | The identifier only applies |
|---|---|
| Party | On Documents for that customer (the Document's counterparty) |
| Country | On Documents in that country |
| Currency | On Documents in that currency |
| Integration | On Documents received from that Integration (inbound) or sent to it (outbound) |
An identifier scoped to something else is ignored completely on Documents outside its scope, not just ranked lower. When several identifiers survive, the ranking order for Products is Party, then country, then currency, then Integration, and the first difference decides. See How Supply Lens matches codes.
| Use | Scope |
|---|---|
| Your SKU and printed barcodes | None: they mean the same to everyone |
| A partner's own catalogue code | That partner's Party |
| A different code for one system | That Integration |
The unit an identifier stands for
A Product identifier can record which unit of measure it stands for, such as a GTIN-14 for a case. The Product page shows the unit beside each identifier. When a partner orders by that identifier and sends no unit, the line takes that unit before any default.
The unit is informational: it doesn't affect which Product a code matches or which code is sent. It
only sets the unit of an inbound line, and only when your organisation has a default single unit
configured. You can set it on the Product page, or in bulk with an identifier uom column in a Product
import, such as id gtin-14 uom.
Removing an identifier
To remove a SKU or GTIN from a Product, click the pencil next to it, choose Remove and confirm. If an identifier can't be removed, it stays on the Product and you are told why.
Rules of thumb
- Add every code any system or partner might send.
- Enter values exactly as they are sent: capitals, hyphens and leading zeros matter.
- Never put the same code, at the same scope, on two Products. An incoming Document that uses it is ambiguous, and Supply Lens reports an error naming both Products instead of picking one. Use the identifier filter on the Products list to check for duplicates before adding a code.