Variants, items and SKUs

In brief: Variants are the specific, sellable versions of a product, such as a blue T-shirt in size M. They are also called items or SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) and have their own item number, price and stock level.

Product and variant: the difference

The product is the overarching concept, such as “Basic T-shirt”. It holds shared information such as the description, material and care instructions. Variants differ in only a few characteristics, known as variant axes, such as size and colour. Only variants physically exist in the warehouse, have a price and can be ordered. In everyday usage, “product” often refers to both, which can lead to misunderstandings in projects.

How a PIM system models variants

PIM systems model the product and variant hierarchy (often with an intermediate level, such as colour). Shared values are maintained once at product level and passed down to the variants, see inheritance. Only the attributes that differ are maintained for each variant. This reduces effort and prevents inconsistencies.

Example

A shoe in 3 colours and 10 sizes results in 30 variants, or 30 SKUs. The description and material only need to be maintained once, while images are maintained once per colour, or three times in total. In the online shop, a single product is displayed with colour and size options.

See also

• Products
• Inheritance
• Properties / Attributes
• Data model
• ERP systems