Overview
Having your products properly identified and labeled is critical to maintaining accurate inventory management. Each unique item that will be stored at a MasonHub warehouse – including packaging – must have a unique SKU (stock keeping unit) and barcode.
Keeping your inventory organized begins with having descriptive item names and SKUs. Developing a standard naming convention is recommended.
- Item - each item should be named with a unique combination of item variants (product, name, size, color). For example, an apparel company may have an item named ‘Red, long sleeve tee, size medium’.
- SKU - each item will also have its own SKU. The SKU will be used to identify and track the inventory. We recommend your SKUs correlate to your item name. For example, the item above could have SKU: LStee-red-med
- Barcode - Scannable barcodes are required on all products. The barcode should consist of the machine readable barcode as well as the unique barcode ID (this can be the SKU).
The SKU and Barcode must be clearly labeled and scannable on the outside of each item.
You can request MasonHub label your inventory, for an additional fee, by contacting your Account Manager.
Creating SKUs
If you're connected to MasonHub through our Shopify app, by default, we will automatically create and update SKUs that are in ‘Active’ status in Shopify. This ensures that your catalog stays up-to-date in the MasonHub OMS, so you can make changes to the product (e.g. update a description) and we'll automatically update the product's SKUs in the MasonHub OMS.
You can also sync a ‘Draft’ product by adding a "sync_draft" tag to your Shopify product. This allows you to create SKUs in our OMS so you can upload an ASN and we can receive the inventory before you make it available on your store.
If you update a Shopify product's status to ‘Archive’, the MasonHub app will ignore any future updates but it will remain in our system.
Active - Shopify products that are synced by default with initial MasonHub app connection and future Shopify product updates
Draft - Shopify products that are NOT synced by default but can be by adding tag “sync_draft”
Archive - Shopify products that are not synced or updated
For information on creating products in Shopify review their support documentation.
Editing SKUs
Edits made to your SKUs in Shopify update to MasonHub in real-time.
| IMPORTANT NOTE: While Shopify gives you full edit capability to adjust your SKUs, you need to notify MasonHub before making certain changes. Failure to do so may result in inventory not being updated, SKUs not being created in MasonHub’s OMS, or an inability to receive your inventory at our facility. |
Contact MasonHub Support before making any of the following changes to products that exist in MasonHub's OMS
- Editing or removing the SKU
- Editing or removing the barcode
- Reorganizing how SKUs are structured, e.g. combining different styles into one product.
It is a best practice never to edit these fields. But if you must, send a spreadsheet to support@masonhub.co with the current SKU and barcode followed by the requested change. We will coordinate any updates, fees, and minimize the impact this may have to your inventory and our operations.
The following product attributes can be updated at will without notifying MasonHub:
- product title
- type
- description
- image
- price
- vendor
Additional Tips
| SKU Format | productname-color-size |
SKU nomenclature is most helpful when it describes the physical product. We recommend using a format similar to the following: Grey fisherman sweater, size small = fsweater-grey-s |
| SKU Length | 20 characters | Keep your SKU names concise and limited to 20 characters |
| Scannable barcode | required |
If you do not add barcodes to your products, MasonHub can assign a value automatically and will label your products upon receipt at an additional fee. Contact your Account Manager for additional information. |
| Weight | recommended for all products | We recommend you include a weight for all products, especially when using rate shops for your shipping methods. |
| HS Codes & Country of Origin | required when shipping outside US | Though these fields are not required in Shopify, MasonHub does require that this information when shipping outside the US. |
| Product Image | recommended for all products | Though images aren't required in Shopify, they allow MasonHub to more easily verify inventory upon receipt. |
| Packaging Materials | required |
MasonHub requires an ASN (advance shipping notification) for all inbound products, including your packaging materials. To add these products to the ASN, they must have unique SKUs as well. Create SKUs for your packaging materials in Shopify and remove them from all active sales channels so they are not visible to your customers. |
This SKU and Barcode combination must be unique to SKUs in your catalog. Do not use the same barcode on another SKU. If you edit the SKU name, your inventory for the original SKU will no longer be linked to your store. You must reach out to MasonHub Support before making any changes to these two fields.
Do not duplicate a Product. The only exception is if the copy will be an exact replica of the SKU you are copying and you must be sure to also copy the Barcodes.
If you duplicate a variant, you need to do more than change the Options like Shopify says. You must also change the SKU name and Barcode to ensure they are unique and are not used on other SKUs.