SKU Auto-Generation Tickbox

Ideas & feature requests
1

I would like to:

  • Specify a SKU prefix in the Product Settings.
  • Specify SKU auto-generation in the Product Settings
  • Watch as Breww auto-generates an auto-incrementing SKU with a prefix whenever I create a product

This is already partially implemented in the Product CSV Import flow, but it’s not an incrementing number it’s just the database ID from what I can tell. It’s still useful though.

2

Thanks for the great suggestion, this would certainly save time when creating products.

You’re right that this does happen already when creating products through the data import tool, and also in places where there wasn’t a good oppertunity to prompt for a product code (such as ticking the boxes for automatic product creation when adding a new beer).

The current process for generating these is:

  1. Start with the “Beer code” (if one isn’t available, use the first 3 characters of the beer name).
  2. Followed by the first 2 characters of the container type name.
  3. Next add a number (which is the total number of existing products). This guarantees uniqueness.
  4. Ensure all letters are uppercase.

We could relatively easily make this process generate a default for this field when creating new products. How much extra benefit is there for allowing specifiing a SKU prefix and allowing it to be switched on/off? It would likely be a useful time-saving default using the above process and always “on” for everyone?

3

Sounds fine. But I think maybe over-complicated? I’d have to run every workflow through to fully understand your plan. But my feeling is that any product code that is derived from a human-readable name is a hangover from a time when database search functionality was cold and uncompromising.

Since nowadays generally humans can easily find products in a database using a few characters of the product name rather than memorising all the SKU abbreviations. I would always consider SKU/product codes to be designed for robots to distinguish between products. (In CSVs for example.)

So a prefix is essential for when humans get involved by sharing the code on the phone or via email. But generally all new codes just need to be company-specific incrementing numbers. SKU-1001 can be a small-pack of mixed cans. SKU-1002 can be a returnable cask of stout.

I appreciate there’s some different challenges with the containers. But conceptually speaking, simple is better than complex.

4

Thanks, Simon.

I agree that the method I mentioned is more complex than it needs to be, but it’s also the simplest method in the sense that it’s what is already in use and therefore changing it to anything else is more complicated than leaving it untouched. We’ll leave it untouched as I don’t see a good reason to change it to something else and there are minor benefits to product codes being able to tell you the related beer.

Internally Breww uses its own “Product ID” so the SKU is really for humans to use (if they want to).

We’ll look to make this a default in the product creation form :+1: