Managing Sizes, Colours, and SKUs in Tanzania Retail — Product Variants and Barcode Label Printing
· 4 min read
If you sell shoes, clothing, or any product that comes in more than one size or colour, you already know the problem: one style, ten SKUs. A single pair of trainers in sizes 38 through 44 isn't one item — it's seven, each needing its own barcode, its own stock count, and its own price, while still clearly belonging to the same style on the shop floor.
Most small-shop systems force an awkward choice: either give every size the same item code (and lose the ability to tell them apart at the till or in stock reports), or type out a new, disconnected item for every single size (and lose the ability to see the whole style — stock across all sizes, total units sold — in one place). Neither is right.