For sellers that list primarily using the AoB Single List Page (SLP), working in a SKU-based system is ideal because the SLP will tell you when a similar item is already listed and you can just edit the existing item to include your new entry. However, for sellers that upload files to list their items, it's simply not possible to determine at the time of listing whether a like-item has already been listed, and then to list that item under an existing SKU. We've seen this become quite problematic and developed a listing system we call M-SKU as our answer to this quandary.
When M-SKU is active, your uploads, sales, and item edits are handled a bit differently. The rest of this page describes the differences you will experience.
INVENTORY:
Your main inventory data table, which contains all of a listing's information including title, author, publisher, release date, etc... (aka the catalog data) for your ISBN/UPC/ASIN, is not altered under this system. Instead, another table is employed called the 'msku table' in addition to the main inventory table.
This table has 4 fields:
- m_sku -- (multi-SKU) directly maps to the SKU in your main inventory table and is the SKU the venues see.
- i_sku -- (internal SKU) is the SKU you enter on the Single List Page, the SKU you upload to us, and the SKU by which you catalog your items.
- qty -- qty is the qty of any given i_sku. There is one and only one i_sku.
- location -- location is your assigned shelving location of any given i_sku.
There can be multiple i_skus, per m_sku, in this table: i.e. the msku table can map multiple of your internal SKUs to a single item at the venues.
The system 'matches' your items based on:
- condition
- notes
- ISBN
ALL THREE of these must match EXACTLY to an existing item, for it to be 'merged' into an existing listing.
It's also worth noting that if an incoming item does not have quantity it will not be added to existing M-SKU.
On your Full Inventory list, you may see other SKUs under the 'main' SKU for any listing:
- These are the other SKUs (i_skus) in your inventory associated with that main inventory item (m_sku).
- You can click on any of these to edit that i_sku item. When you update i_sku, anything you update will be reflected in the other i_skus, except for the qty.
You can search your inventory using the i_sku as well and will find options in the Inventory Search Fields.
There should be no changes required to the way you upload your items. Just upload using your own internal SKUs under a 'sku' heading and they should integrate correctly.
ORDERS:
When you receive an order, we get the m_sku from the venue and select from among the available i_skus to compile the internal order.
On your orders (in the Ship list, Bulk Shipping, Pull List, and History) you will see the SKU from the venue (the m_sku) but then just below that, you'll see a smaller bordered box with your internal SKU, then qty, and whether or not it was matched correctly. These are the SKUs you will want to pull from your shelves to fill these orders.
SHIPPING:
Going forward you will want to display the i-sku on your Custom Packing Slip, so use the Replacement Tag of %ITEMMSKU% (note the two M's) instead of %ITEMSKU% (note only one M this time).
- i_skus are not reflected is in the Sales Download Files. This will likely be integrated at a later date.
Converting to M-SKU is not available for the users to do. We reserve this action for IT to do manually for you. Come to Live Chat, or put in a Support Ticket to discuss this with AoB staff.
Comments