Now that you know why product codes are important, it’s even more important to implement codes that make sense, are easy to follow and make working with (and around) them an effortless and seamless process. If done right, your product codes will not only work for you but will speed up your existing processes and minimize errors.

A few key points in making product codes that are effective include:

• Be sure the product code is concise and practical but still effective. I used to work for a company that used internal product codes of 12 numbers with no letters and nothing that you could use to determine anything about the code. Can you imagine how difficult it would be for someone trying to pull a part to be shipped with item number 229202717892? What is this product? Bubble gum or a nuclear warhead? There’s no good way to tell. Their whole system ran on the idea that a computer would take the code and tell you where to go pull the part from and what it was. What if the systems were down? What if a new person came in and didn’t know where things were stored? This system was so fragile that it was not fixable without scraping the codes all together and starting fresh.
• Everyone involved in the process should know what the codes are and how they are used. A product code gives your employees and customers a uniform way to speak a common language. No matter whether you sells shoes or Chevys, you’re likely to have a product code that is universal. You may have build codes, wip construction codes or other associated codes along the process to manufacture or procure these items, but the end result is the same. A product code gives your product a universal reference for everyone involved.
• A product code, if done logically, can tell a lot about a product just by looking at it. For instance, take one of the energy posters I sold for my previous employer, AwarenessIDEAS.com, AI-EP101 for instance. The AI- in the code stands for the website it is on, “AwarenessIdeas”. The EP stands for “Energy Poster” the 101 stands for “Item number 101″.
• Product codes make sorting of products simpler, but only if they are built on a one-to-many logic. If you put a product’s category or item class into the code itself, sorting by and reporting on these items as groups becomes easier. for instance on our item number AI-EP101, if I wanted to know all of the items in our Energy Poster category, I could do a search for everything containing “AI-EP”. If I wanted to just show all energy items, I could do a search for “AI-E”. Because the codes are written as they are, sorting and administrative reporting becomes simpler.
• If one master company owns several subsidiaries, being able to quickly tell which company owns which part and why makes accounting, production and inventory substantially easier. This is why all of our awards website items begin with AW- and our awareness ideas items begin with AI-. Otherwise, we’d have a more difficult time knowing where to bill an item to and what website it came from.
• If a vendor already has an item number for something, take a cue from what works for them. For instance, lets say you are a retailer that sells wall coverings and paint. Your vendor sells a wallpaper that goes by item number AD-1100. The AD in this case is their company name (Art Deco company), the 11 stands for a whole series of items produced in an argyle pattern and the 00 stands for the specific color (green and red, for instance). Once familiar with how they code their items, by looking at this item number, you know that the AD-1100 is an Art Deco Argyle pattern wallpaper in green and red. You could then take this item number and make it your item WP-AD-1100. You’ll be able to tell at an instant what your code WP (wallpaper) and their code (AD-1100) really are. Alternatively, you could enhance this even further and call your item WP-AD-1100-ARG-RDGN. While this number is significantly longer, it tells even more about the product just by looking at the number.
• Document your coding process. This is crucial. Even if your coding process is completely obvious to you, it may not be obvious to the next person. Lets say you sell tires. Lets say you use whole words and industry terms for your item numbers. Lets say your item number is BFGTT20565R15. To me, knowing a thing or two about tires, that’s really simple. BFG is the manufacuring (BF Goodrich). TT is “Truck Tire). 205 is the width of the tire from inside to out. 65 is the height of the tire from wheel to tread. R is Radial. 15 is the wheel size, in inches. But how many people actually know this? Make sure you document your coding process somewhere that is easily accessible. New hires and those with a lot on their minds will be thankful that they can see through your cypher and find what they need.

Now that you know why product codes are necessary and how to build them, go out there and do it. Document your produces, build easy to read codes and follow logic set by your vendors (if it makes sense to do so). Your future efficiencies will thank you.