Most folks are familiar with bar codes. Every time we go to the grocery store and check out, the cashier scans our groceries one at a time and the register automatically knows what we purchased, how much it is, and they probably even trigger when they need to reorder that item. Part of that bar code is the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit), which is a uniform method of tracking products sold.
As the name implies, the SKU is intended to help producers track inventory in stock, but it can also be used by resellers, and even the people who purchase the item to keep track of what they’ve purchased.
So a box of 50 yellow widgets would have one SKU because it can be sold as a box, while one blue widget might have a separate but related SKU because it can be stocked and sold individually as well.
Click here for a more detailed definition of the SKU.
SKU for Software
Software is similar to any product that uses SKUs. You can buy one copy, or multiple copies. Some software can be purchased with a software license for a specific number of machines, while other times you would purchase the same software to be licensed for a specific number of users. Each of these is a unique instance that needs to be tracked separately.
It’s because of the uniformity and broad use of SKUs that it’s imperative that any software asset management (SAM) tool include capabilities to track software by SKUs.
Most publishers reference their software using a SKU. This SKU is usually attached to every purchase order line to clearly identify which software or package is purchased by a customer.
Even if there are very small differences between two software titles sold by a publisher/reseller, such as, the publisher program or in the maintenance, they usually carry two different SKUs.
Source:http://blogs.flexerasoftware.com/elo/2010/06/why-a-sku-is-important-to-software-asset-management.html
