Inventory docs

Inventory overview

Inventory is where you manage your individual articles, access their usage data and package them under SKUs

Written by
Karri Hiekkanen
Published on
Dec 20, 2024
Updated on
Mar 3, 2025

In all circular business models (e.g. rentals, subscriptions and resales) every single item is unique after its first use. Each item has its own history, future, condition and value.

This is often called "individualized inventory" or "single-SKU inventory" and differs from traditional inventory management systems, which assume all similar items are identical and store only the number of the items available.

Besides offering superior level of control over each inventory article, an individualized inventory management system also provides usage data on single item level. This information is extremely important when you are determining for example how much revenue an item has generated, how long an item lasts, and what is good point to sell it to make room for new items.

Articles and SKUs

TWICE Commerce's Inventory is divided into articles and SKUs.

TWICE Commerce's Inventory is split into Articles and SKUs.

What are Articles?

Articles are the individual, physical items within your inventory, each potentially having a unique ID or article number. Additional metadata for each article, such as manufacturer, model, and year of production, can also be stored to enhance tracking and management.

Learn more:

Articles overview

Adding new articles to your fleet

The Article's view in TWICE Commerce's inventory section shows a table of every unique item in your stock. Through this view users can make edits to the individual articles in their inventory.

What are Stock Keeping Units (SKUs)?

SKUs are a vital component of inventory management, serving as a method to categorize and group similar inventory articles. This system simplifies order fulfillment and tracking by consolidating related items under a common identifier. SKUs are used when you link your inventory to your catalog, which is how you make your inventory available for your customer.

Learn more:

SKU Overview

Grouping inventory items using SKUs

SKUs are used to group similar items under a single Stock Keeping Unit.

The Difference Between Inventory and Product Catalog

It's important to distinguish between your inventory and your product catalog. While inventory refers to the actual physical items (articles and SKUs), the product catalog consists of the products, services, and combinations that you offer to your customers. Understanding this distinction is crucial for effective inventory and sales management.

This guide serves as a starting point to familiarize you with the basics of inventory management in TWICE, setting the stage for more advanced applications and strategies as your familiarity with the system grows.

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