SKU List Data Extraction With Artificial Intelligence and IDP: Benefits, Features, Risks & More

The paradigm shift of global shoppers has changed from offline to online in recent years. The eCommerce industry is currently a $7.5 trillion economy and is growing at a very fast pace according to a report.

This rapidly growing eCommerce economy has given birth to many big platforms as well as small eCommerce businesses. Many traditional retail businesses have transitioned their business model from offline channels to online channels in recent years. And this transition has increased their sales and revenue. Now eCommerce businesses thrive on many factors such as their business model, where their customers are, how they want to target their customers, and how the sold product will be delivered to the customer.

Unlike a physical store that is only able to display and market a limited number of inventory items, an online store is able to display and share countless numbers of items without requiring much space and manpower. With such a large number of products and items, businesses need to maintain a list of product data which is known as an SKU list. An SKU list is used in both online and offline channels.

But data extraction from an SKU list is a challenging task. Due to the number of items, various fields, and tables, data extraction becomes a challenging task. The old manual data extraction method is prone to human errors and data accuracy remains a big challenge. But with tools such as SKU list OCR, intelligent document processing, and Artificial Intelligence, SKU data extraction has become more accurate, speedy, and efficient.

In this blog post, we will discuss various aspects of SKU list data extraction, including its challenges, benefits, and other key considerations.

An SKU list or Stock Keeping Unit is a list of products that shows the available and sold inventory of a store. An SKU list consists of details such as product name, title, variants, color variants, size variants, SKU number, product URL, price variants, availability, etc.
This helps businesses to maintain a record of what products have been sold and what is in stock, with all corresponding details of product types, variants, etc. In both online and offline businesses, the SKU list plays a vital role, but specifically in online and eCommerce businesses, it holds major importance.

There are many types of documents used on a day-to-day basis in online and offline businesses for various types of business activities. Documents such as bills, invoices, SKU lists, packing lists, and purchase orders are a few essential documents that are frequently used in business. But every document is different; similarly, an SKU list and a packing list are two different documents. But sometimes people get confused and consider the SKU list as a packing list. Here are the differences:

Here’s a comparison of a packing list and an SKU list in table format:

Feature	Packing List	SKU List
Purpose	Details shipment contents	Tracks products in inventory
Scope	Focuses on shipped items	Covers all stock in a system
Usage	Used in logistics and shipping	Used in warehousing and retail
Contents	Item descriptions, weights, packaging details	Product codes, descriptions, stock levels
Format	Structured for shipping documentation	Formatted for inventory databases
Tracking	Ensures shipment verification	Monitors stock movement and availability
Customization	Focuses on shipment accuracy	Includes pricing and supplier details
Regulatory Role	Required for customs clearance and freight calculations	Not required for shipping
Verification	Helps buyers confirm received goods	Helps businesses manage stock levels
Integration	Linked to shipping and order fulfilment	Integrated with inventory management systems

The real purpose of an SKU list is to keep a record of the items that are available or being sold by a store or business. This helps businesses manage their inventory and keep a record of which products are in stock and which have been sold. Secondly, when an online business or store fulfills an order, they can ensure that the right product has been packed and shipped to the logistics company.

The third important role of an SKU list is to help with product listing in both online stores and offline stores. If a business sells its product on multiple online eCommerce platforms, then with a single SKU list, you can manage your product listings across all channels. Analysis and reporting of sold and unsold products can also be done with the SKU list.
A well-maintained SKU list is the backbone of smooth eCommerce operations. But extracting and organizing this data can be tricky.

SKU list data extraction means extracting information such as product names, titles, variants, SKU ID, size, color, availability, and other information from an SKU list using automated software. The main purpose of SKU list data extraction is to improve workflow efficiency for logistics, product listing, and other decision-making activities for an online or offline store. A typical SKU list is usually generated in Excel or CSV format, but in some cases, it could be a scanned image PDF, native PDF, handwritten note, or JPG image as well.
Extracting data from a long and bulky SKU list manually isn’t efficient, but tools such as SKU list OCR and Intelligent Document Processing have made this task more efficient and smoother.

Extracting data from an SKU list manually is not very reliable for a business. Manual SKU list data extraction poses great challenges such as:

Multiple Formats:
SKU lists generally come in Excel format, but sometimes they can be PDFs, scanned images, or emails as well. Each format creates a different level of challenge. While extracting data from an Excel SKU list may be an easy task manually or automatically, extracting data from unstructured document formats such as PDFs or scanned images is difficult.

Human Errors:
Manual data extraction methods are prone to human errors. SKU data extraction needs to be accurate, and any error in data extraction can create serious issues.

Time-Consuming:
SKU list data extraction can be a time-consuming task, and the manual data extraction method takes too much time to extract data from even a single sheet SKU list.

Poor Data Quality:
The majority of SKU lists are generated in Excel format and sometimes printed on paper. But SKU lists such as scanned images or scanned PDFs can have blurry data, and extracting data from these types of SKU lists can be complicated due to the quality and blurriness of the data in the file.
All these challenges can slow down your business and affect decision-making. That’s why many companies are turning to automation powered by Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Document Processing.

Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Document Processing have changed how we handle data in this modern business world. eCommerce, logistics, and the shipping industry have greatly benefited from AI, ML, and other modern advanced technologies. Below are the factors that have made SKU list data extraction more efficient for businesses:

Automatic Data Capture:
Automation has made tasks more productive and time-saving. Monotonous tasks that were performed by humans have been greatly replaced by AI and machines, which has helped businesses to focus more on essential areas. Technologies such as AI can scan documents and pull the right data without any human input, with great speed and accuracy. This saves time and cuts down on mistakes. So, SKU list data extraction is one sector that has greatly benefited from this.

Multi-Format Support:
AI-based technologies such as Intelligent Document Processing, SKU list OCR, and Machine Learning support multi-format SKU list data extraction. You can extract data from a PDF, Excel, handwritten notes, or images with a single tool, with more accuracy.

Data Validation:
AI-based data extraction tools can validate and process data from SKU lists effectively and smartly. This can help detect missing data values, data mismatches, and other scenarios that can impact business decisions.

Fast Processing:
When we talk about data extraction with accuracy and speed, AI and Machine Learning always stay ahead. AI and IDP can extract data from an SKU list with more speed compared to the manual data extraction method. So, what takes a human hour can be done by AI in minutes.

Custom Workflows:
You can create and modify custom workflows in an AI or IDP-based SKU data extraction tool to extract specific and necessary data from the SKU list. This saves time and cost in data extraction.
Using AI and IDP reduces manual work, lowers costs, and speeds up operations. It’s a smart way to keep your eCommerce business running smoothly.

If you’re looking for a tool that can automate your SKU list data extraction with ease, AlgoDocs is a great choice. It is an AI-powered Intelligent Document Processing platform built to handle complex data extraction tasks.
Here’s why AlgoDocs stands out:

1. Easy-to-Use Interface: You don’t need to be a tech expert. Upload your document, set the fields, and let AlgoDocs do the rest.
2. Supports Multiple Formats: Whether your SKU list is in PDF, Excel, or image format, AlgoDocs can handle it.
3. Smart Field Detection: The AI in AlgoDocs can automatically detect and extract fields like SKU code, product name, price, and stock levels.
4. Custom Rules: Create custom rules to extract exactly what you need.
5. High Accuracy: Thanks to AI, AlgoDocs delivers accurate results even from low-quality documents.
6. Integration-Friendly: Easily connect with your existing inventory or ERP system.
7. Scalable: Whether you have hundreds or thousands of SKU entries, AlgoDocs can scale with your needs.

Real eCommerce businesses are already using AlgoDocs to streamline their SKU list data extraction. The result? Faster processing, fewer errors, and happier customers.

Automating SKU list data extraction with AI and IDP is something all businesses are doing these days. With the rise of AI and Intelligent Document Processing, you can now automate your entire SKU list data extraction workflow and focus on growing your business.
AI-based tools like AlgoDocs offer a powerful solution for automating SKU list data extraction. Its user-friendly design, powerful AI engine, and high accuracy make it an excellent option for any eCommerce business.

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