Product Variant
A specific version of a product (size, colour, material) that is tracked as its own item.
A product variant is a specific version of a base product that differs by an attribute such as size, colour, or material. A T-shirt design sold in three sizes and two colours has six variants, and each is tracked separately.
Every variant normally has its own SKU and its own stock level, because customers buy specific variants and you need to reorder them independently. Treating variants as one lump hides which versions actually sell.
Good inventory and order systems model the base product and its variants together, so reporting can roll up to the product while stock and fulfilment happen at the variant level.
Put it into practice
Related terms
- SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)A unique internal code that identifies one specific product variant so you can track and reorder it.
- BarcodeA machine-readable pattern that encodes a number or text so an item can be scanned quickly.
- Cycle CountCounting a small subset of inventory on a regular rotating schedule instead of one big annual stocktake.
Run it in one system
VNDLY tracks stock, orders, and suppliers together so terms like this stop being theory and start being automatic.