What is a MPN?
A MPN is the Manufacturer Part Number. When you are uploading the product data feed to the marketplace or comparison shopping engines, you must provide the MPN for the product. The MPN is also used when buying specific products. The MPN is a unique number that is given by the manufacturer to identify the product quickly. The MPN has a series of numbers and letters. The manufacturers will print the MPN on the product label that is in the barcode form. The MPNs are also found in the catalogues of the manufacturer, websites of the manufacturer and online databases.
Significance of MPN
MPNs are critical for every industry. It is the number used by the products that are produced by vehicles, machinery and computer parts.
For instance, the oil filter designed for one model of a car would not fit for another model of a car, although the same manufacturer has produced both the car models. It is easy to identify the part used for your car model with the help of the MPN. The MPN is the one that differentiates the oil filter being used in the car. There are various platforms where you must provide the MPN of the product, including comparison shopping engines, marketplaces and other ecommerce tools.
A few of the reasons why MPNs are critical include:
- They help the search engines to match the products with the queries of the customers perfectly
- Product comparison becomes precise
- They allow various online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and other sites to show relevant products to the users based on their internet browsing history
- MPNs will provide accurate information on the product listings. When you specify the MPN in eBay or other ecommerce sites, you will get the product information along with the technical details accurately
- MPNs are the codes that helps buyers to buy the right model part for their specific need, such as a car or a computer
How will MPNs be used?
The vendors, along with the manufacturers, will show the MPN of the products on the sites. This allows the users to find the right product and let search engines showcase accurate results.
When you upload the product to the marketplace or comparison shopping engines, you must provide MPN for every product that you upload to the product data feed.
Many have a misconception that MPN and SKN are the same, but actually, both are different. SKN is the Stock Keeping Unit, which is used internally by the vendors to categorise and identify the system. The merchant can give a unique SKN for the product that you buy from the manufacturer, which already has an MPN. However, SKN is used only for internal purpose to manage inventory. For instance, the marketplaces and comparison shopping engines will not use SKN. Though you use this for an internal purpose, when you are uploading the product data feed for advertising, you may also have to provide SKN along with the MPN for the product.
What are the best substitutes for MPN?
GTIN is the unique number that is given for the products that are defined through barcode. This is the Global Trade Item Number that makes sure that all the products are in the same format.
Various types of GTINs that are available and widely used are:
GTIN-14 – It stands for Global Trade Item Number that is of 14-digits
ISBN – this stands for International Standard Book Number
EAN – this stands for European Article Number
JAN – This stands for Japanese Article Number
UPC – this stands for Universal Product Code.
There are a few comparison shopping engines; especially Google Shopping would prefer to use GTIN over MPN when uploading the product data feed to run a campaign. In this case, you don't need to provide MPN.
If the product that you are uploading has no GTIN, then you must provide MPN when uploading the product to the product data feed.
Amazon will use ASIN – Amazon Standard Identification Numbers. Though, if you are uploading to Amazon; you must use GTIN.
Purpose of MPNs
MPN helps you to search and identify the products with ease. You must use this number on product feeds.
