Growth by addition is the most natural motion in consumer goods: a flavor for that retailer, a size for this channel, a seasonal that never left. Each addition is locally reasonable. Collectively they compound into a complexity tax that never appears on any invoice — which is why SKU count is a discipline, not an outcome.
The Complexity Ledger
- Operations: every SKU adds forecast error (small numbers forecast worse), safety stock, changeovers, and count lines. Twenty added SKUs can cost more working capital than one new product line.
- Shelf: your facings are finite; each addition dilutes the core's presence and hands the retailer's space software more slow movers to notice at reset time.
- Attention: the scarcest resource. Every SKU claims a slice of the field visit, the promo calendar, and the scorecard — slices taken from the items that pay the bills.
The Honest Math
Contribution dollars per SKU, with real costs loaded, ranked within role — the full method is in our rationalization guide, and the deeper cost mechanics in Operbit's piece on SKUs that quietly lose money. The recurring finding across categories: the bottom fifth of the portfolio consumes a fifth of the complexity budget to produce low single digits of the contribution.
One In, One Out
The rule that keeps the ledger balanced permanently: every launch proposal names its funding SKU — the item whose slot, working capital, and attention it inherits. It converts "should we launch this?" from an optimism contest into a trade, and trades get evaluated. Brands that adopt it discover something pleasant within a year: launches get better, because proposing one now costs something.
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