Preserving leading zeroes in SKUs

An SKU is an identifier, not a number. In the built-in sample, 0002 is distinct from 2; removing the leading zeroes changes the identifier and prevents an exact match.

Worked example

File	Visible SKU	Exact text used for matching	Result
Shopify export	`0002`	`0002`	Baseline
Supplier file A	`0002`	`0002`	Exact match
Supplier file B	`2`	`2`	Unmatched exception

Feedstead treats these as different SKUs. It never strips or adds padding. If the supplier’s identifier specification confirms that padding is only formatting, correct the supplier file before importing it and record that decision for the client.

Safer spreadsheet handling

Import the SKU column as text.
Avoid number formatting or numeric formulas on SKU columns.
Preserve dashes, spaces, letter case, and leading zeroes until you have an explicit normalization policy.
Inspect several short and long SKUs before confirming the mapping.
Use the complete change report to trace each supplier SKU exactly as supplied.

If Excel has already removed leading zeroes, reopening the file will not reveal how many zeroes were lost. Return to the untouched supplier file or obtain the supplier’s SKU specification.