Product Overview

Summary: This Product Labelling and Pricing SOP provides a clear, step‑by‑step framework for accurately labelling products and setting, updating, and displaying prices across your business. It helps Australian organisations maintain legal compliance, protect margins, and deliver a consistent customer experience in‑store and online.

Incorrect or inconsistent labelling and pricing can erode margins, damage customer trust, and expose a business to breaches of Australian Consumer Law. This Product Labelling and Pricing Standard Operating Procedure sets out a consistent, organisation‑wide method for creating, approving, applying, and auditing product labels and prices across physical stores, catalogues, and digital channels. It provides clarity on who does what, which systems are used, and how information flows from purchasing through to the shelf edge or product page.

Developed for Australian businesses, the SOP tackles real‑world issues such as price discrepancies between point‑of‑sale systems and shelf tickets, promotional errors, barcoding and SKU mismatches, and misleading descriptions or claims. It guides your team through standard naming conventions, unit pricing, barcode and PLU allocation, discounting rules, and re‑labelling processes when products are re‑packed, re‑priced, or recalled. With embedded quality checks and sign‑off steps, this procedure reduces disputes at the checkout, supports compliance with Australian Consumer Law, and protects your brand reputation by ensuring that what customers see is exactly what they pay.

Key Benefits

• Ensure consistent, accurate product information and pricing across all stores and channels.
• Reduce customer complaints, refunds, and disputes arising from pricing or labelling errors.
• Streamline the process for implementing price changes, promotions, and markdowns.
• Protect profit margins by controlling unauthorised discounts and incorrect ticketing.
• Demonstrate compliance with Australian Consumer Law and internal governance requirements.

Who is this for?

• Retail Store Managers
• Category Managers
• Merchandise Planners
• Inventory and Stock Control Officers
• E‑commerce Managers
• Pricing Analysts
• Franchise Owners
• Operations Managers
• Quality Assurance Managers
• Compliance Officers

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions and Abbreviations (SKU, PLU, RRP, POS, etc.)
• 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities (Head Office, Store, Online)
• 4.0 Product Master Data and Item Setup Requirements
• 5.0 Labelling Standards and Format Requirements
• 6.0 Barcode, PLU and Unit of Measure Allocation
• 7.0 Pricing Governance and Approval Workflows
• 8.0 Standard Pricing, Promotions, and Markdown Procedures
• 9.0 Online and Omnichannel Labelling and Pricing Alignment
• 10.0 Ticketing, Shelf Edge Labels and Signage Creation
• 11.0 Implementation of Price Changes and Cut‑over Times
• 12.0 Quality Control, Audits and Exception Handling
• 13.0 Handling Price Discrepancies and Customer Queries
• 14.0 Re‑labelling Requirements for Re‑packed or Re‑worked Products
• 15.0 Recordkeeping, Version Control and System Backups
• 16.0 Training, Communication and Change Management
• 17.0 Continuous Improvement and Review Schedule

Legislation & References

• Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010)
• National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009
• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) – Pricing and advertising guidance
• Unit Pricing Code (Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Unit Pricing) Regulations 2009)
• GS1 Australia – Barcode and identification standards