The shift to category management was consistent with the company's efforts to simplify
and standardize operations and product lines. Many unnecessary SKUs were eliminated when SKU
differences did not provide significant incremental value to the consumer. At the same time, new
SKUs were added as new products and innovative extensions of existing product lines were
developed. In total, the number of SKUs P&G offered remained about the same during the early
1990s, but the restructuring of SKUs provided consumers with greater choice of products that were
specifically tailored to their needs, and eliminated a proliferation of product variety that was
based simply on labeling or packaging differences.