Essentially it’s an 8 integer “ARTicle number” aka sku. Periods are a UI/UX feature added 50 years ago for Human Readability.
Factor in that the same exact article may have a different ART number due to a countries legal requirements/certifications/labels trying to keep any structure in that 8 digit range becomes impossible considering they are all in a global namespace.
The article didn’t dive into the true complexity and the core problem they are solving for when it comes to the relationships between Articles and Product Groupings (Combinations) required that makes a complete product ( Desk,Bed,Pax Wardrobe,Kitchen,Couch etc ) and the attributes/meta data required to keep track of compatible legs/hinges/slats/wheels/doors/covers that are required for each combo of each color of each variation along with the true assembled size and relationships back to compatible articles and complementary products.
2D/3D Coordinates were in use and a representation may be found looking up ;).
Factor in that the same exact article may have a different ART number due to a countries legal requirements/certifications/labels trying to keep any structure in that 8 digit range becomes impossible considering they are all in a global namespace.
The article didn’t dive into the true complexity and the core problem they are solving for when it comes to the relationships between Articles and Product Groupings (Combinations) required that makes a complete product ( Desk,Bed,Pax Wardrobe,Kitchen,Couch etc ) and the attributes/meta data required to keep track of compatible legs/hinges/slats/wheels/doors/covers that are required for each combo of each color of each variation along with the true assembled size and relationships back to compatible articles and complementary products.
2D/3D Coordinates were in use and a representation may be found looking up ;).