What is Product Kitting?

Kitting is the process by which individual items are combined into one package. In many instances, products that are typically used together are kitted and sold at a lower cost than they would be sold individually. In the manufacturing industry, kitting works similarly, but the process is focused more on production line efficiency than revenue increases. Here, we’ll explain what kitting is, how it works, and how it can benefit your business.

Product Kitting vs. Material Kitting

Whether you’re a factory manager who needs help with materials or an e-commerce retailer selling finished products, there’s a kitting solution to meet your company’s needs. In material kitting, components and raw materials are made into kits that are then used during the manufacturing process. Our material kitting services decrease fabrication times, make assembly more efficient, and reduce the risk of human error.

Product kitting works a bit differently, as it may be included in a company’s manufacturing, shipping, or packing processes. If you’re unsure which type of help the company needs, contact us to learn more about our product and material kitting services.

Benefits of Kitting in Warehousing

Kitting has several benefits in warehousing and logistics management. Some of the key benefits of kitting include:

1. Reduced Order Processing Time

Kitting helps to streamline the order fulfillment process by grouping related items together. This reduces the time required to process an order and can help improve the warehouse’s overall efficiency.

2. Improved Inventory Management 

Kitting helps to improve inventory management by reducing the number of SKUs (stock keeping units) that need to be managed. By grouping related items together, kitting minimizes the number of items that need to be tracked, which can help simplify inventory management and reduce costs.

3. Increased Order Accuracy

Kitting helps to improve order accuracy by ensuring that all the necessary items are included in the package. This reduces the likelihood of errors and can help to improve customer satisfaction.

4. Reduced Shipping Costs

Kitting can help reduce shipping costs by grouping related items together. This reduces the number of packages that need to be shipped, which can help reduce shipping costs and improve profitability.

5. Improved Workplace Safety

Kitting can help improve workplace safety by reducing the time employees spend moving around the warehouse gathering individual items. By grouping related items together in one package, employees can spend less time moving around and more time on other tasks, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries.

Best Practices for Kitting in Warehousing

To maximize the benefits of kitting in warehousing, it is important to follow some best practices. Some of the key best practices for kitting include:

1. Plan Ahead

Before starting the kitting process, it is important to plan ahead. This involves identifying the items that need to be included in the package, determining the quantities required, and ensuring that all the necessary items are in stock.

2. Use Standard Operating Procedures

To ensure consistency and accuracy, it is important to use standard operating procedures (SOPs) for kitting. This involves creating a set of guidelines that outline the steps involved in the kitting process and the roles and responsibilities of each team member.

3. Implement Quality Control Measures

It is important to implement quality control measures to ensure that the finished product meets the required standards. This involves verifying the accuracy and completeness of each package before it is shipped.

4. Utilize Technology

To improve the efficiency of the kitting process, it is important to utilize technology. This can include using barcode scanners to track inventory and automate the kitting process.

5. Monitor and Adjust

It is important to monitor and adjust these processes regularly to ensure that kitting processes continue to meet the needs of the warehouse and its customers over time. Warehouses should track key performance metrics such as order fulfillment times, accuracy rates, and inventory levels to identify opportunities for improvement. 

Based on the results of these metrics, warehouses can adjust kitting processes to ensure that they are meeting the evolving needs of the business.

How Bundling and Kitting are Different

These terms are, in many cases, used interchangeably—so it’s important to learn the differences between kitting and bundling. The primary difference is in the type of products carried. If a retailer carries combinations of items, it’s called a kit. If multiples of the same item are offered, it’s known as a bundle.

Kitting and Assembly: Which One Does Your Business Need?

When it’s time to choose fulfillment solutions for growing businesses, owners and managers have questions. In the sections below, we’ll discuss the differences between kitting and assembly services.

• In the assembly process, two or more components are combined to make a single item that can be shipped. Some retail fulfillment centers use assembly lines to do this in bulk, requiring workers to perform a single task before passing products down a line and moving them further along. Assembly lines allow companies to mass-produce products quickly and efficiently.
• Kitting involves the combination of multiple like items into one ready-to-ship package that’s marketed as one item. Unlike assembled products, the items included in a kit are usually put together by consumers. Some frequently kitted products include subscription boxes, cosmetics, and furniture. Many companies rely on kitting for streamlined inventory management.

Both kitting and assembly services offer substantial benefits to retailers. Outsourcing these services to 3PLs like Your Logistics will allow business owners and workers to devote more time to core competencies. By working with us, you’ll experience shorter lead times, reduced overhead, and fewer shipping and fulfillment errors. With the resources and time saved, companies can provide faster, better service to customers. If you’d like to learn about our assembly and kitting options, get in touch with us today.

Accelerate the Manufacturing Process With Kitting Services

A notable advantage of kitting is that it streamlines the manufacturing process by shortening handling times and increasing reporting and pick speeds. All required parts are together already, which helps workers save time they’d otherwise spend finding components. When companies utilize materials kitting services, all their employees must do is quality check parts and put them together. 

Save Money With Product and Material Kitting

Both types of kitting services provide clients with significant savings across manufacturing processes. If the components needed for a product are kitted, they are stored on an as-needed basis, which takes up less warehouse space. This may help growing companies save on storage costs.

With product kitting, sellers only pay shipping for kits as individual items, instead of sending components separately. Finally, it’s easier to calculate item production costs because kitting allows managers and supervisors to know what’s in a kit and how much is there.

Organizing Inventory More Effectively

As previously mentioned, kitting makes it much easier to find components, which is useful in production facilities where small parts are used. Every kit receives an SKU or stock keeping unit number, which makes it easier to find. Another benefit is that every kit is a completed assembly, rather than having a surplus of some parts and a shortage of others. With kitting services, inventory issues are detected and resolved promptly.

How to Implement a Kitting Program

Through effective organization, any manufacturing or fulfillment business can implement a kitting strategy. In larger companies, employees may be asked to organize, sort, pre-assemble, and quality control parts for later use on production lines. However, if your company doesn’t have the labor force or resources to do this, there’s help available. Contact the team at Your Logistics to learn about our product and material kitting services.

Can Kitting Benefit Your Business?

Product and material kitting comes with several advantages for manufacturers, but companies where workers spend too much time finding parts and materials will see the most benefit. If your company deals with a range of small parts, or if it creates products in various colors and sizes, kitting services may be just what’s needed to take your fulfillment strategy to another level.

Kitting Helps Companies Do More With Less

The implementation of a material or product kitting program starts with an assessment of a company’s production and fulfillment obstacles. Kitting allows organizations to increase the value of the SKUs they have, without the need to create more. Creating kitting strategies increases efficiency, saves money, and puts companies on the road to JIT (just-in-time) production. The shipping process is more convenient, as there are fewer components to track, and turnaround times are decreased.

With ready-made product and material kits, managers, supervisors, and employees will get everything they need without wasting time searching for related parts. No longer will workers have to search through inventory and pull components. By using our kitting services, you’ll save money and time—because parts will be ready to use, and products will be ready to ship.

Kitting is just one of the many services we offer here at Your Logistics. If you’d like to reduce overhead, make the manufacturing and shipping processes more efficient, and have a single point of contact for products and materials, we invite you to get in touch with us today.