A Complete Guide to the Kitting Process

Are you considering outsourcing your ecommerce business's order fulfillment and production processes to improve delivery times and provide better customer service?

If this is the case, you are on the right track!

Your fulfillment process company can do far more than just pack and ship orders. When you use fulfillment kitting services from Rakuten kitting services, you open the door to business growth. The entire kitting process is an add-on service with many benefits in eCommerce fulfillment. It increases your sales, improves customer satisfaction, enhances fulfillment accuracy, and reduces storage expenses.

What is Kitting?

A kitting process is an inventory approach in which individual items but related goods are packed and dispatched as a single bundle.

Subscription boxes, for example, are a type of product kitting that has gained popularity in recent years. Instead of seven distinct manufacturers selling their items separately, subscription box providers combine them into a single package to sell.

What Are Kitting Services?

Kitting services are fulfillment services provided by third-party fulfillment firms (3PL). Many businesses use 3PL firms to employ product kitting to increase cost savings and guarantee clients receive as few shipments as possible.

Kitting in manufacturing, where a third party puts the product together for the customer order. In-house assembly is sometimes expensive for small businesses; therefore, employing kitting services keeps prices down while allowing you to focus on selling items.

What Are Kitting Processes in the Warehouse?

The warehouse kitting process entails locating several SKUs, combining them into a single kit, and establishing a new SKU for that item before shipment.

Benefits of kitting in Warehouse Management

Improved warehouse efficiency: One of the most significant advantages of the kitting process is simplifying the picking and packing process. All goods supplied in a kit will be relocated to be stored near one another.

This is an efficient method for your staff because they no longer have to wander the warehouse looking for things. It also saves time and money when doing frequent inventory audits.

Warehouse kitting may also help your ecommerce business in two ways. Dimensional weight fees may apply to your shipments if you transport huge or bulky products.

Instead of sending accessories in a separate package, kitting techniques can let you properly integrate smaller products with larger items. This can lower your overall shipping costs and alleviate dimensional pricing.

The Kitting Process in the Manufacturing Business

Kitting in manufacturing entails arranging and pre-assembling parts used in the production of products into bundles for delivery to the place of use.

This enables a company to decrease warehousing costs, speed packing, reduce shipping costs, and execute inventory tracking and management more effectively.

How Can kitting Improve Manufacturing Efficiency

Kitting Speeds up the Manufacturing Process

Kitting can speed up the production process by reducing material handling time and enhancing pick and reporting speed. The necessary pieces in the assembly line are already assembled, saving time hunting for raw materials needed on the shop floor.

All the employees have to do now is assemble the final product, with the added benefit of being able to quality check each item before beginning the assembly.

Kitting Provides Better Inventory Organization

Kitting makes it easier to discover parts, which is especially important in productions that need the utilization of a multitude of small components. Instead of hunting for each part, each kit is given a single SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) number, making it easier to find.

Another advantage is that you know that each kit equals one finished assembly, rather than finding that you have enough of most of the components for an assembly only to discover that you are missing one or that a part is faulty. Several possible concerns are monitored and rectified when the kit is first assembled.

Reduces Costs in the Manufacturing Processes

When multiple products are kitted together, they take up less room in the warehouse since you are just storing what you need. This may minimize the amount you spend on storage. Kitting can also save you a considerable amount on various production procedures, including labor costs.

You will also pay shipping expenses for each kit as a single item rather than for each component in the kitted items. Finally, calculating the production cost of an item is considerably easier since you know exactly which components are in each kit and in what quantity.

Kitting and Assembly

Separate component kits are frequently employed when delivering furniture, entertainment systems, and other things that require assembly after delivery. Some third-party shipping businesses provide this service.

They collect separate components from different manufacturers and assemble them into kits for shipment to the final destination. Before shipment, these kits are kept separate from the individual components.

What is Kitting Inventory Software?

Kitting software is inventory management software that monitors individual components and generates new SKUs for kits before shipment. There are several tools on the market to assist you in automating and tracking your kitting products.

Here is what to look out for when buying kitting inventory software:

• The software should utilize sales levels to establish the maximum and the minimum number of kits on hand. This allows you to increase revenue while minimizing costs and avoiding difficulties like an unintentional backorder.

• The software should recognize the various components used in kit construction and determine the number of kits that can be created with the parts on hand.

• A decent kit program will keep track of the levels of individual kitted products and the kits themselves.

Investing in software may assist you in tracking components and kits, as well as determining the best course of action to enhance sales and save expenses. Inventory kitting software can help you improve warehouse procedures and get insight into product data.

It is sometimes marketed as an add-on to existing inventory software, so you may be able to update your current technology. The cost reductions are considerable, enabling you to meet your desired inventory KPI. Make sure you understand the distinction between markup and margin to optimize your income.