What is Kitting in Fulfilment and How Does the Process Work?
For a growing ecommerce brand, the transition from individual product sales to curated sets and bundles is often a sign of success. But as your order increases, managing these bundles manually can be overwhelming. This is where kitting comes into play. In logistics, kitting is a strategy used to simplify complex orders. Understanding this process can help you maintain high standards during peak sales.
What is Kitting?
At its simplest, kitting is the process of taking separate but related items and grouping them together into a single unit (often referred to as a “kit”). Once these items are combined, they’re assigned a unique Stock Keeping Unit (SKU).
Instead of a warehouse team picking three different items from different locations for one order, they pick a single pre-assembled kit. This is especially common for:
- Subscription boxes (beauty, snacks, vitamins, pet care)
- Gift sets and hampers
- Promotional bundles (for example: “Buy this set and save”)
- Product assemblies where a main item requires accessories or batteries
How the Kitting Process Works
The goal of kitting is to move the assembly work to a quiet time, so when orders rush in, the picking step can be done as fast as possible. Here is how a kitting service or a 3PL partner manages the typical workflow.
1. Inventory arrival and planning
Before any assembly begins, the individual components arrive at the warehouse. The logistics team works with the brand to define the assembly instructions. This includes how items should be layered, how packaging materials should be placed, and if any branding elements, such as stickers or a thank-you tag, need to be attached.
2. The assembly phase
This is where the manual part started. Warehouse staff gather the components in a dedicated kitting station and follow a strict SOP to assemble the kits in bulk. By doing this in a focused run, the team achieves higher efficiency than they would by assembling kits as orders arrive.
3. SKU assignment
Once the kits are assembled and boxed, they’re treated as a new product. The system updates the inventory to show a decrease in the individual components and an increase in the number of finished kits. This ensures your online store reflects accurate stock levels for both bundles and individual items.
4. Storage and dispatch
The completed kits are stored in a designated area of the warehouse. When a customer buys a bundle on your online store, the 3PL simply grabs one kit, sticks a shipping label and sends it out.
Why Use Kitting
Reduce shipping costs
Shipping one kit is mostly cheaper than shipping three separate items. By pre-packing items into an appropriately sized box, you reduce the overall weight and volume of the shipment. This also minimises the amount of packaging material used.
Faster fulfilment
During peak sales, speed is everything. Kitting allows your 3PL to process orders in seconds because the kit is already ready to go.
Improved accuracy
The more items a warehouse staff has to find, the higher the chance of a mistake. Kitting removes this kind of complexity at the moment of dispatch. Since the kit was double-checked during the kitting phase the risk of a customer receiving a missing item is lower.
Enhanced customer experience
For beauty or fashion brands, the unboxing experience is a core part of the product journey. Kitting allows for a level of presentation that’s difficult to achieve during a standard pick-and-pack rush. Items can be perfectly aligned to match exactly as you intended when a customer opens the box.
When is Your Brand Ready for Kitting?
Kitting ensures that every customer still receives a package that feels personal, even as you scale to thousands of orders. If your business is currently handling a high volume of multi-item orders, or you are planning to launch a subscription box, kitting is the next logical step in your growth. At TSF Logistics, our team makes sure your parcel is taken care of with precision and on-time. Get in touch with us today to streamline your kitting process.