This article was originally published on April 12, 2021 but updated on March 27,2023
Companies in every industry take great care to source all products and services from reliable providers to optimize their supply chain for maximum value. Manufacturers in many industries, such as automotive or electronics, want to make sure their suppliers follow generally accepted quality standards such as ISO9001:2015 standards for added assurances in providing quality, timely products and materials. Suppliers are often evaluated by their customers to ensure that they would meet their requirements and add value to their supply chain.
Companies that produce kits as part of their process, whether they are a distribution center, a third-party logistics (3PL) provider, manufacturer, or retailer, can experience many benefits by partnering with a contract kitting provider.
What is Kitting?
Kitting is the process of combining multiple individual products into one assembled kit. Kitting takes individual items with individual SKU numbers and combines them into one kit with one SKU. This is especially convenient when multiple products are often purchased together.
Retailers kit products to appeal to consumers with a convenient kit of all needed items such as first-aid kits, for example, or cosmetics, tools and hardware, books, crafts, and a variety of other items. E-commerce and distribution centers use kitting to group similar items together for consumer convenience as well as improved inventory management. Manufacturers often use kits during their production process when workers need multiple items together on the assembly line or to take individual items and put them together as part of a larger assembly.
How Kitting Contributes to Supply Chain Optimization
Kitting provides many benefits to companies in various industries, providing value-added services that improve a company’s supply chain. Some ways in which kitting adds value to any supply chain include:
- Vendor consolidation – many companies aim to consolidate vendors to focus on working with suppliers that meet their quality and delivery standards. Companies that outsource kitting to one kitting provider send all components, usually in bulk, and receive back completed kits of numerous items from one provider.
- Improves order fulfillment time – companies that receive the kits to put on a shelf or salvia e-commerce to consumers can improve order fulfillment processes. By receiving completed kits from a kitting provider, companies can fill orders quicker.
- Improves order and inventory accuracy – kits that have already been assembled and inspected and have received a quality stamp of approval provide assurances that all individual products contained in the kit are correct and meet quality standards. This saves a lot of time for companies that do not have to individually inspect and assemble parts into a kit prior to shipping or sale. They are already completed, inspected, and accurate.
- Improves record-keeping time and accuracy – when companies receive kits of assembled products, they scan in one SKU, which contains all of the details needed for every item in the kit. Scanning one product in and out of inventory and working with one vendor to supply each kit significantly improves record-keeping time and accuracy.
- Companies may experience increased sales – many companies offer kits to consumers in the hopes of selling more products at once instead of selling items individually. Enticing a customer to purchase a fully assembled kit can boost sales while appealing to consumers with like items that can be sold together.
Working with an experienced kitting provider is the best way to achieve maximum value and optimize your supply chain.
PPS Adds Value to Many Supply Chains with Quality Kitting Services
Peoria Production Solutions, PPS, understands the importance of adding value to our supply chains with more than 80 years of experience in providing high-quality production solutions. We provide many secondary operations to improve the productivity of companies of all sizes, including some of the largest Fortune 100 companies in the country. We offer kitting and assembly, electronic component kitting, and all types of secondary packaging solutions customized to meet our customer’s needs.
PPS is an ISO9001:2015 registered supplier, committed to high-quality secondary production solutions by following strict quality policies with a fully trained and attentive staff. We provide extensive training, cross training, and perform many lean practices, such as value stream mapping (VSM) to ensure the most efficient and quality processes are provided. Contact us to learn how you can optimize your supply chain with quality and experienced kitting and assembly services.