What is Kitting?
Kitting is the process of grouping multiple individual components or SKUs to create a new single sales unit (the "Kit"). It is very common in the automotive sector, electronics, and increasingly in e-commerce (e.g., "Savings Pack" or "Welcome Kit").
The Logical Complexity of Kitting
Managing kits without a WMS is a logistical nightmare. The software needs to handle the Bill of Materials (BOM):
Inventory Management
When a Kit is sold, the WMS must know whether to deduct the Kit as a unit or subtract each individual component from stock.
Pre-assembly vs. On-demand Kitting
The WMS can orchestrate the assembly of kit stock before the sale or instruct the operator to create the kit at the time of picking.
Traceability
If an individual component has a defect, the system must be able to identify all Kits where that component was inserted.