With the online retail industry expanding, the products must reach the customer on time. This implies that there should be no delays and unnecessary cancellations when it comes to the delivery of items. For any delivery company, one term commonly found in prevalence is Kitting in Warehousing. The technique increases revenue, improves customer satisfaction and reduces costs. Here we will explain the concept of Kitting and what it means.
What is Kitting in warehousing
Kitting is a simple technique. Here similar items are compiled together in one Kit and shipped. For example, if a seller has auto parts to sell, he will put the items needed to fix a broken tire in one Kit. Usually, the warehouse workers create these kits well in advance. When they get the orders, they pick up the Kit and ship it across.
Doing that serves multiple purposes. One, it saves the time needed to put different products together. Second, such kits are relatively cheaper than all the products bought separately.
Difference between Kitting and Bundling
There are still people who get confused between Kitting and Bundling. The essence of both tactics is primarily similar. However, Kitting is when similar objects are put together. These products can be used together to fulfill one purpose. Bundling, on the other hand, can include any items totally unrelated to each other.
Some examples of Kitting in Warehouse are creating subscription boxes with all ingredients required to make a meal.
Benefits of Kitting
Some benefits of Kitting for any company are as follows:
- Reduced errors- Since the items in the Kit are assembled in advance, the chances of making any error are less. The workers do not have to pack each item separately. Plus, the customer gets his items properly, so there are limited chances of returns.
- Better use of the warehouse space- If you combine similar products in one pack, the space they take in the warehouse is less. You can use the balance space for other purposes.
- Lower labor and shipping costs- Employees save the time that they would have spent packing each item separately. Also, if you ship each item single-handed, you would have to pay more shipping. This leads to a jump in productivity and lowered employee costs.
- High revenue- With Kitting, the companies actually increase the average order value. The customer sees more value in buying a compilation of products. This leads to a jump in the overall revenue.
- Fast shipping- As the employees don’t spend time packing the items, they can ship them faster. Customers receive the products on time and remain satisfied with the service provided.
Kitting process
The process of kitting involves the following steps:
- Decide the items to be included in the Kit.
- Finalise who is going to assemble the Kit
- Assign a new product number. This is done to make it easy to sell and keep track of
- Organize all the products needed in the Kit at one destination. This makes it easy to package them.
- Ship the kits created as per the orders placed
Summing up
Kitting through a relatively new concept, has been finding a lot of takers. Warehouse and Distribution Companies use it regularly to streamline their product delivery process. Applying Kitting in sales processes helps to generate more revenue and create a sense of confidence in the customers. Companies applying Kitting in their work routines tend to gain on all fronts. It is wise for them to associate with a warehousing company that uses the Kitting process and simplifies the delivery of products at your end.