Assembling multiple individual items into a single packaged bundle or kit for sale or shipment.
Kitting is the process of combining multiple individual products or components into a single packaged unit (a "kit") that is sold or shipped as one item. Kitting can happen on receipt (pre-kitted inventory stored as a single SKU) or at the time of order fulfillment (virtual kitting, assembled on demand).
Common kitting use cases: subscription boxes (assembling multiple products into a monthly box), bundle products (a skincare set with cleanser + serum + moisturizer), promotional kits (product + sample + insert), and hardware onboarding kits (device + accessories + documentation).
3PLs typically charge kitting fees per kit assembled, ranging from $0.50 to $5.00+ depending on complexity (number of items, packaging requirements, quality checks). For high-volume subscription businesses, negotiating a fixed per-kit fee is essential — this cost can significantly impact margins at scale.
A supplement brand sells a "30-Day Starter Kit" containing 3 different supplement bottles + a shaker + a nutrition guide. The 3PL kits these 5 components into a branded box on receipt, giving them a single "STARTER-KIT" SKU that ships as one item in the WMS.
The terms are often used interchangeably. "Bundling" typically refers to combining existing SKUs for promotional sale (e.g., "buy 2 get 1 free"). "Kitting" implies physical assembly into a new package that becomes its own SKU. The physical assembly process is the same — the difference is in how the resulting item is tracked in inventory.
Pre-kitting reduces pick time and errors but ties up inventory in a fixed configuration — if the bundle changes, you have excess pre-kitted inventory to unwind. Virtual kitting is more flexible and requires no inventory commitment but takes longer to pick and may cost more per order. Most 3PLs offer both options.
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