Kitting is used in essentially every industry, from fast food to cosmetics—and it is one of the most popular techniques used in ecommerce fulfillment. Kitting enables retailers, manufacturers, and online subscription services—among others—to increase sales, maximize their profits, and minimize costs while simultaneously enhancing customer satisfaction.
So, let’s take a look at exactly what kitting is, the types and benefits of kitting, the kitting process, and why so many businesses are doing it.
What Is Kitting?
Kitting is the process of organizing separate items and packaging into a single grouping. In other words, it is an technique where individual—yet related—products are packaged and shipped together as a single bundle.
Types of Kitting & Kitting Boxes
Here are just a few examples of kitting in action:
Promotional Kitting
Promotional kitting is when a company or organization sends products, swag items, and/or printed materials to clients, members, or donors—typically as a thank you or a reminder about something. Some examples of this include sending out a kit of goodies that are related to an upcoming event to drum up excitement or sending out shirts for donors as a thank you.
Sample Kitting & Sales Kitting
Sample kitting and sales kitting are closely related to promotional kitting. Sample kitting is when companies send out boxes that contain numerous product samples as a way to promote new or existing offerings, while sales kitting could be a compilation of printing brochures and sell sheets, along with possibly promo giveaways and/or product samples.
Subscription Boxes
One form of kitting that has become extremely popular in recent years is subscription boxes. Instead of numerous different manufacturers selling their products separately, subscription box services package and sell them together as a single kit. Examples of this include IPSY’s monthly makeup bags, Dollar Shave Club, BarkBox, and meal subscription boxes such as Blue Apron and Hello Fresh.
Private Label Kitting
A private label kit is made up of products from different manufacturers that are packaged, labeled, and shipped as one kit from another company. The labels and branding add value, which allows products to be sold at a much higher price. Examples of this include store brand grocery items and private label skin care lines.
Influencer Boxes
Influencer boxes are kits that are filled with different swag items and products that work to capture the attention of your brand champions and their followers. Examples of this include the kits that companies send to Instagram influencers to unbox and promote via social media posts.
Logistics Kitting
By leveraging kitting, businesses and logistics companies can streamline shipment processes, reduce shipping costs, and fulfill orders more quickly—which also makes tracking shipments easier and increases customer satisfaction. One example of this is when you order multiple products on Amazon from different vendors—and Amazon collects and assembles the products into as few packages as possible before shipping.
Benefits of Kitting & Packaging Fulfillment Services
Kitting offers many benefits to businesses and consumers:
- Gets products in people’s hands
- Everyone opens a box if it is a marketing or sales box
- Cements branding when done with a custom box
- Great for customer and employee appreciation
- Lasting marketing, i.e., promo items that are reused
- Streamlines shipping process
- Lowers shipping costs
- Decreases labor costs
- Increases product sales
- Helps fulfill orders quicker
- Faster shipping
- Eliminates excess handling and product damage
- Minimizes waste produced from packaging
The process of picking, packing, and shipping multiple products takes time. Kitting these products makes each step of the process quicker and easier, decreases the chances for errors, and allows customers to receive their orders faster. This, in turn, results in happier customers who are more likely to do business with you again and again.
The Kitting Process
The kitting process will vary from industry to industry and will depend on the type of kitting. However, generally, the kitting process involves assembling any number of products and assigning them to a single SKU in your system for sale. Here are the steps:
01
Determine Kit Items
You can group kit items based on product use, theme, color, or any other shared quality you can think of. You might also want to consider wholesale products that you can put into kits to maximize margins.
02
Assign the Bundle a Unique SKU Number
Although these are individual items or products, once they are bundled into a kit, they represent a single sellable product. In order to have a better understanding of sales trends and to properly count your inventory, your inventory system should track this information.
03
Assemble the Items
Pre-assembling kits in large batch quantities makes more business sense, as it is more advantageous than picking and packing the items as they arrive. When kitting in large quantities, all items in the kit should be moved or placed near each other to make bundling easier for your team. This subsequently streamlines the process of gathering and assembling them. By doing so, you will increase efficiency and save time and money.
04
Sell & Ship the Kits
You can now easily market and sell these bundles or kits—and watch your sales, revenue, and profits increase.
Is Kitting Right for Your Business?
Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if kitting is right for you:
- Would consumers want to buy my products in multiples?
- Do my customers frequently purchase the same items together?
- Do I ship items separately that could be shipped together?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, kitting could be a great option for your business to boost sales, lower costs, and increase profits.
Looking for Kitting Boxes and Packaging for Your Products? We Have You Covered.
With custom kitting boxes from United GMG, you can deliver experiences that tell a story, impress your customers, and make your brand unforgettable in a sea of competitors.
Our experts can help you decide which types of kitting boxes and packaging you’ll need and can answer any questions you have. Contact us to get a free quote or call to speak to a United GMG representative directly.
