Have you ever noticed how certain products tend to sell together because they have something in common? If this happens more often than not, creating a premade package where you strategically combine these complementary items can streamline operations. And who knows more about that than Streamline Fulfillment? Our cosmetics fulfillment service team explains warehouse kitting below.
How Does Warehouse Kitting Differ from Bundles?
Kitting involves identifying related stock-keeping units and placing them together into one kit so consumers don’t have to purchase these items separately. An example would be combining all the volumes or installments of a book or movie series to provide a premade ready-to-ship kit. Another instance is adding Airpods, screen protectors, and a charger with your iPhone or another Apple product.
Although this process involves bundling items, it’s not the same as a bundle. Bundles don’t undergo the same strategic planning and consideration as kits, meaning they don’t usually contain related SKUs. Instead, a bundle has widely varying items that may not complement each other or work together whatsoever (unless it’s a grouping of identical items like a set of shot glasses).
What Process Goes Into Creating a Kit?
Before creating a kit, you must research which products are compatible by observing viewing trends and products frequently purchased together. After determining which products to pick off the warehouse shelves for kitting, choose whether your warehouse operators will pre-assemble the kits or if an outsourced 3PL provider will label and ship them.
From there, the kit needs a special SKU number that you monitor to track sales success and available inventory. Assemble the kits or have automated storage do it mechanically. Finally, put your kits on the market. During each order fulfillment process, a warehouse operator or retrieval system prepares them for immediate shipping.
Why Is Kitting Worth Considering?
Warehouse kitting increases revenue and decreases production costs. Since consumers appreciate bundles, especially if there’s a free item involved, you increase their chances of purchasing more items. Not only can you combine fast-moving items to improve the average order value, but you can also slip some slow-moving items in that you’re having a hard time offloading.
Furthermore, these premade boxes take less time to pick, sort, package, and ship compared to standalone items. Therefore, SKU consolidation saves on packaging and shipping fees and encourages labor cost reduction for a larger profit margin. But these are far from the only benefits since kitting also comes with:
- Efficiency improvements since warehouse operators don’t have to locate and hand-pick each item for packaging
- Fewer errors since there’s less of a chance of receiving the wrong item in a premade package compared to items in a traditional order
- More warehouse space since storing items together opens up shelves for more products
Fulfillment Made Easier!
When running a successful business, you should take the time to learn purchasing trends that help you with inventory management and customer preferences. At Streamline Fulfillment, our trusted team helps businesses of all sizes do so while providing warehouse kitting and more. Call (509) 888-2880 for a 15-minute consultation!