Product Kitting: The Complete Guide (Examples, Process, Benefits)

Product kitting is the process of grouping individual but related items together and selling or shipping them as a single unit under one SKU.

To kit products effectively, you bundle the items, assign a single SKU to the set, and fulfill or manufacture orders from that pre-assembled unit.

Here's the step-by-step process.

What is product kitting?

Product kitting, also known as product bundling, means putting related items together and selling them as a single product. For example, bundling a computer with a monitor or selling shampoo and conditioner as a set. These items are grouped because they work well together or are often bought together.

The availability of a kit depends on the stock of its individual components. If all parts are available, the kit can be sold. If even one part is out of stock, the kit isn't available. When a kit is sold, the inventory management system adjusts the stock for each component automatically.

This is different from simply selling items side by side. A kit has its own SKU number, its own product listing, and its own price — even though it's made up of items that may also be sold individually.

Product kitting vs. bundling: what's the difference?

You'll often see "kitting" and "bundling" used interchangeably, but there's a subtle difference depending on context.

In practice, most businesses use both strategies. A manufacturer might kit materials for production efficiency and then bundle finished goods for a promotional offer. The inventory tracking works the same way — your system needs to link the kit's SKU back to its individual components.

Examples of product kitting

Here are a few different types of product kits seen across industries:

Ready-to-order sets

Ready-to-order sets make shopping easier for customers. They don't have to pick out each item individually. For example, a set of different paintbrushes or a bundle of holiday decorations. Businesses can also offer discounts on these sets to encourage customers to buy more.

Subscription boxes

Subscription boxes are a popular form of kitting. They include a collection of items — like beauty products, snacks, or supplements — delivered on a regular schedule. Customers love them because they don't have to think about reordering, and businesses love them because they create repeat customers and steady income.

Assembled products

Kitting is used widely to track parts inventory and reorders in manufacturing and wholesale operations. Build-to-order or manufacture-to-order is a type of kitting process. It allows you to provide better service and more options to your customers.

For example, if you sell furniture that is built upon customer order, you're stocking individual parts and then assembling those parts when purchased. You can offer your customer more choices because you can mix and match parts to create different product combinations.

Custom or personalized items

Similar to the furniture example above, custom or personalized items can be considered assembled products from an inventory perspective. If you make custom furniture, kitting helps you track all the materials involved in making the final product.

For instance, if you sell a custom chair with engraved material, this would be defined as kitting if both the chair and the engraving material are individual stock items in your inventory platform.

First aid and safety kits

Companies that sell first aid kits, emergency preparedness kits, or PPE kits use product kitting to assemble standardized sets from individual components. Each kit has a fixed bill of materials — bandages, antiseptic wipes, gloves, and so on — and the inventory system tracks each component separately.

Meal kits and food kits

Meal kit companies and food and beverage manufacturers kit pre-portioned ingredients together with recipe cards. Each kit requires lot tracking for perishable components and careful inventory management to avoid waste.

How to create a product kit

The kitting process can vary depending on your business, the types of products you sell, and how you decide to bundle them together. Here are the core steps any business can follow to get started.

1. Select products to bundle

The first step is deciding which products to group together. Items can be grouped by:

Usage — desktop computer and monitor

Theme — Halloween decorations set

Promotions — buy one large cologne, get a travel size free

Customer trends — review past orders to see what products customers frequently buy together

Multiples — customers prefer buying a 6-pack of water rather than individual bottles

Look at your sales data and inventory turnover reports to identify which combinations make the most sense.

2. Create a bill of materials for the kit

Before you start packaging, document the exact components that go into each kit. This is essentially a bill of materials for your kit — a list of every item, quantity, and any packaging materials included.

Having a clear BOM prevents errors during assembly and makes it easier for your inventory system to calculate available kit quantities automatically.

3. Assemble the kit

Once you've picked out the products, it's time to package them together.

Make sure you pick a box that fits the items properly. This is especially important if you're selling fragile items and want to make sure they don't get damaged during transit. Consider bubble wrap or sustainable alternatives to secure your package for shipping.

4. Assign a unique SKU

This is a critical step that often gets overlooked. Assign your newly created kit a unique SKU number.

Even though your product is a combination of other items — each with their own SKUs — as soon as they're bundled together they become a single product. A new SKU helps you keep track of the kit separately and keeps your inventory management clean.

5. Set up a kitting location

Whether you're bundling products in advance or assembling per order, you should have a dedicated location to carry out this process.

If you're bundling products ahead of time, also find a proper location to store the packaged kits. That way, when an order comes in, your staff knows exactly where to go, saving time and improving productivity.

6. Ship the kit

Once an order comes in, either grab your pre-assembled kit or assemble it, attach the shipping labels and any other necessary labels, and ship it out.

Don't forget to notify your buyer that their order is on the way. Shipping and fulfillment software can help you automate this step.

Want real-time visibility into every SKU? See how Brahmin tracks inventory across all your channels →

Benefits of product kitting

Kitting is a practical tool for any business looking to increase sales and productivity. Here's how businesses benefit:

Faster order fulfillment

If you're kitting based on buyer trends, you already know what items need to be bundled together. This lets you kit ahead of time and save time on labeling and weighing.

Having a predetermined kitting location contributes to a more efficient order fulfillment process. As you refine these processes with an inventory system in place, you'll get faster and make fewer errors.

Better inventory control

Kitting helps you keep your inventory under control. Every kit has its own unique SKU, so if you're pre-assembling kits, you know where your inventory is at all times.

It also gives you a clear picture of which components were used in each kit, saving significant time during cycle counts and inventory audits.

Reduced costs and higher margins

When you sell items as a kit, you move multiple items at once, which increases your overall product sales and reduces holding costs and warehouse space usage. This also leads to a higher average order value, which improves cash flow.

With kitting, you use less packaging. It might not seem like boxes cost much, but if you're shipping in high volume, the savings add up quickly. Less packaging also means lower product weight, and since shipping costs are largely based on weight, kitting can provide significant savings on freight.

Offload slow-moving stock

What goes into a kit is a business decision. If you have old or slow-moving products that might end up as dead stock, you can bundle them with popular items and run promotions to clear them out.

This also creates a better buying experience for the customer — they get more value, and you free up warehouse space.

New marketing opportunities

Kitting essentially creates more products in your catalog. This opens up new marketing channels, exposure to new potential customers, and additional referral sources.

Kitting requires little selling creativity — the main thing it requires is an inventory management system that can support it.

What is kitting in a warehouse?

If you're running a business with enough warehouse space, you'll most likely have a designated kitting area, typically near your shipping and fulfillment zone.

Warehouse kitting involves workers going through the warehouse and picking the items that need to be packaged together. After collecting these items, they drop them off at the kitting station where other workers package and prep for shipment.

If your warehouse is a smaller operation, the same person typically picks, packs, and preps for shipment.

What skills are needed for kitting?

Warehouse kitting requires attention to detail, the ability to read pick lists and BOMs accurately, and basic knowledge of inventory systems. Workers need to identify components quickly, package items without damage, and follow quality control procedures. For manufacturing kitting, familiarity with parts and assembly sequences is also valuable.

What does a kitting specialist do?

A kitting specialist is responsible for gathering, sorting, and assembling components into kits based on work orders or sales orders. Their typical duties include reading pick lists, pulling items from inventory, inspecting components for quality, packaging kits according to specifications, labeling finished kits with the correct SKU, and updating inventory records. In a manufacturing setting, they may also pre-stage materials for the production floor.

What is kitting in manufacturing?

Kitting in manufacturing is when a company gathers parts and materials into ready-to-assemble sets before or during the production process. Manufacturers often call this "material kitting."

The components of a BOM arrive on the shop floor in a ready-to-assemble kit, so workers only need to assemble and process the parts rather than hunting for materials.

This approach makes production runs more efficient by eliminating the time workers spend locating different parts across the facility.

When to use material kitting

You should consider material kitting when workers are wasting too much time locating materials on the production floor and their time is better spent on assembly.

Here are scenarios where material kitting saves significant time:

You have a large variety of small components

You offer customizable products based on color, size, shape, or other variations

You're dealing with storage constraints and need better organization

Your production involves multiple steps with different component sets at each stage

How to implement material kitting

Kitting requires you to gather, sort, organize, and in some cases pre-assemble parts to be used on the production floor.

You can assign less specialized workers to the kitting process and reserve your more skilled workers for assembly and production. Another option is to work with your vendor — if you source a large portion of components from a single supplier, they may be able to ship parts in pre-kitted sets.

Kitting on your own premises requires proper planning to be successful. Use MRP software to organize your material kitting process, automate reorder points for kit components, and keep production schedules on track.

Kitting in logistics and 3PL

Many growing manufacturers and ecommerce businesses outsource their kitting to third-party logistics (3PL) providers. A 3PL handles the picking, assembly, and shipping of kits from their own warehouse.

This makes sense when:

You don't have the warehouse space for a dedicated kitting area

Order volume fluctuates seasonally and you need flexible labor

You want to focus on product development and sales rather than fulfillment

The tradeoff is less direct control over quality and inventory visibility. If you go the 3PL route, make sure your inventory system integrates with theirs so you can track component-level stock in real time.

Kitting process: common challenges and how to solve them

Kitting isn't complicated, but a few issues come up repeatedly as businesses scale:

Most of these problems come down to one thing: your inventory system needs to understand the relationship between a kit and its components. Spreadsheets break down quickly once you have more than a handful of kits.

Trends in product kitting

Automation and smart technology. More businesses are using IoT devices and barcode scanning to automate kitting workflows. This helps keep track of inventory in real time and reduces picking errors.

AI and data analytics. Data analytics tools help businesses understand which items are frequently bought together and predict demand for specific kits. This leads to better stock planning and fewer missed sales.

Sustainable packaging. Customers care about sustainability, and so do businesses. Using eco-friendly packaging and reducing material waste are becoming standard practices in kitting operations.

Third-party logistics. Many growing businesses are outsourcing their kitting to 3PL companies. This frees up internal resources and provides access to warehouse infrastructure without the capital investment.

Frequently asked questions

What is product kitting?

Product kitting is the process of grouping individual but related items together and selling or shipping them as a single unit under one SKU. It's used in retail, ecommerce, wholesale, and manufacturing to speed up fulfillment and simplify inventory tracking.

What is an example of kitting?

A common example is a beer variety pack. A brewery takes four different individual beer SKUs, packages them together in a single box, and assigns the box its own SKU. When the variety pack sells, the inventory system automatically deducts one unit of each beer from stock.

What skills are needed for kitting?

Kitting requires attention to detail, the ability to read pick lists and bills of materials, basic inventory system knowledge, and careful packaging skills. In manufacturing, familiarity with parts and assembly sequences is also helpful.

What does a kitting specialist do?

A kitting specialist gathers, sorts, and assembles components into kits based on work orders or sales orders. They pull items from inventory, inspect them for quality, package kits to specification, apply the correct SKU labels, and update inventory records.

How Brahmin Solutions supports product kitting

Brahmin Solutions is a cloud-based manufacturing platform built for growing manufacturers doing $500K–$50M in revenue. It handles inventory, MRP, production planning, and lot tracking in one system — and kitting is built right in.

If you sell products both individually and as kits (for example, individual beer bottles plus 6-packs and variety packs), Brahmin automatically calculates your available kit quantity based on component stock. As component quantities go down, kit availability updates in real time so you don't oversell. Brahmin supports both pre-assembled kits and assemble-to-order workflows.

If that sounds like what you need, book a demo and see how it fits your operation.

Key takeaways

Product kitting groups related items together and sells them as a single product with its own SKU.

Common examples include subscription boxes, ready-to-order sets, custom items, assembled products, and meal kits.

The kitting process involves selecting products, creating a BOM, assembling, assigning a SKU, and setting up a kitting location.

Key benefits include faster fulfillment, better inventory control, reduced shipping costs, and new marketing opportunities.

In manufacturing, material kitting pre-stages BOM components on the shop floor to reduce wasted time and improve production efficiency.

The biggest kitting challenge is keeping component-level inventory accurate — which is why most growing businesses eventually need software that links kits to their components automatically.