Fulfilling orders can be a complicated and stressful experience, especially during the holidays. So, a way of simplifying this process and making it more seamless would be more than helpful. One way that businesses use to make life easier is warehouse kitting. In fact, this solution can be an ideal way for your company to save on both time and money, as well as optimize your inventory management. Let’s explore this concept further, specifically the advantages it can provide to your company and its processes.
How Does Kitting Work in a Warehouse?
Warehouse kitting is taking related yet different SKUs and putting them together to establish a new SKU. It’s essentially the process of fulfilling customer orders through the pre-assembly of individual products into kits that are all ready to ship immediately, as opposed to individually picking and packing them. If a customer purchases a computer online, for example, they may add software and accessories, such as Microsoft Office and a USB drive. The supplier would assemble these items into one single unit to be sent to the buyer.
To gain even more of an understanding of warehouse kitting, let’s look at what happens once an order has been placed. Typically, when fulfilling individual product orders, the item is found through a unique identifying code. A member of staff then finds the item, updates the inventory, and completely the fulfillment.
The Advantages of Kitting
It Keeps Your Inventory Organized
Most importantly, kitting is a highly effective way of organizing your warehouse, as well as streamlining your entire process. With kitting, you don’t generate as many SKUS, which means organizing your inventory becomes easier. This then optimizes the space in your warehouse, making it overall more efficient.
It Makes Your Process More Efficient
If you need to assemble an order, for example, kitting makes it easier for workers to find all parts and gather them in a single location, which increases both productivity and efficiency. This gives you an advantage over your competitors in the long-term.
Cuts Down on Labor Costs
Improved efficiency also reduces your labor costs. You’ll find that fewer workforces are needed to carry out tasks, which ultimately lowers labor costs, saving your organization money.
Creates a More Seamless a Faster Shipping Process
Kitting can simplify your shipping process, and make it faster and more streamlined. It can ensure that your process is not only efficient, but that it also reduces the chances of human error while decreasing fulfillment times. You can print out shipping labels in advance, and you don’t need to label and weigh individual items when shipping, which makes for significant monetary savings. Quickly shipping pre-assembled kits can also be a time-saver and cuts down on fulfillment errors.
It Improves Your Packaging
Warehouse kitting is great for making packing more efficient and affordable. Rather than packing each of the items separately into standard-sized boxes, you can pack the items together in a custom-made box capable of reducing the weight and the size of the parcel. You will also find that you use fewer packaging materials, as you don’t need to pack each individual item. This can ultimately reduce your packaging costs significantly.
You’ll Have More Warehouse Space
By bundling items together, you’ll find that it helps to reduce and optimize your warehouse space. This means that you can work in a more efficient and smaller warehouse, which is another way on which warehouse kitting saves you money.
It Improves Safety in the Workplace
By reducing both the distance and the time that workers are required to move to put orders together, kitting can potentially reduce accidents. That results in a more comfortable and safer workplace, as well as less money spent on increasing morale and workers’ compensation.
It Utilities a Smarter Sales Strategy
Warehouse kitting can be leveraged as an effective sales strategy. Think about such similar items as wallets and handbags in your inventory. You should look to sell the stock you currently have in order to allow orders for new inventory. Just group them together and provide them as a discounted package. This boosts sales, as well as optimizes your inventory turnover.
Conclusion
Warehouse kitting is an essential part of a fulfillment service. It’s both a simple and effective way of fulfilling orders as part of a strategy to save your company both time and money. It also makes your warehouse more organized, safer, and cleaner. Overall, warehouse kitting is highly useful as a merchandising tool, as it enables your business to implement a more productive workflow with the items in your inventory.