KITTING ASSEMBLY
Kit assembly is increasingly becoming a common component of today’s retail and fulfillment world. Kitting with a 3PL provider allows your business to save time, money, and storage space by using software and organization systems that make assembling kits quicker and more cost-effective.
Kits include products that are commonly grouped and sold together. As part of our eCommerce fulfillment services at NextGen3PL, we provide professional kit assembly services and will meet all your special requests to guarantee a positive experience for you and your customers.
Not sure whether kitting is right for your products or what type of kitting would benefit you? Need special packaging, custom boxes or trays, proprietary packaging, or specific void-fill for your merchandise? Read on to learn more about the kitting process, our services, and how we can help you with all your kit assembly needs!
What are the benefits of kit assembly?
There are many benefits to utilizing our trained professionals for kit assembly, all of which are proven to help your business save time, money, and storage space, as well as increase your customers’ return rate.
Optimizes space, time, and labor
We use a proven-effective organization system to guarantee faster processing of order fulfillment. In addition, kitting helps to optimize storage space because items are prearranged rather than individually taking up space or spread throughout the warehouse. This makes it easier for us to find, inspect, and pack your products, ultimately decreasing the time needed for shipping and delivery.
Helps organize inventory
Never fear the loss of an item when taking advantage of our kit assembly services. With a rigorous and organized system in place, we take care of all your kitting needs and make sure your products are sent out on time and in perfect shape.
Saves you money
Kitting is cost-effective for your business, especially through our Pick and Pack fulfillment process. As a result, there are no minimum order charges. In addition, kitting places all your inventory in one storage space, allowing you to save money on other storage spaces you may have otherwise needed to use. This also reduces the cost of packaging and re-labeling because you will not need to pack and ship merchandise to other storage spaces.
Simplifies the process of offering a variety of products to your customers
With kit assembly, it’s easy to sell multiple items at once. Based on which of your products normally sell together, we can assist you in putting together kits of these items and then ship them out at once. This reduces the cost of individually packing items and also allows customers to choose from a wider variety of products.
Increases customer satisfaction and return rate
With a larger variety of options available and a quicker delivery rate, our kit assembly services will leave your customers satisfied and eager to order more of your merchandise, as well as entice new customers to check out your products.
If these benefits aren’t enough to convince you of the merits of kit assembly, read on for more information on how our experts can assist you with kitting and other related services.
What is kit assembly, and what is involved in the process of kitting?
Kit assembly, or kitting, is part of a modern eCommerce shipping and handling strategy offered by most 3PL providers, including NextGen3PL. The process of kitting involves taking individual items and grouping them together to make a new unit of products. Often, similar items or items that customers usually buy together are used in kitting since they are known to work well together. Companies can predict what items customers are most likely to buy together and can then determine if kitting is right for them and how the kits should be put together.
Kit assembly streamlines the production and delivery process because it fulfills customer orders by pre-assembling items into kits so that they can be shipped together. There are many methods of kit assembly, each of which has its own benefits and disadvantages. Every 3PL provider uses their own preferred methods of kitting, but two of the most common methods are automated assembly and manual assembly.
Simply put, automated assembly involves using machinery. Our kitting machines are equipped to help with any of your assembly needs and produce high-quality work. However, this method, while fast and efficient, isn’t always the best choice for kitting. For example, if you have small parts (puzzle pieces, instrument parts, beads, etc.) that would be better assembled by hand, we have skilled professionals working alongside the machines to make sure every order is assembled in the way that is best for the product.
In the case of small or delicate parts which can’t be put through a machine, manual assembly is the better option. Our experts are ready to help assemble your kits by hand, ensuring a high-quality job and a better unboxing experience for the customer.
In addition to these two general forms of kit assembly, we offer secondary options to make your customer’s experience the best it can be and to ensure that all your specific instructions are followed. Some of these options include:
With these capabilities, you can rest assured that you will have a great kitting experience with us and that your customers will have a positive unboxing experience that will keep them coming back.
What are some common products that are well suited for kitting and are frequently ordered together?
We see many of the same products being ordered together and are able to advise businesses on which of these products may benefit from going through kit assembly. On the other hand, some businesses already have a list of items they would like to be grouped together. Whether you have specific instructions for kitting or aren’t sure which items would work well in kits, we are here to help you and perform a high-quality kitting job.
To give you an idea of products which are often grouped together and to help you decide if kitting is right for you, we’ve compiled an extensive list of often-kitted items below.
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Ready-to-assemble furniture kits
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Automotive/vehicle kits
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Surgical/medical kits
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Game pieces
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Instrument parts
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Seasonal gifts
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Cosmetic promotional gift sets
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Jewelry making kits
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Beads
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Accessories
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Makeup kits
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Hobby and craft kits
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Promotional products or literature
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Travel size items
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First Aid kits
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Media kits
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Retail-ready displays
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Subscription boxes
Unsure if your products are suited for kitting or if kit assembly makes sense for your business? Talk to us and we’ll be happy to help!
GET IN TOUCH WITH US
How can we at NextGen3PL assist you and your business with fulfillment and kit assembly?
While we do offer kitting services as part of our eCommerce fulfillment services, we also provide a variety of other services to support your business. Among our other services, we offer:
- Order fulfillment
- Order management
- Inventory management
- Shipping
- Return management
- Pick and Pack fulfillment
Kit assembly is part of our order processing system and, more specifically, is included in Pick and Pack fulfillment. This type of fulfillment involves a series of steps that guarantees the correct processing, packaging, and delivery of your order.
To help you understand more of the details behind our system, we’ve compiled a list of steps below.
We receive your order and begin processing.
Often, we are able to process orders as soon as they come in so that they are ready to ship within a day or two. Once your order is received, we follow a few steps to ensure accuracy:
- Check to make sure the number of the product in your order matches the number of items we’ve received.
- Inspect each item for damages or inaccuracies.
- Search each item for a barcode or a label to scan.
- Examine the quality and quantity of products to make sure everything is accurate.
- Create a packing slip generated by our software.
We begin the process of picking.
Picking involves retrieving the requested item(s) from your stores section. Our system is organized so that you know exactly where all your inventory is stored in our warehouse. This minimizes the chance of lost items and decreases delays in shipping. Once items have been inspected, they are prepared for packing.
We continue the kit assembly process by packing.
After your products are retrieved from the shelves and inspected for any damages or inaccuracies, they are brought to a packing station. Once they are assembled and labeled for their shipping destination, they are ready to be delivered.
We make sure all instructions on the packing slip and any special guidelines are followed.
Before we send anything to the loading dock, we check to make sure all your special instructions or requests have been followed exactly as stated. This includes specific requests for packing materials, shipping materials, or custom unboxing experiences for customers. We check any and all instructions before, during, and after the Pick and Pack process to ensure there are no errors.
Once all the previous steps have been completed, we prepare to deliver.
The last step before delivery is to take the packed and labeled items to the loading dock to be picked up by the correct shipping carrier throughout the day. From there, it is the responsibility of the shipping carrier to inform you and your customers about the status of the order, including tracking information and the estimated time of delivery. Your order is on its way!
While these steps provide just a brief look into our order processing system, we have an efficient and qualified team to carry out each step and to make sure you and your customers have a positive experience. If your products need special packaging, custom boxes or trays, proprietary packaging, or specific void-fill, we can fulfill these and more of your special requests. We welcome any specific instructions on picking, packing, or shipping materials such as boxes, envelopes, packing tape, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and air fill.
No matter your needs, we are here to help and provide you and your customers with an outstanding experience.
What if a customer needs to return products that came in a kit?
Have a customer looking to return? No problem! With our kit assembly system, it’s easy for customers to return products for whatever reason. In the eCommerce world, returns are going to happen, and we strive to make the process as easy and painless as possible for both customers and businesses. A functioning and simple return process is just as important as storing, shipping, and delivery, and it can even contribute to a higher customer return rate.
Essentially, returns work in reverse from the steps listed above. We provide return address information to customers so that they can send their products back to us directly. Once they arrive back at our warehouse, we check each item for damages before returns can be funded back. After we have performed this inspection, the merchandise can be put back into the system and onto our warehouse shelves to be repurchased. We also handle customer service on all returns, allowing you to focus on your business and experience stress-free returns.
Not sure if kitting is right for you? Looking for advice on how your business would benefit from kit assembly? We’re here to help and will guide you in the right direction to figure out your kitting needs and what kit assembly option is best for you and your business.