Kitting – definition and meaning

Kitting is the process of providing something or a person with appropriate equipment or clothing. When kitting occurs, we group, package, and supply separate but related items together as a single unit. During the process, we supply the person, for example, with a collection or set of tools, clothing or supplies. The term may also include providing a set of instructional matter.

Let’s suppose somebody orders a self-study language course online, i.e., on the Internet. The whole package includes the books, CDs, flash cards, and tests. Kitting is when the supplier assembles all the ‘kit‘ and ships it as one unit.

The term comes from the word ‘kit.’ In this context, ‘kit’ means a set of components, items, or equipment that people need for a specific purpose.

BusinessDictionary.com says the following regarding the term:

“Process in which individually separate but related items are grouped, packaged, and supplied together as one unit.”

Kitting in order fulfillment

When fulfilling orders, kitting refers to the assembly of different items into ready-to-deliver kits or sets.

We usually ship completed kits, which we place into storage, at a later time.

We typically used kitting for instructional packets, display materials, and game sets. Additionally, we also use it for promotional literature, welcome kits, dealer and franchisee supplies, media, and new product launches.

Put simply; we typically use kitting for any items which we regularly send out as a consistent set.

Kitting saves time and money

When we have to distribute kits, we pre-build them in batches. We do this because it is more cost-effective.

According to Formax Printing Solutions, pre-assembling kits in large batch quantities makes more business sense. It is more advantageous than picking and packing the items as they arrive.

Regarding the advantages, Formax Printing Solutions says:

“The more kits produced at one time, the lower the assembly time will be for each kit.”

“This is because the mass production of kits is a more linear operation, with less starts and stops than producing a kit here and a kit there.”

Positioning the kit components

When kitting in large quantities, we can position all the kit components near each other. This subsequently streamlines the process of gathering and assembling them.

Gathering kit components that people prepare separately as orders come in takes much longer. In the world of business, time is money.

In the English language, the word ‘kit’ emerged in Britain in the late thirteenth century. It came from Middle Dutch ‘Kitte,’ which meant a wooden container, tankard, or jug.

In 1785, it acquired the meaning ‘collection of personal effects.’ However, it was not until the 1930s that it also meant an article to be assembled along with other separate but related items.