Kitting & Assembly

Kitting is the process of bundling individual components or SKUs into a single sellable or buildable unit, called a kit. When a kit is built or sold, the underlying components are deducted from stock automatically, without needing a separate physical part number for the kit itself. Kitting is common in e-commerce (multi-packs and bundles) and in light manufacturing (pre-built assemblies).

Kitting bundles separate, already-finished components into a group sold or used together the components stay distinct, just packaged as one unit. Assembly combines components into a new physical item that becomes a single product, often permanently joined or fabricated. Both rely on a bill of materials (BOM) to know exactly what components and quantities are required, and both deduct component stock when the kit or assembly is built.

A kit is essentially a sales-oriented bill of materials: it lists the components and quantities that make up the bundle. When the kit is built or sold, the system uses this list the same way a manufacturing BOM works to deduct each component from stock automatically, keeping component inventory accurate without manual adjustments.

Creating a separate physical SKU for every bundle means tracking inventory for an item that doesn't actually exist as a distinct physical unit you'd have to manually move stock between the bundle SKU and its components. Kitting solves this by deducting the real components directly when the kit sells, so inventory always reflects what's physically on the shelf.

Yes, kitting software that supports "unkitting" lets you reverse a build returning the individual components back to available stock if a kit is broken down or returned unsold. This keeps component counts accurate even when kits move in both directions.

E-commerce sellers bundling products into multi-packs or gift sets, subscription box businesses, light manufacturers building pre-assembled kits from purchased parts, and any business that sells a "set" made up of items also sold individually.