Kitting
Kitting refers to assembling and packaging a group of products, items, and other components into a single package or kit for a specific purpose, such as a promotional campaign, a ready-to-assemble product, or specific customer requirements.
In distribution operations, kitting is also applied to group items to save time, improve operational efficiency, product location and storage, and optimize space utilization.
Blog: What is Slotting in a Warehouse? Benefits & Tips
In manufacturing and assembly operations, kitting is used to gather parts and materials required for a specific product or assembly process and organize them to make them easy to access and use. In retail or e-commerce operations, kitting might involve packaging items commonly purchased together, such as a grill and grilling accessories or a set of kitchen tools.
Kitting can be done manually or with the help of automated machinery and processes. It is often used to streamline operations and improve efficiency, as it can reduce the time and effort required to gather and organize the necessary items for a particular task or application.
Automated kitting solutions increase efficiency by replacing manual processes to save additional time, reduce floor space, and accelerate order fulfillment.
Types of Kitting Processes
Kitting takes several forms, depending on a company’s product profile and operational requirements.
Warehouse operations use kitting processes to bundle related products as they are received or to consolidate dissimilar SKUs into individual orders for packing and dispatch. In this scenario, the kits go into totes stored for quick retrieval. Manufacturing operations, using kitting to gather the components needed for an assembly into a tote, bin, cart, or trolley.
Whether in manufacturing or warehouse environments, kitting requires an employee to pick each SKU needed manually or with warehouse automation such as vice picking technology, pick-to-light systems, AMR batch picking, and goods-to-person solutions.
Kitting System Benefits
Just as kitting requirements vary by company, industry, and operational needs, Numina offers a range of warehouse technology solutions, such as voice picking technology, pick-to-light, AMR batch picking, and goods-to-person automation to accelerate and streamline kitting processes.
The benefits of Numina Group’s automated kitting solutions include the following:
- Increase pick rates and productivity.
- Improve pick accuracy to 99.9%
- Eliminate the disruption and expense of pick errors.
- Reduce consolidation mistakes that lead to wasted time.
- Save space and increase warehouse capacity.
Example: Numina’s RDS Pick-to-Light System for Kitting
The Numina Group offers pick-to-light solutions that guide operators in kitting operations. In kitting operations with large numbers of fast-moving SKUs, pick-to-light integrates with warehouse management systems (WMS) and/or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. LED indicators are at tote locations, sequenced through software to minimize walking and time taken.
Pick-to-light technology works just as well in put-to-light applications for orders that require consolidation after kitting. Numina’s put-to-light solution guides operators on the placement of totes that are holding the SKU kits.
Blog: Put Walls: What are they and why you may need one
Numina’s Family of RDS Warehouse Automation Solutions
If you’re interested in learning about options in automated kitting and other warehouse automation solutions, the Numina Group can help. As a leading warehouse automation design consultant, software developer and independent systems integrator, Numina Group has over 40 years of experience defining, designing, and implementing highly profitable automated warehouse systems.
Numina’s RDS™ Warehouse Execution and Control System (WES-WCS) platform, materials handling solutions, and automated kitting systems complement manufacturing and warehouse systems. Our automated warehouse solutions enable companies to increase productivity by 50% or more, reduce labor costs by 30% to 70%, and increase order accuracy to 99.9%.
We offer consultative warehouse design services to identify the right lean processes for your operations. We help you turn your design into reality by combining the power of RDS™ WCS-WES, our real-time warehouse control and execution software with cutting-edge material handling technologies.
Learn More
Blog: The True Cost of NOT Automating Your Warehouse
Product: RDS Order Fulfillment Automation Suite
Video: Warehouse Automation Design for Perfect Order Practices
Blog: Order Picking Automation Options to Resolve Warehouse Labor Shortage Challenges
