The kitting technique can be described as the material management process that is used to create the pre-packaged and pre-labeled components. The kitting process helps in increasing the efficiency of the supply chain and reduces the time for order fulfillment.
The kits will help in making your supply chain simple by combining various products in just one kit. By implementing the kitting program, you can improve the order fulfillment process and it will ultimately affect the production process of your company.
Here, in this article, we are going to discuss various steps to implement the kitting assembly program:
1. Determine Bottlenecks
Before starting to prepare the kits of products, you should determine the areas of inefficiency in your company. You should look out for the various problems in the production unit. The parts of any tool that are used together should be placed together so that you take less time for tracking and easily combine them all.
You can make a kit of these components and materials. Various components require a bill of material. You should also make a kit for these kinds of materials. Some order fulfillment contractors offer to kit light assembly services to improve your supply chain.
2. Look at Your Storeroom
You should take a walk through the storeroom and find out how different parts are organized. You should use the Gemba walk technique. The Gemba walk can be described as an in-person observation so that you can search for values. If you take a walk around the storeroom, you will get to know how different parts of various products are laid down.
3. Do Teamwork
Once you have gone through different parts and products in the warehouse, and you have determined the inefficiencies, you should ask others to do the same. You should closely work with your team members so that you can also get to know about the different opportunities that your team members can tell you. You should work with the engineers in your team so that you can get insights on how to make your supply chain efficient.
4. Take Help of Distributor
After collecting detailed information about your inventory and stockroom, you should take advantage of your good relationship with the distributor. Once you have completed your detailed research, it is time to start developing your kits. If you purchase the parts from the distributor, you should create a system so that the different parts of the products are delivered together.
But, make sure that you have a strong partnership with the supplier from who you are purchasing materials. If you have good knowledge of how your kits can be beneficial to your organization, you can make a good plan and implement it to improve the supply chain. Once you have thoroughly gone through the different steps of research, you can easily get to know the various opportunities for efficient kitting.
After the kitting of various components and products, you should clearly discuss the timelines with the distributor. It is imperative to determine the lead time because you should get the kits on hand before the specified deadlines. The kit lead time plays a vital role in optimizing the supply chain and streamlining various operations in order fulfillment.
5. Customization of Kits
The customization of the kit will be done by the distributor and it will be based on the recommendation of your organization. You have to find out the Bill of Material (BOM) and which parts or components should be included inside the kit. You should provide a detailed description of your distributor so that they can use it for the right quote.
One kit size will not fit the different organizations. Therefore, you ask the fulfillment service providers to customize your kit as per your needs and requirements. You should not forget to label your kit from outside. The labeling will help you to easily determine which components are packed inside the kit.
6. Continuous Improvement
The kitting assembly process will help in continuous improvement in the supply chain. If your first technique hits the target and helps you to streamline the workflow, you can easily find various other ways to get rid of waste.
The kitting assembly not just helps in improving the shipping process, but it also helps in the optimum utilization of warehouse space. The kitting assembly is an ongoing process and it starts evolving with time. The kitting assembly helps in reducing the tracking time and also removes the bottlenecks in the supply chain.