Resources / Kitting
Kitting Services: What They Include and How 3PLs Price Them
What kitting services include, when brands outsource warehouse kitting to a 3PL, how providers price and run kit builds, and what to put in your kit spec.
7 min read
· Updated
November 2026
At a glance
The definition
Kitting services combine separate SKUs into one ready-to-ship unit with its own SKU, from gift sets and subscription boxes to retail displays and onboarding kits.
How it's priced
Expect quotes built from a setup fee, a per-kit or per-touch labor rate, materials, and storage, with hourly billing for complex or one-off builds.
When to outsource
Outsourcing fits when kit volume is seasonal or project-based, components already sit at your 3PL, or your team lacks space and labor for build runs.
Kitting services are warehouse value-added services in which a provider picks two or more separate items, assembles them into a single unit with its own SKU, and stores or ships that unit as one product. Common examples include gift sets, subscription boxes, multipacks, retail displays, and onboarding kits.
You have a holiday gift set launching in six weeks, a subscription box that changes every month, or a sales team that needs 500 onboarding kits by the end of the quarter. The components are already in a warehouse. The question is who builds the kits, how fast, and at what cost per kit, without wrecking inventory accuracy along the way.
This guide covers what kitting services include, when brands outsource warehouse kitting, how 3PLs price and run kit builds, and what to ask a provider. If you run kitting in-house and want to automate it, see the guides to automating manual kitting and robotic kitting systems.
What kitting services include
Kitting belongs to the value-added work that warehouses offer on top of storage, alongside services such as labeling, light assembly, and packaging. A typical kitting service covers:
Component receiving and storage. Each component is received, counted, and stored under its own SKU until the build.
Kit setup. The provider loads a bill of materials (BOM) into its warehouse management system (WMS), linking the kit SKU to its components and quantities. See the WMS guide.
Assembly. Staff pick components and place them in a box, tray, bag, or display in a set order, then add inserts, tissue, or void fill.
Labeling and sealing. Kit labels, barcodes, shrink wrap, or tamper seals go on, and the finished kit is checked against the spec.
Inventory transactions. Building a kit consumes components and creates kit units in the WMS. Breaking down unsold kits reverses it.
Storage and shipping. Finished kits go to stock, ship to stores or marketplaces, or ship directly to consumers.
Build-to-stock, build-to-order, and virtual bundles
Build-to-stock kitting, also called pre-kitting, assembles a batch of kits ahead of demand. It suits predictable kits, retail shipments, and peak preparation, but it locks components into a finished form that costs labor to undo.
Build-to-order kitting assembles each kit when an order arrives, often at the pack station. It keeps components flexible and avoids stranded kits, but it adds labor and time to every order. Many programs combine the two: pre-build the core kit, then add the variable item at pack-out.
Virtual bundles skip assembly. The bundle exists only as a listing, and the WMS sends its components to be picked and packed together. That is fulfillment, not kitting, and it is often the cheapest option when the kit has no special packaging.
When brands outsource kitting
Outsourcing makes sense when the work is irregular or when kitting competes with your core operation for space and people. Common triggers:
Seasonal and promotional peaks. Holiday gift sets, launch bundles, and promotional kits create short bursts of labor. Plan them against capacity with the promotion planning guide.
Subscription programs. Monthly or quarterly boxes change contents every cycle. See subscription box kitting automation for the build mechanics.
Components already at a 3PL. If your inventory lives in a 3PL warehouse, building there avoids extra freight and double handling.
Retail programs. Club packs, display-ready units, and multipacks have to meet a retailer's packaging and labeling rules.
B2B kits. Onboarding kits, sales sample kits, field service kits, and event kits ship to people, not shelves.
Keeping kitting in-house makes more sense when kits are high volume and stable, when the build needs product knowledge or quality checks that are hard to hand off, or when your own team has idle capacity between peaks.
SKU fit check
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How kitting services are priced
Kitting is labor-heavy, so pricing follows touches and time. Quotes are usually built from some mix of the lines below. For general fee structures, see the 3PL pricing and billing guide.
Setup or project fee. Writing work instructions, building a sample, loading the BOM, and setting up stations.
Per-kit fee. A flat price per finished kit, often tiered by the number of components or steps.
Per-component or per-touch fee. A base charge plus a charge for each item placed, insert added, or label applied.
Hourly labor. Common for one-off projects, complex builds, rework, and kit breakdowns.
Materials. Boxes, trays, inserts, film, and labels, either supplied by you or bought by the 3PL.
Storage and minimums. Components and finished kits both take up space, and some providers set minimum project charges.
Compare the quote with your in-house cost
To compare a quote with building kits yourself, use loaded labor cost, not base wage. Loaded cost adds benefits, payroll taxes, and overtime premiums to the hourly wage, so it is the fair number to set against a provider's per-kit price.
Illustrative example only. Suppose a five-component kit takes 90 seconds to build, so one person builds 40 kits an hour. At a loaded cost of $36 an hour, labor alone is $0.90 per kit, before supervision, space, materials, rework, and quality checks. These are made-up numbers to show the math, so run your own time studies.
Fit call
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Regulated and lot-controlled kits
Some kits change who is allowed to build them, not just how.
Medical devices. FDA lists kit assemblers among the manufacturers that must register and list, so a provider that builds device kits takes on device-maker obligations. See the medical device kitting guide.
Dietary supplements. FDA's compliance guide says a firm that packages, labels, or distributes a supplement made by another firm is subject to the dietary supplement cGMP rule. See supplement fulfillment.
Drugs and cosmetics. Kits with drug or beauty components bring their own handling and labeling needs. See pharmaceutical kitting automation and beauty kit assembly.
Anything with a lot or expiry. Record which component lots went into each kit lot, and date the kit no later than its shortest-dated component.
What to ask a kitting provider
How do you control the BOM? Ask how kit builds, component consumption, and breakdowns post in the WMS, and what you can see in reporting.
What is your quality check? Ask for the defect definition, check frequency, and how rework is billed.
How fast can you start? Ask for the usual lead time from spec approval to first build, and how they staff peak runs.
Can you capture lot and expiry? You need this if any component is dated or regulated.
What happens to leftovers? Ask how unused components and unsold kits are counted, stored, broken down, and billed.
What is automated? Ask which steps are manual and which use scales, vision checks, or robots, because that affects consistency at peak.
Most of the risk in a kitting project sits before the first build, in the spec and the component counts. A short component stops the run or forces partial kits, which is why inventory accuracy matters more in kitting than almost anywhere else.
Site walkthrough
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Where Avatar fits
Kitting is one of the tasks Avatar's robots handle, along with picking, packing, sorting, and carting. They work inline with your team in the same workflow, on kits such as subscription boxes, gift sets, and beauty kits, with no racking or layout changes. Under Robots-as-a-Service, Avatar brings the hardware and you pay for output, which suits kit programs that rise and fall with promotions. For very high-volume kits that never change, a dedicated assembly line may be the better fit. See where Avatar works on the Avatar solutions page.
How It Works
The process in four steps.
1
Write the kit spec
List components, quantities, orientation, packaging, labels, and acceptance criteria with photos. Approve a golden sample before any production build starts.
2
Count and stage components
Count every component before the run, load the bill of materials in the WMS, and stage components at stations so a shortage surfaces before the build, not halfway through.
3
Pilot, then build in batches
Run a small pilot to test timing and station layout, then build in batches with periodic checks against the sample by count, weight, or vision.
4
Reconcile and close out
Match components consumed to kits built, report scrap and shortages, post finished kits to inventory, and decide what happens to leftover components and unsold kits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are kitting services?
Kitting services are value-added warehouse services in which a provider combines separate items into one ready-to-ship unit with its own SKU. They usually include component storage, kit setup in the WMS, assembly, labeling, and storing or shipping the finished kits. Common examples are gift sets, subscription boxes, multipacks, and onboarding kits.
What is the difference between kitting and assembly?
Kitting groups finished, already-packaged items into one unit without changing them, such as a skincare set or a starter kit. Assembly joins parts to make a new product. Many 3PLs offer light assembly alongside kitting, but heavier assembly work generally belongs with a contract manufacturer.
How much do kitting services cost?
It depends on components per kit, build complexity, volume, and materials. Quotes usually combine a setup fee with a per-kit, per-touch, or hourly labor rate, plus materials and storage. Ask for a sample build and compare the quote with your own loaded labor cost per kit.
What is the difference between kitting and bundling?
A bundle is a sales concept: several products sold together under one listing. It can be fulfilled as a virtual bundle, where components are picked and packed together at order time, or as a physical kit built in advance. Kitting is the physical work of building that unit.
Sources
1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (n.d.). Who Must Register, List and Pay the Fee (medical device establishments). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2010). Small Entity Compliance Guide: Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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