Kitting has been a below-the-radar service of contract packagers, but now it is gaining steam. Walk down the aisles of any department store or home improvement center and you’ll see kit packs in categories from painting supplies to personal care.
Kitting is gaining in prominence because retailers today want to rotate stock and keep it continually fresh, and kits also bundle different products in a variety of forms to provide different unit-of-sale options for shoppers.
These and other points are highlighted in an article on kitting on the China Product Sourcing Reviews Blog. Kitting is an increasing business for contract packagers, and the article lists five benefits of innovation kitting:
1. The ability to implement special offers and product upgrades with shorter lead times.
2. The ability to ship only the most up-to-date product software and documentation.
3. An improved relationship with retailers.
4. Improved efficient in targeting specific customers more effectively.
5. Savings on shipping costs.
These and other benefits, such as improved logistics, were advantages of kitting that TomTom enjoyed in bringing its GPS navigation units to stores.
