Kitting and assembly in Europe, many parts, one clean SKU

Kitting is combining several separate items into one packaged unit that ships as a single SKU — for example a gift set, a multipack or a subscription box. The fulfilment partner assembles the kit in advance to your specification and holds it as its own stock item, so it can be picked and shipped in one move rather than assembled for each order.

Pick and pack handles single stock items: the right unit is picked and packed for each order. Kitting adds a build step beforehand, turning several components into one finished unit that is then picked and packed like any SKU. If your product is a bundle or set made of parts, you need kitting on top of standard pick and pack.

Usually as an assembly fee per kit built, covering the labour and any packaging materials, separate from the normal storage and pick-and-pack fees. Complex kits with more components or finishing steps cost more per unit. Price it against your real kit recipe and expected volumes, and ask whether kits are built to a forecast or on demand, since that affects turnaround.

Yes. A good partner will adjust the kit recipe when you run a promotion, swap an insert, add a seasonal item or change packaging. Give reasonable notice so components are in stock and the build is scheduled, and confirm how unsold seasonal kits are broken back down into their parts afterwards.

It should. When a kit is built, its components are decremented and the finished kit is booked in as its own unit, so the system reflects both. Ask a prospective partner how they handle stock across components and built kits, because a weak setup here is where bundles and their parts drift out of sync.