Kitting

Definition

Pre-assembling a bill of parts into one issued unit so the customer draws it as a single item.

Why It Matters

Kitting is where a distributor stops selling parts and starts selling a job's worth of them, and it changes the economics on both sides of the counter. The customer draws one item instead of nine and stops losing time at the stores window; the distributor earns a fee for the assembly and locks the bill of materials to its own line card. It is also labor the seller may be absorbing without charging for. Ask which customers are kitted, what the arrangement is worth per kit, and who does the work.