Efficiency Gains from Applying Industry 4.0 Software to Kitting Processes

The idea of lean manufacturing has been around for decades and focuses on streamlining production to improve value and productivity while minimizing waste. During this process, companies are encouraged to map-out the flow of product through the entire supply chain including procurement, production, kitting, assembly, warehousing, packaging, and delivery services, in an effort to identify efficiency opportunities and ensure product flows smoothly through each phase.? One area of opportunity that is often identified during this exercise is kitting .

What are Kitting Processes?

In the past, many manufacturers relied on a “pick and pack” process to select the requisite parts and package the order for a given customer. However, companies have come to rely more on kitting in recent years as customer expectations for faster deliveries and a smoother fulfillment experience have grown.

Kitting is the process of collecting and organizing separate but related parts for future use in the manufacturing of a product.?Rather than supplying each part separately, they are “kitted” together to form one full set of materials with its own SKU number. In some cases, items with different but related SKUs are combined and given a new SKU.

Kits may be stored until needed on the manufacturing assembly line or delivered directly to customers. The kitting process may take place at the factory itself either as part of the production process or as a separate side process, or kitting services can be provided by a third-party contract manufacturer. In most instances, kitting occurs where the part inventory resides so it often makes good business sense to combine kitting with manufacturing and warehousing, whether those services are performed in-house or through a contract manufacturer.

An everyday example of kitting is a computer order. A computer often comes with a charger, USB, software, or other accessories. The manufacturer would combine all of these items in a single kit to be shipped to the customer. This approach gives suppliers the flexibility to package kits in advance, further reducing shipping times once the order is placed. Other examples of kitting processes in manufacturing include:

• Manufacturers of products that require a large number of small parts or those that do not have a lot of space to store large supplies of individual parts will often use the kitting process to get the parts they need in a more efficient and space-saving way.?
• Kitting is also beneficial when there is an element of customization. For example, dental implant manufacturers have to produce a large volume of implants, but each one is customized to the specific patient. They can use the kitting process to make sure that the base parts are all ready to go and then the customizations can be added as needed.
• Car manufacturers also tend to use kitting, especially when it comes to adding the car features that customers might want to customize like the seat upholstery or trim.?

Advantages of Kitting Processes in Manufacturing

Kitting offers companies flexibility and efficiency that are just not feasible with a pick and pack method. There are many advantages to kitting such as improved productivity and faster delivery times as kits can be quickly retrieved when necessary. Kitting also organizes and improves control of the warehousing process, leading to fewer packaging and shipping errors or delays. The use of kits also allows assembly line personnel to focus on more value-added tasks rather than searching in inventory for parts.

Simply put, kitting drives improvements in the consistency and reliability of the final product. In addition, incorporating Industry 4.0 software, like Matics manufacturing analytics , into the kitting process delivers even higher efficiency gains that result in more time and cost savings. Below are more details on the advantages of kitting processes in manufacturing.

• Increased storage space: this advantage is especially critical for those manufacturers with limited space as well as those focusing on a lean production model as the kitting process reduces the amount of space needed for keeping large amounts of spare parts. When third-party companies provide the kitting, the manufacturer can get the bundles of parts as needed rather than take up space storing them on-site.?
• Increased Productivity:? the kitting process puts pre-assembled parts directly into the assembly line, saving time that would otherwise be spent by factory personnel collecting the individual components needed to complete the product.?
• Easier inventory management: with kitting processes, each individual raw material that goes into a product has to be tagged and assigned a SKU. This information is used to track the amount of inventory to know when new parts need to be ordered and other procurement needs. When there are so many small parts needed, this process can become very onerous and taxing on companies. By bundling certain small parts together into one “kit” and assigning the entire kit one SKU, the process is made much simpler and it is easier to track and manage inventory.?
• Increased profits: any process that helps make the production line more efficient ultimately leads to increased profitability, and kitting is no exception.?

Driving Kitting Improvements with Matics Manufacturing Analytics

While many manufacturers rely on the kitting process, it can also present some challenges, especially when done manually. The manual kitting process requires workers to gather the relevant components and assemble them into the kit. There is a lot of room for human error which can end up slowing down the production process instead of improving it. This is where Industry 4.0 software, like Matics manufacturing analytics, can make a huge impact. Using Industry 4.0 software to help manage the kitting process can automate the tracking of the relevant parts and ensure that each bundle contains the right pieces.

The increased connectivity provided by Industry 4.0 technologies lets manufacturers take another step towards digitalization. More machines, sensors, and other devices can now send data directly to IIoT solutions, removing the need for manual data collection and input. Effective IIoT solutions can also reduce or eliminate the need to manually move data around between different programs, systems, and solutions – creating huge efficiency gains and delivering higher productivity.

Additionally, at Matics, our Industry 4.0 software technologies enable facilities to optimize integrated planning and scheduling for real-time data analysis and proactive decision making – leading to a higher Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). An OEE score reveals your plant’s true productivity by measuring how long your machines are running, how much product you are making, and how many of those products meet established quality standards.??

About Matics

Matics is a Real-Time Operational Intelligence solution that was designed to enable rapid Industry 4.0 best practice adoption via a user-friendly non-disruptive digitalization platform. Matics manufacturing analytics instantly improve visibility and shop-floor management, reducing response time to critical events, and increasing OEE and profitability.

Matics manufacturing analytics solution continually aggregates data in real-time, transforming it into knowledge manufacturers can use to optimize key metrics on their shop floor. Matics provides manufacturers with powerful work management tools that deliver notifications when attention is needed and enable remote tasks management, process automation, and more.?

Over 80% of manufacturers do not have real-time solutions on their shop-floor. Below are a few leading manufacturers who choose to digitize their facilities with Matics manufacturing analytics solutions:

Ready to upgrade your shop floor to Industry 4.0? Visit our website to learn more about Matics manufacturing analytics or to book a demo .