In manufacturing, few things are more expensive than an idle assembly line. Downtime can cost as much as $2.3 million per hour in the automotive sector, while in general manufacturing it averages around $260,000 per hour. Every minute lost to missing parts, disorganized workstations, or inefficient processes eats directly into profitability.
Kitting offers a proven defense against these costly stoppages. By grouping all the parts and components needed for a specific job or sub-assembly into one organized, ready-to-use set, kitting helps workers focus on value-add tasks instead of time-wasters like searching, walking, or waiting. Kitting in manufacturing seeks to optimize the assembly process itself.
When implemented properly, kitting strengthens lean and just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing by reducing excess motion, limiting errors, and keeping production flowing smoothly. Here’s why it matters for manufacturers, and the tools and techniques required to make it successful.
In a manufacturing environment, kitting prepares the assembly line for success by gathering or pre-building the exact parts needed for a job into one organized, ready-to-use package. This can take the form of bins, totes, packages, or even fully built sub-assemblies delivered directly to workers on the line.
In many plants, kitting involves moving some assembly tasks off the main line. For example, UNEX customer Trane uses workstations to pre-assemble components such as engine modules. These sub-assemblies are then delivered as complete kits to the main line, where they can be installed quickly and accurately into the final build.
By structuring work this way, kitting in manufacturing creates a smoother, more predictable flow. Instead of operators pausing to hunt down or piece together components, everything they need arrives together, at the right time and place.
In modern manufacturing, kitting goes far beyond making assembly processes smoother and easier. It directly addresses common obstacles that slow production and drive up costs. Understanding these challenges underscores why effective kitting strategies are essential to keeping lines efficient and lean.
In mixed-model production, floor space is always at a premium. When materials can’t be stored lineside, operators spend time walking back and forth to collect parts, wasting valuable build time. Research shows that walking to retrieve materials can consume 10–15% of production time in multi-model assembly lines. Kitting helps resolve this by consolidating parts into organized kits that can be staged closer to the point of use.
Many industries, from automotive to HVAC to electronics, are producing more model variations than ever, often on the same line. Each change in production for a new variation means workers need different components at different times. If storage systems can’t adjust, kitting stations must be reconfigured. Parts are swapped in and out, bins are relabeled, and flow racks are rearranged to match the new build requirements. Without flexible infrastructure, these reconfigurations add unnecessary downtime. Kitting delivers only the components required for the specific build, so workers can stay focused on assembly while kits change seamlessly with the production schedule.
Outdated shelving or welded pipe-and-joint racks are difficult to adjust, making them a poor fit for dynamic production environments where part sizes, mixes, and workflows shift regularly. When storage can’t keep up with production, operators have to improvise with cluttered layouts or spend extra time searching for parts. Kitting offers a much better approach: By consolidating components into organized kits on flow racks or workstations, workers get the exact mix of parts they need, in the right sequence and orientation.
When operators have to search across multiple shelves or bins to find the right part, errors increase, and build times slow down. Organized kitting eliminates this guesswork by ensuring all necessary components are verified and delivered together.
Here’s how:
Kitting takes different forms in different industries and assembly types, but the underlying goal is the same: ensure each component required for a task is available, organized, and ready to use on the line. Here’s how that works in three distinct kitting setups.
In many plants, components are partially assembled at workstations and then delivered to the main line as a complete kit. Automotive manufacturers, for instance, often build dashboard sub-assemblies or wire harnesses in advance so line workers can simply install the finished module. Electronics manufacturers use similar methods for printed circuit boards, where pre-assembling sensitive components in a controlled environment reduces handling and protects against electrostatic discharge.
At the operator level, kitting often means preparing bins or totes with every part required for a specific job or order so workers can finish tasks without leaving their station. Industrial workstations support this approach by presenting kits at optimal pick angles, which reduces strain and enables workers to move faster with less effort.
For high-mix, low-volume manufacturing, where operators may need access to hundreds of different parts in small quantities, kitting often relies on a manufacturing supermarket system. Here, parts are stored centrally in flow racks or pallet rack shelving and replenished as needed. Supermarkets help streamline part picking and ensure that kits are always stocked with the right mix of components.
Kitting is only as effective as the systems that support it. That’s why UNEX FlowCell is designed to give manufacturers flexible, ergonomic, and space-efficient infrastructure for building and delivering kits right where they’re needed to support assembly. Available as industrial workstations, lineside storage, and both mobile and stationary units, FlowCell readily adapts to the realities of modern production. Here’s how:
Essentially, FlowCell turns kitting into a lean, ergonomic, and space-optimized advantage, giving manufacturers the tools to respond quickly to changeovers and keep production flowing without interruption.
Adopting kitting, like any lean practice, doesn’t guarantee results on its own. A widely cited 2007 study found that while 70% of U.S. manufacturers had adopted lean principles, only a small portion sustained long-term gains. The difference often came down to incomplete implementation. Plants that treated lean as a one-time project rather than an ongoing system rarely saw lasting success.
Kitting follows the same rule. It delivers the most value when it’s supported by lean tools that help teams identify opportunities, adjust workflows, and adapt on the go. Before setting up kitting stations, manufacturers should map the entire assembly workflow to pinpoint where kitting will result in the biggest time savings or waste reductions. This “value stream mapping” ensures kits are deployed in high-impact areas, whether that’s reducing walking time, consolidating scattered parts, or smoothing a tricky sub-assembly step.
Once implemented, kitting must remain flexible. Kaizen audits are integral here, giving teams a structured way to review stations, spot bottlenecks, and reconfigure setups as production needs shift. In high-mix environments, for example, mobile flow racks and carts enable kitting stations to quickly move or adapt when a new model or product variation is introduced. And when kitting is viewed not as a standalone tactic but as part of a larger lean system, it reinforces JIT delivery and shortens cycle times across the line.
Effective kitting has become a cornerstone of lean manufacturing, helping plants cut downtime, improve accuracy, and boost throughput. By organizing parts into ready-to-use kits, manufacturers can simplify assembly workflows and achieve more consistent results on the line.
UNEX solutions are designed to make that possible. Industrial workstations provide a structured environment for assembling kits and staging sub-assemblies before they reach the line. Flow racks with FIFO rotation keep parts organized and moving forward, eliminating buried inventory and ensuring each kit is complete and in line with lean standards. Ergonomically designed storage systems support easier picking, while industrial carts transport kits safely from manufacturing supermarkets and industrial workstations to the line without forklifts. Together, these dynamic systems allow manufacturers to shrink their assembly lines, reclaim floor space, and keep pace with dynamic production demands.
Whether as industrial carts, workstations, supermarket racks, or lineside storage, FlowCell solutions provide the flexibility, durability, and ergonomic design needed to make kitting successful. For manufacturers that want to drive lasting gains in productivity and profitability, kitting with UNEX solutions is the lean choice. Contact our team of experts today to learn how you can get started with smarter kitting solutions.