Bundles vs. Kits: Why the Difference Matters
Bundles and kits sound like the same thing, but they’re not.
If you don’t know the difference, you’re wasting labor, tying up inventory, and making fulfillment harder than it needs to be.
Why It Matters
Marketing loves bundles. It’s a way to increase order value and sell more products on the front end. Operations, on the other hand, has to figure out how to fulfill those bundles efficiently on the back end.
If your warehouse treats bundles and kits like the same thing, hidden costs start stacking up fast. Pickers end up pulling items from multiple locations. Kitting teams assemble products that may never sell. And before you know it, your profitability is quietly sinking under the weight of inefficiency.
Let’s break it down.
What Is a Bundle?
A bundle is when multiple items are sold together online but treated as separate SKUs in your WMS.
When an order comes in, it includes each component of the bundle, meaning your team picks each item individually.
Think of a Shampoo + Conditioner Hair Care Bundle.
The customer buys it as one set, but in the warehouse:
- Your picker goes to location A for shampoo.
- Then to location B for conditioner.
Each product is still tracked, stored, and fulfilled independently.
The upside:
- Inventory stays flexible so items can sell individually or as part of a bundle.
- You can easily adjust to demand without overcommitting stock.
The tradeoff:
- Each order takes longer to fulfill.
- More picking locations, more packaging, more touches.
What Is a Kit?
A kit is when you pre-assemble multiple components into a single SKU before orders even come in.
Let’s say you sell a monthly makeup subscription box.
Your warehouse associate grabs the eight makeup items, packs them together, and converts them into a single SKU in your WMS.
So when an order comes in, your picker doesn’t need to collect eight separate items. They just grab one: the completed kit.
The upside:
- Faster picking and packing.
- Less room for fulfillment errors.
- Perfect for predictable, high-volume products.
The tradeoff:
- Once components are kitted, they’re locked in.
- You can’t break them back out for other products or orders.
If your volume is steady and predictable, kitting saves serious time. But if demand fluctuates, it can tie up inventory unnecessarily.
The Bottom Line
Don’t waste your labor or tie up your stock by confusing bundles and kits.
Get clear on your volume, your predictability, and your workflow, and use each tool for what it’s best at.
Bundles keep your inventory open.
Kits keep your fulfillment fast.
Get it right from the start so you’re not kitting when you should be bundling, or bundling when you should be kitting.