KIT/Package item feasibility with Suite Commerce website
Introduction
Kit Item
Kits or packages let you create items that are collected from other items. You can assign multiple price levels to your kits and even make them available in your website. Whenever you sell a kit, inventory items are deducted from the inventory.
Kit/Package Items
A kit/package is a unit composed of items from your inventory. A kit is sold as one unit, but has several member components. Kit components can be inventory items, assemblies, kits, and service items.
One difference between kits and groups is that the price of a kit is not dependent on its components’ prices. It can also be assigned several price levels. Each time a kit is sold, inventory records are updated for the individual members of the kit.
Kits or packages let you create individually-sold items that are collected from other items.
The price of a kit is not dependent on its components’ prices and can be assigned several price levels.
For example, the electronics retailer creates the kit Creative 2400 Graphics Bundle. They want to give customers an incentive to buy the entire kit, rather than some of the components. The price based on the component prices is $2783.99. Because a kit does not have to be based on the component prices, the retailer can set the price of the kit at $2730.00.
Key Differences Between Kits, Groups, and Assemblies
Although they are similar, there are key differences between kits, groups, and assemblies. The chart below explains these differences.
| Function | Assembly | Kit/Package | Item Group |
| Members can include: | inventory items non-inventory items assemblies service items other charges | inventory items non-inventory items assemblies kits service items | inventory items non-inventory items assemblies kits service items |
| Pricing: | item price is independent of its members’ prices | item price is independent of its members’ prices | item price is dependent on its members’ prices |
| General Ledger Accounts: | able to identify a Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), income, and asset account separate from its components’ accounts | able to identify a separate income account | No account designation available |
| Inventory Impact: | Building an assembly: decreases the asset accounts of member items increases asset account of the assembly | Fulfilling a kit: decreases the asset account of member items | Fulfilling a group: decreases the asset account of member items |
The Advantages /benefits of Kit/Package Items on the SC website
Using Kit/Package items on a SC website can offer several benefits, enhancing the customer experience, inventory management, and overall efficiency of the business. Here are some advantages of incorporating Kit/Package items:
1. Simplified Purchasing Experience: Kit/Package items allow customers to buy multiple related products in a single purchase, streamlining the purchasing process. This convenience can improve customer satisfaction and encourage larger order sizes.
2. Promotion and Upselling Opportunities: Kits/Packages can be used as bundles to promote related products or upsell customers to higher-value packages. This can increase average order value and boost sales.
3. Inventory Management Efficiency: Kit/Package items help consolidate multiple individual components into a single inventory item. This reduces the complexity of managing individual stock levels and simplifies inventory tracking.
4. Stockouts and Backorders Reduction: By managing kits as one item, you can better manage inventory levels and avoid stockouts or backorders of individual components, ensuring the availability of the Kit/Package to customers.
5. Faster Order Fulfilment: When a customer purchases a Kit/Package, the system automatically breaks down the components required for assembly, streamlining the order fulfilment process and reducing manual intervention.
6. Product Cross-Selling: Kits/Packages can be used strategically to combine complementary products, increasing cross-selling opportunities and exposing customers to a wider range of offerings.
7. Enhanced Marketing and Product Presentation: Kits/Packages can be promoted as unique products, allowing businesses to create targeted marketing campaigns and showcasing bundled items with attractive visuals.
8. Price Discounting: Offering Kits/Packages at a discounted price compared to purchasing individual items separately can incentivize customers to make bulk purchases, increasing sales volume.
9. Standardization and Quality Control: For manufacturers and distributors, using Kits/Packages allows for standardized assembly processes, ensuring consistent quality and reducing the likelihood of errors in the final product.
10. Clear Product Offerings: By grouping related items into Kits/Packages, customers can easily understand which items complement each other, reducing confusion and decision-making time.
11. Shipping and Packaging Efficiency: Shipping kits as a single unit can optimize packaging and reduce shipping costs compared to shipping each component individually.
12. Improved Reporting and Analytics: Analyzing sales performance and inventory management becomes more straightforward with Kit/Package items, as data is consolidated under a single item, allowing for better insights and decision-making.
The disadvantage of Kit/Package Items
While Kit/Package items can be beneficial for certain scenarios, there are some disadvantages to consider when using them on an e-commerce website or in the context of Supply Chain (SC) management
1. Complexity in Inventory Management: Kits/Packages are composed of multiple individual items, each with their own stock levels. Managing inventory for each component and ensuring accurate tracking of available quantities can become complex, leading to potential discrepancies and stockouts.
2. Stock Availability: If one or more components of a Kit/Package become out of stock, it may result in the entire Kit/Package being unavailable for purchase. This can frustrate customers and lead to lost sales opportunities.
3. Inflexibility in Customization: Kits/Packages are pre-defined bundles of items. If customers want to customize the contents of a package, it can be challenging to accommodate these requests using Kit/Package items.
4. Shipping Complexity: Kits/Packages often consist of multiple items that may require individual shipping. Calculating shipping costs accurately for such combinations can be complicated, and it may lead to unexpected shipping charges for customers.
5. Pricing Challenges: Determining the correct pricing for a Kit/Package can be tricky. If components have varying costs or are subject to different pricing strategies, setting a competitive overall price for the Kit/Package becomes challenging.
6. Updates and Changes: If any of the individual components within a Kit/Package undergo changes, such as price adjustments or discontinuation, it requires updating the Kit/Package item as well, which can be time-consuming.
7. Reporting and Analytics: Reporting on sales and inventory may require additional efforts due to the complex nature of Kit/Package items. Analyzing the performance of individual components and the overall Kit/Package can be less straightforward compared to standalone items.
8. SEO and Visibility: Using Kit/Package items might hinder the visibility of individual items in search engines. This can impact the discoverability of your products, especially if customers search for specific components within the Kit/Package.
How to create Kit/ Package items using the NetSuite
- Login to NetSuite: Access your NetSuite account using your login credentials.
- Navigate to Items: Go to the Items section by clicking on “Lists” in the top navigation menu, then selecting “Accounting” > “Items.”
- Create a New Item: Click on the “New” button to create a new item.
- Select Item Type: Choose “Kit/Package” from the list of available item types. This option is typically under the “Non-Inventory” or “Assembly/Bill of Materials” category.
- Fill in Item Details:
- Item Name/Number: Provide a unique name or number for the Kit/Package item.
- Display Name: This is the name that will be displayed on sales transactions.
- Description: Add a brief description of the item.
- Price: Set the default price for the Kit/Package.
- Tax Schedule: Select the appropriate tax schedule if applicable.
- Income Account: Choose the income account for tracking the sales of the Kit/Package item.
- COGS Account: Select the cost of goods sold (COGS) account for tracking costs associated with the Kit/Package item.
- Add Components: In the “Components” section, you can add the items that make up the Kit/Package. Click on the “Add” button to select items from your inventory or non-inventory items list. Set the quantity of each component required to assemble the Kit/Package.
- Show the item on the website: In the web store section, check the “DISPLAY IN WEBSITE” for showing the Kit item on the website.
- Optional Fields: Depending on your business needs, there may be additional fields you can fill out for the Kit/Package item, such as weight, image, vendor, manufacturer, etc.
- Save the Kit/Package Item: Once you have filled out all the necessary details, click the “Save” button to create the Kit/Package item in NetSuite.