Fulfillment & 3PL
Decide whether your 3PL should kit bundles on demand or pre-assemble them, and when kitting is the right fix for bundles and boxes.
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Common Questions
What is kitting in a 3PL context, and when does a Shopify brand actually need it versus just selling components separately?
Kitting is the assembly of several stock-keeping units (SKUs) into one unit by a third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse, ahead of orders or at pick time. A Shopify brand needs it only when the unit ships assembled and its parts sell separately too. Shopify Bundles sells such sets free but counts stock overall, not by location (Shopify Help Center, October 2026), so two warehouses share one pooled count.
Should kitting happen on-demand at order time or be pre-assembled and held as its own SKU in 3PL inventory?
Kitting belongs at order time, not in pre-assembled stock, while a Shopify brand's kits still change. Pre-assembled kits held as their own stock-keeping unit (SKU) win only once demand is stable enough to forecast. Pre-kit only "when a set ships at high volume and its contents rarely change" (ShipBob, October 2026), because built kits freeze components you can't sell separately.
Is kitting the right solution for a subscription-box or bundle-heavy Shopify brand, or does that belong on the subscriptions/bundles app side instead?
Kitting is the right solution only for fixed sets, like a starter box, because a pre-built box can't follow changing contents. Boxes that change each cycle and mix-and-match bundles belong in the subscriptions or bundles app, which lists each item on the order for your third-party logistics (3PL) provider. Shopify's own Bundles app can't run a subscription box (Shopify Help Center, October 2026).