Kits and Assemblies

​

When To Use A Kit

Use a kit when the customer should see one item, but the operation needs to manage several physical components. Common examples are installation bundles, pump packages, starter sets, seasonal packages, and assemblies sold as one SKU.

• Use a kit: the bundle is sold as one line, but fulfillment needs multiple component products.
• Use a physical product: the item is a single stocked product with its own inventory.
• Use a service: the line is labor, fee, or non-stock work with no picking or packing.
• Use variants: the customer is choosing size, model, color, or another option where each choice needs its own SKU.
• Use variant kits: each variant has a different component recipe.

​

Review Kits From The Product List

The Kit tab on the Products list shows kit products together. For kits, the available quantity is based on how many complete kits can be built from available component stock. The kit parent does not keep its own separate stock balance.

​

Create The Kit Product

1. Go to Products.
2. Click Add Product.
3. Enter the kit title and part number.
4. Set Product Type to Kit.
5. Enter the list price that customers should be charged before pricing rules.
6. Confirm tax and inventory behavior.
7. Click Create Product.

​

Add Kit Components

Open the kit product and go to the Components tab. Add every product the warehouse should pull for one complete kit. Quantity per kit is the amount of that component required for a single kit sold. The Components table is also the operating check for kit health. It shows each component, the quantity required per kit, available stock, unit cost, cost contribution, total cost, and margin context. If a component has no reliable cost, treat the kit margin as incomplete until the component cost is corrected.

1. Click Add Component.
2. Search for the component product by name or SKU.
3. Select the component product.
4. If the component product has variants, select the exact variant consumed by the kit.
5. Enter Quantity per Kit.
6. Click Add Component.

​

How Kit Availability Works

Kit availability comes from component availability. Arcus looks at the quantity required for each component and calculates how many full kits can be built. The component with the lowest buildable quantity becomes the limiting component. Use the kit Components tab when a customer or warehouse asks why a kit cannot be promised. The tab shows the recipe, component cost contribution, total kit cost, sell price, and margin context in the same place operators maintain the recipe.

• One component is short: the kit may be unavailable even when other components have plenty of stock.
• Component stock is received: the kit can become more buildable after receiving or adjustment.
• Component stock is allocated: open orders can reduce what is available to build future kits.
• Serialized components: fulfillment still needs the required serial number for each serialized unit.
• Variant components: the chosen variant is what must be available, not just the variant parent.
• Limited by: the shortest component determines how many complete kits can be sold or fulfilled.

​

Sell And Fulfill A Kit

Add the kit parent to an order like any other product. The customer-facing line is the kit. Behind the scenes, fulfillment works from the components needed to satisfy the ordered kit quantity.

• Order entry: the line price comes from the kit parent, pricing rules, and any allowed manual edits.
• Picking: the warehouse pulls the component products in the required quantities.
• Packing: package the physical components that are leaving, including any serialized component requirements.
• Inventory: component stock is what moves when the kit is fulfilled.
• Returns: restocking follows the component items that come back, not just the kit label.

​

Understand Kit Cost And Margin

Kit cost is based on the components and their quantities. The Components tab shows each component unit cost, contribution, percent of kit cost, total kit cost, sell price, and margin. This helps the team catch a kit that prices correctly for the customer but has an unhealthy cost basis.

• Component cost changes: receiving or cost updates can make kit cost stale until the rollup refreshes.
• Rebuild Kit Cost: use when Arcus shows that component costs changed since the last rollup.
• Manual cost override: if someone pinned the kit cost, clear the override before expecting automatic component rollup.
• Sell price is separate: rebuilding kit cost does not change what customers are charged. A kit can have healthy availability and unhealthy margin. Review cost after vendor price changes, component substitutions, recipe edits, or large quotes. If the cost looks stale, rebuild the kit cost only after confirming the component costs are correct.

​

Variant Kits

Use variant kits when the recipe changes by option. For example, a small, medium, and large bundle might use different components or different quantities. The variant parent groups the choices; the variant carries the exact component recipe that should be fulfilled.

1. Open the variant parent product.
2. Open the Variants tab.
3. Open the variant editor for the exact variant.
4. Use the variant Components setup when that variant requires its own recipe.
5. Review availability and fulfillment behavior on the variant, not only the parent.

On a variant kit, the Components tab shows how many of that exact child variant can be built from available components and which component is limiting the build. Use that child-level view before promising availability for a specific size, model, or option.

​

Common Blocks

• Kit shows low availability: identify the shortest component and review on-hand, allocated, incoming, and bin availability.
• Kit cannot be added to a purchase order: purchase the component products instead.
• Component search misses an item: confirm the component product is active and belongs to the current entity.
• Component requires a variant: select the exact active child variant consumed by the kit.
• Wrong component quantity: correct Quantity per Kit before the kit is used on new orders.
• Quantity per kit will not save: enter a quantity greater than zero.
• Kit margin is incomplete: review component costs and any missing-cost warnings before quoting.
• Margin looks wrong: review component cost, quantity per kit, list price, pricing rules, and whether a kit cost override is active.
• Fulfillment is blocked: check component stock, serialized component requirements, package setup, and order holds.
• Variant kit behaves wrong: confirm the correct variant recipe is attached to the variant being sold.

​

Related Articles