A comparison of kitting and continuous supply in in-plant materials supply

In the context of in-plant materials supply, the materials feeding principle of kitting is often discussed as an alternative to the more common continuous supply (also known as line stocking). However, there are few detailed studies describing the relative effects of kitting and continuous supply. The current paper identifies the relative effects of kitting and continuous supply, and provides insight into how these effects arise. The paper draws on empirical data from two case studies in the Swedish automotive assembly industry. In each of the cases, continuous supply has been replaced by kitting, enabling comparison of kitting and continuous supply in the same production environment. The performance areas studied include man-hour consumption, product quality, flexibility, inventory levels, and space requirements. Interviews with production engineers, assemblers, and operators responsible for kit preparation at each company contribute to a broad yet detailed view of the relative effects of the two materials feeding principles.