Kitting & Manufacturing
Creating a kit
Build a virtual bundle from existing components. Availability and component decrement happen automatically at ship time.
Where to build a kit
Open the product you want to turn into a kit and click Configure as kit, or go directly to
/admin/products/[id]/kit. You'll land on the kit editor with an empty component grid. The kit itself can be a product you import from Shopify, or one you create directly in ShipWave with no Shopify counterpart.The component grid
Click Add component and search your catalog. For each row, set the quantity ratio—how many of that component go into one kit. A "Starter Pack" containing one scooter, one charger, and two hex keys would have ratios
1, 1, 2. You can mix variants from the same parent product or pull from entirely unrelated products. Drag rows to reorder; the order controls how pickers see the kit on pick lists.How availability is computed
The kit's available quantity is calculated live as
min(component.qtyAvailable / ratio) across every component, rounded down. If you have 50 scooters, 80 chargers, and 200 hex keys, the kit's availability is min(50/1, 80/1, 200/2) = 50. ShipWave recomputes this whenever any component's on-hand changes—you don't need to manually refresh.The fixed-cap option
For most kits, leave the Fixed cap field blank—availability is purely component-driven. Set a fixed cap when you want to limit the kit even though components are abundant: e.g. a limited-edition holiday bundle where you only want to sell 100 even if you could theoretically build 500. The cap overrides the computed availability when it's lower.
What happens at ship time
When a kit order is marked shipped, ShipWave opens a Serializable Postgres transaction and decrements every component atomically. Either all components decrement together, or none do—there is no in-between state where you could oversell a component. If any component would go negative, the ship action fails with a clear error and you can rebalance stock before retrying. See Kits vs. BOMs for why this matters.
FAQs
Can a kit contain another kit?
Yes, but it's rarely a good idea—nested kits make availability and pick lists harder to reason about. Prefer a flat component list whenever possible.
How do I show a kit to my Shopify customer?
List the kit as a normal Shopify product with its own SKU. ShipWave maps that SKU to the kit definition. The customer never sees the components; the pick list does.
What if I want to substitute one component for another?
Use a substitution group. See <a href="/help/substitution-groups">Substitution groups</a>.
Can I price a kit lower than the sum of its components?
Yes—pricing is set on the Shopify side. ShipWave just tracks the inventory side. FIFO COGS will roll up the actual component costs at ship time, so you can see real margin in the profitability dashboard.
More in Kitting & Manufacturing
- Kits vs. BOMs: which one should you use?
Understand the difference between virtual kits assembled at ship time and pre-manufactured finished goods built from a Bill of Materials.
- BOMs and manufacturing orders
Define a Bill of Materials, issue a manufacturing order, and track labor + scrap as components are consumed and finished goods are produced.
- Substitution groups
Let any of several interchangeable SKUs satisfy a kit or BOM component slot. Track which one actually shipped for accurate cost and warranty data.
- Kit and BOM returns policy
Choose whether returned kits come back as individual components or as a single re-assembled unit. Lot-controlled recalls handled automatically.