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Fulfillment

Managed inventory and kitting for brand programs

How a real managed-inventory layer works: SKU governance, picking, kitting, and API-driven fulfillment.

·7 min

Managed inventory and kitting is the layer that turns a print vendor into a program partner. Done well, it absorbs the operational load that would otherwise sit on your brand or HR team. Here's how the real system works.

Inventory held against locked SKUs

Your production partner holds garments and decorated stock against a controlled SKU sheet. Min/max levels trigger replenishment production. You see live inventory through a portal or API — not a quarterly spreadsheet.

Kitting workflows by recipient or campaign

Onboarding kits: triggered by HRIS new-hire signal, picked, kitted, shipped to home address within 2 business days. Executive gifting: triggered by sales-leader request, custom note card, white-glove packaging. Event activations: bulk kits by region, palletized for show delivery. All against the same inventory layer.

Reporting that procurement actually uses

Live inventory value, picks per period, sell-through by SKU, exception report (back orders, returns, address failures). This is the data your procurement team will ask for in quarterly review.

Cost structure: storage + pick fee + decoration

Storage runs $0.40–$1.20 per cubic foot per month depending on temperature and security needs. Pick and pack runs $4–$12 per kit depending on complexity. Decoration is at your program rate. Done right, the program cost is 8–15% of program spend — well below the cost of running this in-house.

FAQ

Can we integrate to our HRIS or CRM directly?+
Yes via API or Zapier — onboarding kits triggered from Workday, executive gifting triggered from Salesforce. Implementation typically takes 2–4 weeks.
What's the minimum scale for managed inventory to pencil out?+
Roughly 500+ picks per year or $50K+ in annual program spend. Below that, on-demand production without held inventory is usually more efficient.

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