Control Totals

A few years ago while working for a 3PL - I sat in a regular touch base with a client. I heard their frustration on a kitting project. One each of three different SKU's were being placed into a carton, the box sealed, and labeled as a new SKU. The customer voiced frustration that the finished SKU had variances - some with two items, some with multiple of the same item.

I drove to the facility to review the process. Cartons of the component SKU's were spread across the receiving dock (the area they were using for the project). After identifying an isolated space - we reset the process. And in doing so I introduced them to control totals.

Control totals aren’t exciting. They don’t get credit when a project goes well. But in kitting and assembly projects, they’re the difference between confidence and chaos.

A control total is simple:
If you need 100 units of the finished product - and if that finished product contains one each of three different SKU's - you pull 100 of SKU 1, 100 of SKU 2, 100 of SKU 3, 100 cartons that will be used for the finished SKU, and 100 labels. You do not overflow the kitting area with anything more than what you are using. As you complete your project - if there's a variance in either finished product or the components - there's a problem.

When control totals are missing, teams end up chasing shortages they cannot explain, rebuilding kits they already built, or arguing whose numbers are right.

With control totals in place, you gain immediate visibility into loss, scrap, or mis-picks. There is clear accountability across shifts, lines, or vendors. Root cause analysis is fast.

Control totals force discipline at every handoff:
Receiving → staging → assembly → finished goods.

And they matter even more when volumes are high, timelines are tight, or labor is temporary. Kitting feels simple. Until it isn’t.

If you’ve ever finished an assembly run and thought, “We’re short … but no one knows why,” you already know how valuable this boring little control really is.