Henkelman – Opportunities for Kitting

For a long time, itsme was merely a ‘small’ supplier of electrical components to Henkelman, a manufacturer of vacuum packaging machines. That changed when Andreas Klein joined Henkelman as a Supply Chain Engineer at the end of 2024. During his studies, he became familiar with procurement kitting and recognized the opportunities it offered to make procurement at his new employer more efficient, with itsme as a partner. Now, in his role as Procurement Manager, he is continuously looking for ways to further optimize costs across the entire supply chain.

Henkelman, based in ’s-Hertogenbosch, manufactures vacuum packaging machines for customers in the hospitality, retail, and (non-)food industries around the world.

These machines efficiently extend the shelf life of food products through vacuum packaging, helping to reduce food waste. They can also be used to protect both food and non-food products (such as automotive parts or clothing) from external influences. Henkelman manufactures between 12,000 and 15,000 machines each year in two main categories: tabletop models for applications such as restaurants, and larger floor-standing models for industrial use. Together, these two categories comprise more than ten different variants, each of which can be configured to meet specific customer requirements, explains Klein. “In principle, there are millions of possible configurations for our machines due to the wide range of customer-specific requirements and preferences. That means we need a large variety of different components.”

End-to-End Optimization

That is why it was not immediately obvious that Klein would focus on kitting: having a complete set of standard components for a module or an entire machine delivered in a single shipment. After all, if every module or machine is different, there is little value in assembling a standard kit in advance. Nevertheless, Klein was open to the idea.“Thirteen years ago, procurement kitting was the subject of my graduation thesis: how can we purchase components from the same supplier under a single part number, so that we no longer have to purchase, invoice, receive, and register multiple individual items? The goal is to receive everything at once and send the complete kit directly to the production floor. Throughout my professional career, I had never actually worked with kitting until I joined Henkelman in a logistics role. For example, we build a machine for which the control cabinets are assembled externally. We source the required components from various suppliers and deliver them to the panel builder. I saw an opportunity to purchase these components as kits, so that our control cabinet builder simply receives one box for each cabinet containing everything needed for assembly. That makes the process much easier for them, because their core competence is building cabinets—not procurement and the associated logistics. Together with a supplier such as itsme, we can ensure that materials are delivered in the most efficient way possible. That idea was the starting point for our kitting initiative. Since then, we have identified three more projects in the pipeline, all aimed at optimizing costs, logistics, and administrative workload in an integrated way.”

“Together with itsme, we ensure that materials are delivered to our control cabinet builder in the most efficient way possible.”

Klein had to proceed with care. “We supply customers worldwide, so our machines can be configured for different countries, which mainly affects the electronic components. In addition, certain customers and/or countries require specific certifications. That already introduces variation, so the question becomes: which components can still be standardized within a kit? On top of that, we do not manufacture in very large production runs, so we cannot benefit from the economies of scale that come with high volumes.” Nevertheless, Klein took on the challenge together with Jasper van den Corput, Account Manager at itsme. “We provide kitting services for many customers from our kitting center in Breda, which serves the Dutch market. For Henkelman, that worked out perfectly because their facility in ’s-Hertogenbosch is nearby. If an issue arose—for example, a missing component—we could respond quickly.”

A Ripple Effect Across Procurement

When developing new kits, Henkelman always considers whether they are stable enough. Klein explains: “We want to avoid obsolete inventory. If there is only a small chance that a kit will change, you can make agreements for larger quantities and achieve a more favorable price level. In those cases, we are also willing to hold inventory ourselves, because Henkelman’s philosophy is that we always want to be able to deliver: a tabletop model within one day and a floor-standing model within one week. That is why we prioritize security of supply and have set our reorder levels to ensure that stock is always available. Our order quantities are planned so that we only need to place orders three to four times a year. If, despite all precautions, a kit does change or becomes obsolete due to design modifications, we work together to find a solution. This may involve returning components that are still standard stock for itsme or keeping the components in our own inventory, possibly as service parts. Naturally, we prefer to avoid that, which is why determining whether a kit is sufficiently stable is an important criterion before introducing it.”

itsme plays a role in that complex inventory management, Klein explains: “We have a lot of inventory, and we don’t mind that at all, but of course we want to balance that inventory by aligning order levels so that we never run short but certainly don’t have too much either. itsme helps us with that.” Van den Corput. “I’ve agreed with Andreas that when they order kits from us, we’ll always deliver them within six weeks. He can count on that when managing his inventory.

“When viewed from a total cost of ownership perspective, kitting can be highly beneficial.”

Within Henkelman, Klein continues to promote the concept of kitting. “I’m knocking on engineering’s door to ensure that kitting is considered already during the design phase. When designing a new machine, not enough attention is paid to cost and logistics aspects. From a total cost of ownership perspective, kitting can be very attractive—not only for electrical components, but also for fasteners, precision mechanical parts, and perhaps even larger mechanical assemblies.”

Van den Corput adds: “From the very beginning, we kept Andreas well informed about all the steps we took in developing the kitting process. It helps that he is genuinely enthusiastic about it and is trying—as he puts it—to let the idea spread throughout Henkelman like a ripple effect.”

Growing Trust and Collaboration

Another factor is that Henkelman will relocate its assembly facility in Haaren, near ’s-Hertogenbosch, to its headquarters, Klein explains. “As a result, we will have less space available and will need to take a different approach to inventory management; our stock needs to be optimized even further. If kitting means you only need one storage location for your materials instead of twelve, you immediately gain valuable space. That is why kitting has been an excellent first step for us.

At the same time, itsme can also further support us with the supply of individual components—a category in which they previously played only a very small role for us—helping us reduce both costs and logistical complexity.”

Van den Corput concludes: “We can take over the supply of components that currently come from multiple individual suppliers. That is where we see their trust in us—and with it, our partnership—continuing to grow.”

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