One of the fundamentals of good operations management practices that is rarely discussed in the literature is the ‘complete kit’ concept, which suggests that work should not start until all the items required for completion of the job are available. These items (the kit) include components, tools, drawings and information. Starting a job with an incomplete kit means more labour time to finish the job, longer lead time, more work in process, reduction of throughput, poor quality and impairment of due date performance. The paper analyses the various facets of the complete kit concept in manufacturing, research and development, engineering and service organizations