Assemblies that are out of stock but show zero on order

Hi there,
Was wondering if anyone had heard of any best practices or work arounds for thsi--

All of the items that we have for sale are assembly items—they are made up of various components all of which are purchased and different places and then built into the product. We sell shampoos and other liquid products in jars-- so our "members" are like this-

-jar
-label
-lid
-bulk (th goop)

These are all items we purchase from different vendors that are manufactured into a single item for sale.

Here is my dilemma--  I never actually purchase the assembly item—rather I purchase all of the components and then build the assembly. As a result, when we are out of stock on the assembly a message pops up saying that we are out of stock and that ZERO are on order—