How do we know which appliances are “panel ready”

Great question and I appreciate you asking as so many stores take this knowledge for granted. You will need to look for specific appliances that say “panel ready” or “integrated” not all appliances are as a matter of fact many are not.  They need to come ready to accept a cabinet front (supplied by others) from the factory as the door is built differently.  A dishwasher for instance, would have a bare metal unfinished front and would ship with the hardware needed to attach the wood panel to it. One thing to keep in mind is when your paneling an appliance 99% of them will not ship with hardware such as handles. This is because the concept is to “integrate” them into surrounding cabinetry to look like it’s built in. This way when ordering kitchen hardware you can get handles to match. Many stores can direct you as to what appliance is panel ready. I would suggest a smaller local independent store as they will have the most knowledge on these types of appliances vs  big box!

Fisher Paykel brand of appliances even has an “integrated” section on their website.  https://www.fisherpaykel.com/us/cooling/refrigeration/