IKEA Holding B.V. - Digital transformation strategies

This report provides insight into IKEA's tech activities, including its digital transformation strategies, its innovation programs, its technology initiatives, its estimated ICT budget, and its major ICT contracts.

Inter IKEA Holding B.V. (Inter IKEA Holding) is the holding company of the Inter IKEA Group (IKEA Group). Inter IKEA Holding is the group of companies which connects suppliers and product range development partners with IKEA franchisees and aligns the overall IKEA strategic direction. IKEA Group has three core businesses - Franchise, Range, and Supply. The Franchise business comprises Inter IKEA Systems B.V. and its subsidiary companies. Inter IKEA Systems B.V. is the global IKEA franchisor. It also owns IKEA Concept and brand. The Range business comprises IKEA of Sweden AB and its subsidiary companies.

In 2020, IKEA launched a GBO center in Bengaluru, India, to drive its digital transformation. GBO is responsible for implementing innovative digital tools which will help IKEA address growing business demands and enhance employee satisfaction. It also supports several group functions, including procurement, finance, digital, and people & culture, while helping IKEA expand its digital footprint.

IKEA launched IKEA Forward, a six-week long accelerator program, at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in 2019. The program focused on helping innovative startups in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain expand their businesses, receive investments, and forge partnerships with large retailers across the world.

Scope

• IKEA has started using GreyOrange’s AI-based GreyMatter Fulfilment Operating System to optimize operations at its store in Kuopio, Finland. The software analyzes incoming customer orders and orchestrates a fleet of robots to pick the ordered items from the store’s inventory on the mezzanine floor and deliver them to human workers who pack orders on the ground-floor. IKEA claims that the AI technology helps it to accurately and quickly fulfil a greater number of customer orders and make the store a safer place for its workers.
• IKEA uses drones for accurately taking inventory at its warehouses and avoiding discrepancies between the actual inventory and inventory data. The drones help IKEA’s store staff determine the exact quantity and location of products in its warehouses. Currently, 100 Verity drones fly across IKEA’s warehouses in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia, and the Netherlands for taking inventory.
• IKEA has started using an autonomous truck by Kodiak Robotics Inc. for transporting furniture from its distribution center in Baytown, Texas to one of its retail stores in Frisco, north of Dallas. The truck runs once a day, seven days a week. Kodiak claims that its autonomous trucks are more fuel efficient than manually-driven trucks and help companies overcome the truck driver shortage challenge in the US.

Reasons to Buy

• Gain insights into IKEA's tech operations.
• Gain insights into its tech strategies and innovation initiatives.
• Gain insights into its technology themes under focus.
• Gain insights into various product launches, partnerships, investments, and acquisition strategies.