Ikea Supply Chain Essay

What starts the supply chain of IKEA

Behind every supply chain, there is a trigger point which leads to the demand of it. In most cases they are caused by either product supply or customer demand. In IKEA’s case, this has to do with product supply as the products themselves are already available before you enter the store (Springer, 2011) However, when you look into detail, IKEA has much more to offer than simply just furniture; they have a childcare facility for parents who come to shop with their children, information points for visitors to ask questions regarding shopping, and more. These are the type of services which are led by customer demand. The difference between the two is mainly around whom the chain revolves with and has the potential

The cost from beginning with an idea to placing the product in the stores would be far greater than to have the customers live with the traditional designs. Using their high-profile advertising campaigns their can target the minds of the consumers on how they can accept their design. IKEA has done something similar in the past too, like their campaign “Unboring” which demonstrated that American would not separate themselves from their old furniture. It might sound simple, however, it is probably much more complicated than it seems. The biggest issue to educate the market and spread their message through the campaign is the cost. It does has to with only making an advertisement and broadcasting it, yet also researching the types strategies and exclusively marketing; The targeted market consists of millions of people and they have to be convinced that IKEA’s designs are something they can live with. Also, the fact that IKEA is one of the largest furniture store, it can set a trend to have Scandinavian furniture and somehow dominate the market for themselves. Something similar to what Steve Jobs (Apple Inc. CEO) did when he introduced the first Apple smartphone, the iPhone, in 2007 (The Guardian, 2012). On the other side, what IKEA can do is make small retail stores which have the type furniture American citizen desire. However, it will require the company to recruit designers with ideas which can be applied to the current line and hopefully satisfy the customers’ need. No matter which strategy they chose, the cost will remain high. Therefore, it will be wise to somehow find that balance and carry their objectives on. Anders Dahlvig (IKEA CEO) stated “The more stores we build and the more we increase our market share, the more we have to find ways to appeal to a broader public. Scandinavian design and style is a niche and it is not to everyone's taste. But we