As an adult who likes to make purchases and remain fiscally
conservative I admit falling for the sexy price tags that IKEA has to offer. Who doesn't want super cool furniture shaped
to fit all shapes and sizes of the human body and serve as conversation pieces
when entertaining? We walk into this
amazing display and picture ourselves with various pieces only to know that it
looks great here, how will it look when I get home and attempt to put it
together. IKEA is the godfather of furniture and well recognized all around the
world. 175 stores in 32 countries leave
this massive blue and yellow structure as one of the most recognizable to any
consumer.
After reading How IKEA Designs Its Sexy Price Tags (Business 2.0, October 2002) I have to wonder, is the supply chain management really
being handled in sophisticated way? I
remember first shopping at IKEA 10 years ago.
Four step directions and bam! I
had an entertainment center! Five years
later after 6 steps I had a buffet and self designed table. This was fun and very easy on my wallet. Last year I purchased the Tarva 5 drawer
chest for a sexy $99.00. After step 2 it’s
still sitting in my spare room unfinished.
I didn't get lazy, I lost hope. Even
after diligently following directions with sheer enthusiasm, boards were
splitting, drawer tracks were sticking, screws were losing their smooth groove
and I lost my overall groove. With the
first experience to the most recent one I noticed a significant decline in
product quality.
The positive side of IKEA is the affordability. The obvious downfall in my opinion is the use
of cheap materials from all over the world that end up neatly packaged in small
boxes for our purchase, this topped off with a few steps to make the magic
happen. Scaling down on product material is a great
way to lower costs in the supply chain management process. Nevertheless, IKEA
is going to keep getting bigger and the 175 stores will multiply in years to
come. I have to ask, if increasing
supplies for the IKEA demand means lowering the company’s overall quality of
product how will they sustain when a sexy $99.00 Tarva dresser sits hopelessly
in a quiet corner of one’s home?
References:
http://www.pinterest.com/brightjobs/recruitment-funnies/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.