IKEA is a powerful example of the strategic role of enterprise information systems. IKEA value principle of design and quality at competitive price, delivered through a unique, efficient, friendly customer experience is supported at every point by enterprise systems that reflect, encapsulate and drive these values. The ecosystem of components comprising the EIS is highly diverse, but have been integrated by IKEA to create an overall system that uniquely fits the business. Because IKEA is highly vertically integrated, interoperation with a large range of vendor systems is key to competitive advantage.
A powerful example of customization in support of fundamental value principles is IKEA iSell, a customer facing inventory system that provides an experience that is uniquely IKEA. One customer review states:
I love iSell, if you couldn’t tell. It’s efficient, it’s time-saving, it’s complete, and it’s flexible enough to fit your needs…and most of all, it’s personal. It helps bridge customers who visit different stores…it makes IKEA more unified, and makes your life easier, better.
A presentation on one of the unique aspects of iSell- the ability to switch between centralized and decentralized modes for offline ordering, is here.
Another example of customization driving value is IKEA kitchen planning software, linked here. This application is smart (fat) client that runs on end user desktops, enabling customers to design product layouts. The application output is a file containing the customer order, which can then be transferred into iSell for fulfillment. The experience of interacting with the system at this touchpoint is uniquely IKEA- efficient, friendly, and cost effective.
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