What: With a large increase in total volumes at the start of the pandemic as well as constraints on raw materials and transport limitations, ikea routed over 50% of their order fulfillment through their stores instead of customer distribution centers.

Why is it important: With many large retailers turning to operational investments to alleviate rising costs of transport, Ikea launched their own projects. This improved their e-commerce experience, customer delivery times and made their deliveries more sustainable.

Ikea plans on launching 80 projects in 2022 using robotics, automation and drones for better fulfillment in stores, as well as open more stores and expand their click-and-collect service, which will cost approximately one-fifth as much as home deliveries.

Ikea doubles automation projects as store fulfillment grows