IKEA, the world-famous Swedish furniture retailer, wanted a more efficient internal stock management tool and an improved web shop for employees to order their company clothing. The existing system no longer met requirements and needed to be updated to meet the needs of employees in Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Wanted: an efficient webshop
IKEA’s employees’ signature yellow-and-blue outfits are stored in large warehouses and distributed to various shops. Employees in Belgium and the Netherlands can order these items via an internal e-commerce platform, similar to a webshop. However, that webshop needed to be updated into a considerably more efficient platform.
Competence centre eWings had already set up a website using the e-commerce package Magento. Competence centre Gumbys was asked to improve the backend, especially for the branches in Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Custom connector to the rescue
Gumbys started with a thorough analysis of IKEA’s needs. They mapped the different parties, made an overview of all activities (such as pickings) and identified which processes could be automated. IKEA provided them with all the necessary data, such as products, locations and internal rules. They first implemented everything in a test environment, in close consultation with the customer, before going live.
Initially, they used a third-party app connector to link Odoo to the Magento website. However, that solution was time-consuming because of the need to fix bugs and provide ongoing support. So then they decided to build a custom connector between Odoo and the e-commerce platform. This offered the advantage of reusability for other IKEA branches.
After extensive testing and some adjustments per country, the system was ready for launch. In Belgium, the new system has now been operational since 2022, in the Netherlands a few months after and, since December 2023 it is also operational in Switzerland.
Improved communication and growth potential
The main improvement is the communication between the staff placing orders and the warehouses. There is a better overview of incoming and outgoing goods, which is essential for departments such as finance and stock management. In addition, reports can be easily accessed in Odoo.
Another big advantage is the extensibility of the current system. Odoo, as an open source system, allows additional modules to be easily added in the future. This provides the flexibility to scale up when and where needed, which is particularly useful for a company with a global reach such as IKEA.
Integration with the HR Payroll platform
The webshop is specially designed for ordering corporate clothing by employees. Credits are used instead of traditional currencies. Each employee is assigned credits based on his/her function, and these are linked to the personal webshop customer account. These credits are calculated based on data from the HR payroll platform, ensuring seamless integration between both systems via APIs.
In addition, unique workflows have been implemented, such as the ability for specific groups of employees to order extra credits for colleagues.
Conclusion
Thanks to the collaboration between Gumbys and eWings, IKEA now has a more efficient and user-friendly internal shopping platform. This has not only led to improved communication and clarity within the organisation, but also offers growth potential for the future. IKEA can now respond faster and more efficiently to the needs of their employees, contributing to higher satisfaction and productivity.
Xploration
IKEA wanted a more efficient internal stock management tool and an improved webshop for employees to order their corporate clothing.
Our solution
eWings had already set up a website using the e-commerce package Magento. Competence centre Gumbys improved the backend.
Integration
- Magento 2
- Odoo
Result
IKEA now has a more efficient and user-friendly internal web shop platform. This led to improved communication and clarity within the organisation, but also offers growth potential for the future.
