A Slate article asks a very simple question: “Ikea is so good at so many things. Why is it so bad at delivery?”
The author tells the story of an item that was purchased from Ikea and was supposed to be delivered by a third party. While Ikea claimed to ship the item, the third party claimed to never receive it. Since Ikea claimed the item was shipped, the order could not be cancelled without incurring a hefty cost. Apparently, this is not a unique experience:
The nightmare of Ikea delivery is a truth so universally acknowledged that even the company cops to it. Chief marketing officer Leontyne Green talked about her own “very frustrating” Ikea delivery experience in a December 2011 Ad Age profile, which stressed the firm’s ongoing efforts to improve delivery and overall customer service.
In trying to explain the above conundrum, the author recruits several of our colleagues from Dartmouth and Harvard:
“With sporadic orders over a wide geographic area, Ikea would need a fleet of trucks that might be idle one day and not able to handle the load the next,” says Robert Shumsky, a professor of operations management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
We have discussed several times, albeit in the context of grocery delivery, the fact that one of the main cost drivers of delivery services is density. Since Ikea tends to be quite far from urban and dense areas, it is usually difficult to build density and thus difficult to offer a cost efficient services. One may charge a high price for such a service, but given their target market, this may not be ideal.
According to Santiago Gallino, also a professor at the Tuck School, “Ikea’s target customers are consumers who prize ‘value,’ and are willing to spend their own time to save money”—by pulling items from the warehouse, assembling the items themselves, etc. “Asking the customer to spend time to come to the store is consistent with this segmentation strategy,” Gallino says.
But ultimately, it comes down to focus:
Ikea refuses to expose itself to the idiosyncracies of its customers,” [Frances] Frei says. “There is no way they could do their own delivery with that signature Ikea crisp efficiency—there are too many variables. So they make you conform to them.” Ikea makes great stuff cheap—and that is the draw.
As the authors put it, this is a case study in how a large retailer can succeed by failing. This is the essence of focus. Ikea focuses on cost and the a big part of it is also educating your customers that delivery is not the preferred option to purchase its products and that customer service is not something you should expect. Since this allows the firm to reduce its cost even further (potentially), it is the “definition” of focus: doing something poorly and using it to do something even better.
Here’s what I don’t get. If customer satisfaction with delivery is not a priority, why sign up only one delivery operator? Why not establish a basic marketplace where every two-guys-and-a-van could offer their services at delivery – say by giving customers an option to request a delivery quote from multiple operators after picking what they want from the online store (maybe with a reply time of one business day)? A basic rating system could help promote decent delivery practices / weed out bad apples.
[…] Ikea: Why is it so bad at delivery? | The Operations Room. […]
well, if Ikea does not care about customers’ delivery experience, why does she hire a third party survey company to call and collect your ratings on the delivery? I feel confused.
You can try this company, I’ve used them and they’re very reliable and don’t cost a fortune. They don’t delivery everything in Ikea but their website is excellent and up to date with no quotes to wait for or haggling.
http://www.marketplace2home.com
I used marketplace2home.com as well, excellent service. Very reasonable with pricing and the item I ordered was discontinued and they actually emailed me while getting my order together to offer me a alternative. That is great service. I told my husband about it and he loves it as well since he doesn’t have to drive there as much.
I tried those http://marketplace2home.com/ guys and they are TOTALLY UNRELIABLE. I had to wait for their shipment for a whole day and they did not show up, nor they bothered to warn me that they were not coming. For some reason I think they’re some sort of internet scam as they are not even answering to my e-mails anymore now. Bloody hell.
Hi, This is Marketplace2Home.com, we’ve never heard of you Ms.Greene, we have no record of you and we’ve never received and email from you. We are not an internet scam, we are fully insured and registered company. Our records show no sales purchases from you nor any requests. Please feel free to contact our support if you have any questions. Anyone can inquire about our validity through Paypal if required, we have nothing to hide.
Regards,
support@marketplace2home.com
Thought I’d leave a comment on my Ikea delivery experience…it was great! I was worried based on the horrible PR Ikea delivery has all over the internet (and I believe it) but I placed an order for a couch online, maybe 4 days later Ikea emailed me and I was able to specify the date I wanted it delivered, and it was delivered that date. I feel lucky for sure!
I am Agree with Author
Great new service for IKEA delivery http://www.goshare.co/ikea-delivery/ . It’s like Uber with pickup trucks. The driver will meet you at IKEA with a pickup truck or van and help you bring your new furniture to your home.
Without a shadow of a doubt IKEA is designed to be like this. It does not care for customer experience but for maximum profit. Of course, it is not all bad. However, I for one, buy my flat packs online now. And I never trust IKEA for delivery. There is a host of companies that specialise in furniture collection and delivery. Thus the whole process becomes as painless as can be. This read may help convince you to do the same – http://www.flatpackmates.co.uk/blog/5-reasons-to-try-ikea-online-shopping/
Your article is very nice .I read today am very happy after reading this.
I deal with properties and home for rent to own Brampton Canada. We have Detached Homes, Semi-Detached Homes, Townhouses and Condominiums on beautiful location and Beautiful House Backed To Ravine. Fabulous 3 BEDROOM Home, Close To Hospital, Malls, Walmart, Hwy 427, 27, 50 And Many More.
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For those in London UK area we have been using teamzook.com for our IKEA delivery several times. Really cheap and cheerful delivery service.
Sorry, here is there website
Regards,
Sean
Unfortunately, IKEA delivery’s is getting worse lately. Quite often screws are missing or furniture is broken inside the boxes. Very frustrating.
http://www.flatpackassembly.org.uk
Need a hand with IKEA furniture assembly? We can help: http://www.flatpacksplus.co.uk
Ordered a table online a month ago. Haven’t heard from IKEA since. This process is truly nauseating. I’ve had 5 separate orders from Amazon purchased, shipped, delivered in since the time I ordered my 1 IKEA table. In this time, the 2 customer service agents I’ve spoken to say “it should be there any day now”, “FedEx has it.. theyve had it for a while” “It will be there tomorrow, if not, call us back”. I doubt this. Their customer service will tell you anything to get you off of the phone. Regardless of the 60 minute hold on every incoming call. Damn you IKEA. Never again.
I had the same problem. I ordered online and did not received the screws, I went to the closest location like the representative told me but they don’t have it. They ordered it for me and I waited for another two weeks. I am going to a trip so I want to know if it will be sent, they said they don’t have a tracking number. When I came back, nothing is there. I called again now they said it will be shipped in 4-5 buisnes days. Very dissappointed to Ikea. Let everyone know that Ikea is unreliable, do not order shipping to them, you will regret it. Also two items missing, they refunded it, but isn’t that just annoying. Don’t TRUST the IKEA ONLINE SHIPPING!!!!
Sad how this original article was written in 2013, but the reality is that NOTHING HAS CHANGED five years later. I too, have met the end of my tolerance and patience between Ikea and their shipping contractor. It seemed I would finally get my delivery until I told the delivery scheduler that trucks with more than two axles are prohibited on the road to my house due to it being narrow, winding and lots of deer. She informed that would require a different truck and she did not know when they could accomodate my delivery. So, I told her send it back as refused. Fast forward three weeks: I receive an email informing me my order has been delivered. I can only assume it is back at the Ikea warehouse, because I don’t have it. Its been ONE MONTH since I placed the order. Three emails to the trucking company and Ikea have not been answered, $50+ for shipping that I will have to eat because Ikea can not get their collective heads out of their arses. Why cant the Consumer Protection Agency DO SOMETHING?
I forgot to mention that in order for the trucking company to get my order for delivery, they had to go to the Ikea warehouse – 68 miles from my house then drive directly through the town I live in to take my order to their depot in another county – 127 miles away. Which is where my order sat for an ENTIRE MONTH. How is that close to any kind of SERVICE?
[…] have written about IKEA before and, indeed, Gady’s post about why IKEA is miserable at delivery is one of the most popular things we have ever put up. And the fundamental problem then is the […]
Hey guys I am from 2020, living in the US. I came to report to you that IKEA has never done anything to change their delivery service. I ordered items two months ago just to see the order canceled itself this afternoon. Their email and service line could not be reached. Disappointed. I WAS a big fan of IKEA.
Sigh its nice to see everyone else is frustrated as well – I myself placed order 05/18 which was cancelled 07/29 by IKEA. I already got one of the cabinets I need the rest to finish my wall so I said it’s ok I will wait, placed order 07/30 and it’s been “on its way” and rescheduled twice with that portion and once before it was “on it’s way”…….. I love Ikea but I know now I just need to take a vacation to get what I need from the store – fortunately thats only 3 hours away. I do think its completely unacceptable that we cannot contact them email or phone we have no recourse at all.
My name is Dwayne Berg and I ordered some Poang chairs they were dropped and I was under the impression that they would be put together for me—they were not -what happened! very frustrated…..if I knew this I could have taken them home to save on the delivery costs—-further your store uses this service called “Task Rabbit” I’m assuming IKEA uses this service to “save” on costs…it does not…..please come over and put the chairs together for me……my order # is 387726895.
Yes another nightmare delivery here. It’s taking them 7 weeks to exchange a mattress on the 90day try and exchange offer. Never again! Be careful folks!