How Is the Ikea Operations Design Different from That of Most Furniture Retail Operations?

we shall offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able toafford them

.” (Ikea.com.hk). Its unique operation design is different from most furnitureretail operations. IKEA has a large supply chain and manufactured its furniture in variouscountries including developing countries such as China, which keep the production costlow enough. Besides, IKEA’s huge showroom (most are multi-level stores) containsrestaurant, fast food corner, children playroom and toilets, which allowing customers tospend about two hours there, which is far more than other furniture retailers. Accordingto the showroom layout, there are usually one main entrance and one main exitrespectively. In addition, there are several sections including living room, bedroom,workspaces, children bedroom, kitchen, warehouse, etc. in the store. Restaurant andtoilets could normally be found in the middle of the store in order to provide some placesfor customers to take a rest and then to continue their shopping journey. In each section,there are various “setting-out” displays in different sections. For example, in living roomsection, various living room settings in different styles such as country style or modernstyle, are displayed for customer’s reference and comparison. Warehouse section isusually located next to the cashiers at the exit. IKEA’s “showroom-warehouse” conceptallows customers to pick up the furniture from the warehouse directly. Furthermore, mostfurniture of IKEA such as wardrobes, closets, bookshelves, etc. are flat-packed designedand being sold as self-assembly. The flat-pack design aims for easy transportation andreduce the transportation costs in relation thereto. Although IKEA aims to operate asself-service, customers could still ask for assistance at the customer services / informationcounters, if needed. And assembly service is also available with additional charge.2.What do you think might be the...