ANALYSIS

IKEA's Value Chain

Primary Activity	Description
Inbound Logistics	Ordering inventory of furniture from IKEA HQ
Operations/ Manufacturing	IKEA does manufacture their own products Per say. They have various subsidiaries who manufactures the products from designs provided by IKEA of Sweden
Outbound Logistics	Delivery and Shipment database, “SAMS” to ensure quick and easy delivery of products
Sales and Marketing	“IKEA Family” rewards and promotions to have the competitive advantage of retaining customers
Customer Service	Call centers to provide the customer with any support they may have regarding returns, changing delivery dates, orders or any other needs.

The two business processes our team has analyzed are the following:

1. Structured Process (Purchasing) 
2. Dynamic Process (Social Media) 



Structured Process: Purchasing with SAM's

SAM's is a type of database that can be used to track delivery and packages by integrating itself with XPO, IKEA's third party logistics company. SAMS can be used in the early steps of the value chain in inbound logistics as far as tracking the flow of raw materials into our warehouse and then being transformed into finished goods.

Dynamic Process: Social Media 

Social Media is a large part of many companies dynamic process. IKEA is no different with its use of Twitter, Facebook etc. Above is a look at IKEA USA Help twitter account. if you look to the right of the pictures, you will see that IKEA also has different Twitter accounts base on your geographical location. All of these accounts are used to communicate with customers by giving updates on it's stores, services, and even possible links to other IKEA locations. This is one of our recommendations that we will touch upon in our recommendations.

Components of an Information System

The components of an information system are Hardware, Software, Data, Procedures, and People. Hardware consists of the tools or equipment used. Second, software is the instructions or some processing program for the computer. Third, Data is made up of the facts or figures. Fourth, procedures are known as the instructions that the people follow. Lastly, People are those who operate the hardware, maintain the data, support the networks, and those who use the system.

In IKEA our Hardware consists of dell computers, Microsoft surface tablets, IKEA Family Kiosks,Registers, PDA’s, Scanners and Servers. Our software consists of Microsoft office, Internal MIS, Vendors, and Programs such as Counter PO Creator. As for our Data, IKEA collects and uses information to communicate to the customers about products, services, and promotions. IKEA uses catalogs, emails, purchases, and IKEA family.The most common use of collecting customer information is using IKEA Family. IKEA Family is a loyalty rewards program where you will be asked for your name, date of birth (to confirm eligibility) and information about how you wish to be contacted, such as email address, mobile phone number and home address.

IKEA's Database: I-Sell

I-Sell is an enterprise process in which all employees in IKEA may use from all departments. Eliminating Silo thinking which may lead to duplication of information and isolating them by departments. Using I-sell, sales representatives may look into our logistics inventory to then reserve a product upon creating an order. employees can then project an inventory forecast and then the order information to outbound logistic where the products then can be delivered if needed according to the integrated data from I-Sell.

 Competitive Advantage

IKEA’s various uses of information systems in various departments are able to lock in customers with “IKEA Family.” Their unique rewards program entices the customer to return for future purchases. Reduce costs with “I-sell” and “Ikea Insider.” The employees in various departments have access to any information to keep the structured processes running smoothly. This integration between various departments is known is Inter-Enterprise.

Managing IKEA's Information Technology and Security

IKEA's Information Technology department contains servers that keep track of any online content that involved IKEA, that includes any emails, social media such as their Twitter and Facebook accounts, and their websites. IKEA's protection are not guaranteed; the company has a liability statement on their website regarding it. 

IKEA also has private policies for employees as well. the IT department performs an online background check for any individual applying for a position at IKEA. If that individual get hired, they must then sign a contract to ensure that no personal or negative information about the company gets loose. 

With that being said, IKEA cannot control content released by nonemployees, and therefore must considers the risks. IKEA carefully monitor all online sites to make sure any inappropriate content irrelevant to the company is removed and the user(s) who posted the inappropriate content are blocked from posting anymore content. The company also carefully monitor any unfavorable reviews from the public by trying to back to the user as soon as possible, and addressing the situation before anyone else can reply and the conflict grows.