Ikea owner expands portfolio with acquisition of software maker Made4net

Ikea integrates SCExpert platform into fulfillment centers and stores in more than 31 countries.

Swedish company Ingka Group, which owns the Ikea business, announced the acquisition of software maker Made4net. The amount of the deal has not yet been disclosed.

The takeover is necessary for the company to implement Made4net technology in its stores to count orders fulfilled and omnichannel. The retailer expects to speed up delivery, improve the supply chain and improve order accuracy.

After the deal, Made4net will reportedly continue to operate as an independent subsidiary out of its New Jersey headquarters and six international offices and retain its senior management team.

Earlier in the spring of 2023, Ingka said it would invest $2.2 billion in a strategy to grow its omnichannel business in the U.S. market. The funds will be used, among other things, to strengthen the supply chain and open eight new stores, nine planning and ordering locations and 900 pickup locations.

“Ikea has historically been somewhat ineffective at integrating store and warehouse inventories in a manner that makes shopping online and in-person a seamless experience,” Hart Posen, the Richard G. and Julie J. Diermeier professor in business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an interview with Retail Dive earlier this year.

“Our business currently requires a better fulfillment operations system with more accurate data that better supports handling for our customers,” Tolga Öncu, head of retail at Ingka Group, said in a statement. “Our goal is to become leaders of life at home, serving more people in an omnichannel reality, whenever and however customers choose to meet us.”

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