“Ikea is a store where everyone has already been,” recalls Cédric Gouth, president of the attractiveness agency Inspire Metz during a visit organized by the Moselle installations of La Maxe by the Swedish group on Tuesday December 10 .
But do you know the behind the scenes? Backed by the sales area of the furniture giant, the group relies on a warehouse of 110,000 square meters on the ground, which serves the adjoining store, but also 19 others throughout the northern half of France, as well as three warehouses. Among the points of sale managed by the distribution center at the 105 reception/dispatch docks, there is that of Paris, which displays the group's highest turnover in the world. The Moselle distribution center also supports the brand's online sales in France, which represent 27% of the group's activity, whose turnover peaks at 3.7 billion euros.
“90% of the 6,000 references we receive here come from Eastern Europe and arrive by road. The rest comes from Asia in containers. These are some of the items you find in store,” explains Pierrick Dailly, the warehouse director.
Moselle is in fact a logistics center for the multinational which has a total of 36 stores in France. “The only other site which has the same vocation as us, but for the south of the country, is in Fos-sur-mer (Bouches-du-Rhône)”, continues the manager. In this distribution center, 260 employees including 180 forklift operators are busy organizing the space. “This company fully participates in the economic activity of the region,” assure Cédric Gouth and Bertrand Duval, the mayor of La Maxe.
An automated silo for better productivity
The visit to this behemoth where 1.8 million cubic meters of pallets are processed each year highlighted the platform modernization project. 8 million euros were invested in an automated silo called “Fit For Future”. This project is part of the global program to modernize the Ikea supply chain.
The new equipment uses robotics and automation to optimize inventory management and speed up order picking operations. It offers 75,000 storage locations, distributed in 24 meter high racks. Stacker cranes serve the pallets in the 76 aisles of the silo. “Productivity has increased by 15% since automation,” rejoices the site director.
Enough to get through the Christmas period? “In reality, during the end-of-year holidays, we recorded an increase in activity, but it was not significant. Our biggest period is at the start of the school year in September, when we move,” reveals Pierrick Dailly.
An artistic collaboration
In order to brighten up the daily lives of employees at the distribution center, Myriama Idir, artistic director of the Belle Vue agency, was commissioned by the multinational: “Our ambition was to invest the spaces with an artistic approach that combines sustainability and creativity . These works bring a contemporary and stimulating touch to the daily lives of the teams. We wanted to offer a fun and artistic touch that reflects Ikea’s identity while highlighting our local heritage,” she says.
In the distribution center, three monumental works of art respond to each other: a fresco by Petit Niochi, created entirely with eco-responsible paints, a Vilbert chair by Verner Panton revisited by Vanessa Steiner and a suspended installation by the artist The Blind, produced made from wood and cardboard, which mixes recycled objects, and which plays with light contrasts.
Founded in 1943, the group has been established in La Maxe for 24 years. In addition to the distribution center employees, nearly 240 employees work in the store that everyone knows so well.
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