IKEA Group, the world’s leading brand in home furnishing products, has entrusted its furniture point-of-sale infrastructure as well as its software and system operations to a single partner: Wincor Nixdorf. Over the next two years, the Paderborn-based IT solutions provider will install 12,000 POS systems in nearly 300 IKEA stores in 25 countries.
The recently signed six-year contract covers the installation and operation of POS systems and associated peripherals. It includes the operation and further development of Wincor Nixdorf’s POS software TP.net, which controls all checkout transactions in each IKEA store and consolidates all data across the retail group. Another component of the agreement is to provide services that ensure operation of all POS solutions. “For IKEA, having a complete solution provided by a single source, Wincor Nixdorf, means not only less coordination in equipping our stores worldwide but also significantly lower rollout and operational costs,” said Paolo Cinelli, CIO of IKEA Group. “A key factor in our decision was the positive collaboration we previously had with Wincor Nixdorf in the software area.”
With Wincor Nixdorf’s TP Application Suite, IKEA has a standardized, comprehensive and internationally deployed software platform that is continuously evolving. Although the focus is to keep the system as standard as possible standard, the services provided by the company encompass the operation and customization of the systems as well as the updating of the software and applications running on them. In addition, Wincor Nixdorf will provide a user helpdesk for special requests from IKEA employees and for problems that users can resolve themselves. The company will remotely monitor the status of all systems, identify possible failure sources at an early stage and promptly initiate corrective measures, such as reboots. The enabling technology is Wincor Nixdorf’s IT platform (eServices platform), which automatically controls all processes, from error message to the fastest possible recovery procedure. In this way, system availability can be significantly and efficiently improved.
Wincor Nixdorf’s CINEO cash management technology already ensures in IKEA’s cash offices today that collected cash is processed securely, transparently and cost-efficiently. Many IKEA stores are also equipped with Wincor Nixdorf’s express checkout systems, which allow customers to quickly scan products themselves and pay by card.
“This most recent contract shows the trust that has grown from our previous collaboration,” said Achim Schlangenotto, who is responsible at Wincor Nixdorf for IKEA. “It strengthens Wincor Nixdorf’s claim as being the leading full-service supplier of IT solutions to the retail industry.” The experiences that the company has gained in the sector, Schlangenotto added, can be transferred to other projects and has benefitted IKEA in its international expansion.
