The Ikea in Groningen recently underwent a major renovation which just concluded on Tuesday, March 15th. Now the store will be able to deliver furniture and other products to customers all over the Northern provinces, reports Dagblad van het Noorden.
The renovation came as a response to more and more customers ordering online. Branch Director Stefan Kroes stated that there were already 500 orders and around 50 trucks coming in and out of the Ikea every day.
Now part of the parking lot on Sontweg has been transformed into a logistics center with nine extra loading spaces, so fewer orders will need to be processed by the central distribution center in Oosterhout.
The recently implemented changes make same-day delivery possible, depending on how far the client is. Large packages will come with a delivery fee of 49.95 euro and no limit of weight or measurements. It will also still be possible to use the click & collect service: for 2.99 euro (4.99 for orders that weigh more than 100 kilos), Ikea will prepare the desired order and have it ready for pick-up in a drive-through.
Another perk of the new delivery service: it will be emission-free. From this summer, for orders that need to travel less than 30 kilometers, Ikea will use electric vans. The furniture store is also planning on making all its deliveries emission-free, but that will take time and gradual implementation.
The new logistics operation has created more jobs in the area: 70 people have already been hired, and 70 more will be added in the next months.
