Review Retailing view 18.2 about customer service at IKEA. How does this retailer utilize a self-service model as a competitive advantages strategy, compared to traditional furniture stores? RETAILING VIEWIKEA a global furniture retailer based in Sweden, employs aconcept of service unlike that of traditional furniture stores.The typical furniture store uses a showroom to display someof the merchandise the retailer sells. Complementing the in-store inventory are books of fabric swatches, veneers, and al-ternative styles from which customers can order. Salespeopleassist customers in going through the books. When a cus-tomer makes a selection, the order is placed with the factory,and the customized furniture is built and delivered to the cus-tomer's home in six to eight weeks. This system tailors thefurniture to the specific customer's preferences, but it in-creases costs and prices. Sales associates need to spend timewith customers, helping them "design" the furniture they wantretailers need to recover the cost of delivering the furnitureto the customers' homes; and customers must wait weeks toget the furniture.18.2Customer Service at IKEAIn contrast, IKEA uses a self-service model based on exten-sive in-store displays and information. At information desks inthe store, shoppers can pick up a map of the store, plus a pen-cil, order form, clipboard, and tape measure. Every productavailable is displayed in over 70 roomlike settings throughoutthe 150,000-square-foot warehouse stores. Thus, customersdon't need a decorator to help them picture how the furniturewill go together. Adjacent to the display rooms is a warehousewith ready-to-assemble furniture in boxes that customers canpick up when they leave the store. After studying displays, cus-tomers proceed to a self-service storage area and locate theirselections using codes copied from the sales tags.ap-Although IKEA uses a "customers do it themselves"proach, it also offers some services that traditional furniturestores do not, such as in-store child care centers, restaurantIKEA effectively uses standardized services through itssignage and information in displays and on the merchandise.FinalClarserving fast food, and extensive information and displays aboutthe quality of the furniture. Toddlers can be left in a supervisedroom filled with 50,000 brightly colored plastic balls. There arechanging rooms in each store, complete with bottle warmersand disposable-diaper dispensers. Displays cover the quality ofproducts in terms of design features and materials, with dem-onstrations of testing procedures.Sources: "Ar IKEA, Kids Play in Free Day Care as Parents Shop inPeace." Orlando Sentinel, July 15, 2009; Bo Edvardsson and Bo EnquistValues-Based Service for Sustainable Business Lessons from IKEA (Oxford.UK: Routledge, 2008): www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/customer_servicesplash.html (accessed Jun 2010)

Question

Review Retailing view 18.2 about customer service at IKEA. How does this retailer utilize a self-service model as a competitive advantages strategy, compared to traditional furniture stores? RETAILING VIEWIKEA a global furniture retailer based in Sweden, employs aconcept of service unlike that of traditional furniture stores.The typical furniture store uses a showroom to display someof the merchandise the retailer sells. Complementing the in-store inventory are books of fabric swatches, veneers, and al-ternative styles from which customers can order. Salespeopleassist customers in going through the books. When a cus-tomer makes a selection, the order is placed with the factory,and the customized furniture is built and delivered to the cus-tomer's home in six to eight weeks. This system tailors thefurniture to the specific customer's preferences, but it in-creases costs and prices. Sales associates need to spend timewith customers, helping them &#34;design&#34; the furniture they wantretailers need to recover the cost of delivering the furnitureto the customers' homes; and customers must wait weeks toget the furniture.18.2Customer Service at IKEAIn contrast, IKEA uses a self-service model based on exten-sive in-store displays and information. At information desks inthe store, shoppers can pick up a map of the store, plus a pen-cil, order form, clipboard, and tape measure. Every productavailable is displayed in over 70 roomlike settings throughoutthe 150,000-square-foot warehouse stores. Thus, customersdon't need a decorator to help them picture how the furniturewill go together. Adjacent to the display rooms is a warehousewith ready-to-assemble furniture in boxes that customers canpick up when they leave the store. After studying displays, cus-tomers proceed to a self-service storage area and locate theirselections using codes copied from the sales tags.ap-Although IKEA uses a &#34;customers do it themselves&#34;proach, it also offers some services that traditional furniturestores do not, such as in-store child care centers, restaurantIKEA effectively uses standardized services through itssignage and information in displays and on the merchandise.FinalClarserving fast food, and extensive information and displays aboutthe quality of the furniture. Toddlers can be left in a supervisedroom filled with 50,000 brightly colored plastic balls. There arechanging rooms in each store, complete with bottle warmersand disposable-diaper dispensers. Displays cover the quality ofproducts in terms of design features and materials, with dem-onstrations of testing procedures.Sources: &#34;Ar IKEA, Kids Play in Free Day Care as Parents Shop inPeace.&#34; Orlando Sentinel, July 15, 2009; Bo Edvardsson and Bo EnquistValues-Based Service for Sustainable Business Lessons from IKEA (Oxford.UK: Routledge, 2008): www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/customer_servicesplash.html (accessed Jun 2010)

Accepted Answer

The strategy of an organization determines its long-term priorities and course of action. It assists…