The Swedish-founded furniture retailer IKEA will be establishing a regional distribution and supply chain center for Asean in Malaysia. An investment of RM908 million (SEK1718 million).

It will become among the top 10 largest regional distribution centers of the Ikea Group globally, adopting the structure and technology of Ikea’s biggest regional distribution center in Germany, said the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in a statement 22 August 2017.

The new center will manage an inventory of 9,500 stock, keeping units worth RM6.6 billion (SEK12.5 billion) annually.

“Ikea’s new 100,000 square meter specialized warehouse will utilize its integrated information and communication technology systems and automation to reduce the dependency on labour and significantly increase the efficiency and accuracy of its inventory management processes,” MIDA said.

MIDA also proclaimed that Malaysia always have been a significant market for Ikea, as retail stores in the country were among its most visited globally.

The center will be serving 12 retail stores in Asean and increase to 20 by 2026.

According to International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed the project is a significant milestone for both Ikea and Malaysia.

“The establishment of the new distribution center in Malaysia adds momentum towards making Malaysia a regional distribution hub and the preferred logistics gateway to Asia, as outlined in the National Logistics and Trade Facilitation Masterplan and National E-Commerce Strategic Roadmap,” the Minister said.

(Source: malaymailonline)