Strategic Sourcing and Category Management: Lessons Learned at IKEA

How is it possible to sell a kitchen at 30 per cent below market price? Why are hot dogs cheaper in IKEA than in the supermarket? How can IKEA sell the Lack table at half the price it was when it was launched 35 years ago and how can it be achieved with a substantial profit?

Strategic Sourcing and Category Management examines how IKEA - and other cost leading companies - use category management to create advantages with direct and indirect sourcing. With 25 years’ experience from IKEA, where he had the responsibility to develop and execute the company’s purchasing strategy, author Magnus Carlsson shares his insights on important topics: when category management is profitable and why; how teams repeatedly create value and results; what the main approaches are in different categories; how a company implements category management; the difference between success and failure.

In this new edition of Strategic Sourcing and Category Management, Magnus Carlsson has added new themes including examples and references from companies such as Maersk, Carlsberg, P&G and Aldi, illustrating the application of cost leadership that spans far beyond IKEA. Even there, the cost leadership lessons are not limited to home furnishings as the company is sourcing categories such as food, components, materials, transports and indirect materials, with a total purchasing spend of approximately EURO7 billion. But maybe even more importantly, the book illustrates how teams create value by thinking differently and asking the right questions, allowing an understanding that goes beyond mere tools and processes.