New IKEA Distribution Centre will halve delivery times for customers and uses zero-emissions vehicles.
Furniture giant IKEA has opened its first-ever logistics facility in Ireland with deliveries now reaching customers within three days.
The vast new distribution centre in South Dublin has a storage capacity equal to over 258,000 flatpack BILLY bookcases and is double the size of Croke Park.
“It marks a key step in our ambitious expansion plans across Ireland”
From today, all IKEA customers with Dublin Eircodes will receive their home deliveries in zero-emission vehicles, with a commitment to use only zero-emission vehicles for all home deliveries in Ireland by August 2025
The new distribution centre will result in IKEA’s business in Ireland having one of the shortest delivery times in Europe.
The business recently opened a store in Drogheda as well as six collection points around Ireland in partnership with Tesco.
Driving sustainability
IKEA expects the distribution centre to be making more than 300,000 deliveries in the first year of operation, with that figure almost doubling to nearly 600,000 within five years. Eventually the plan is to be able to deliver up to 3m items a year from the centre.
“The opening of Ireland’s first IKEA distribution centre will greatly benefit our customers through faster and more reliable deliveries,” said Jakob Bertilsson, Country Customer Fulfilment Manager, IKEA Ireland and UK.
“It marks a key step in our ambitious expansion plans across Ireland. We remain committed to – and are continually investing in – the future of our physical store in Dublin, but we want people to enjoy the IKEA experience no matter where they choose to engage with us, whether through our full-size store, plan and order points, or online. This new distribution centre will greatly enable this, by increasing availability of our products and reducing lead times,” he added.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
This new distribution centre also underscores IKEA’s firm commitment to sustainability. The building is one of the most sustainable and energy-efficient logistics facilities in Ireland. It has a Building Energy Rating (BER) of A2 and includes features like rainwater harvesting and roof-based solar panels.
IKEA is also transitioning to exclusive zero emission home deliveries, which together with locating the distribution centre closer to its customers, will result in significant reduction in CO2 emissions and more sustainable deliveries.
From today, customers with Dublin Eircodes will receive their home deliveries in zero-emission vehicles. IKEA has committed to ensuring all deliveries to customers across Ireland will be exclusively in zero-emission vehicles by August 2025.
As the first step to advance towards this goal, 17 electric vans will deliver IKEA goods across the country, with the number of zero emissions vehicles doubling by August 2025. As of now, two zero emission vehicles will be based in Cork, two in Athlone, four at the Ballymun store, and nine at the new distribution centre.
These 17 zero emission vans will replace diesel delivery vehicles, resulting in an estimated annual saving of 283,000 litres of diesel, equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 750 tonnes per year.
To support the transition to zero emission deliveries, IKEA has established an extensive electric vehicle charging network at the distribution centre, comprising of three rapid charge points for quick top-ups and 20 overnight charging points for full recharges.
IKEA’s 8MW wind farm near Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim, will also support the retailer’s transition to zero-emission deliveries and use of 100% renewable energy to power the distribution centre and IKEA’s flagship store in Ballymun, Dublin. It is projected that the wind farm produces about twice the amount of electricity required by the new distribution centre and the Ballymun store.
Furthermore, to secure even more renewable energy for the future, Ingka Investments, the investment arm of the company, has invested in a 10GW offshore wind project portfolio in Ireland and UK.
“The opening of this new distribution centre not only demonstrates IKEA’s desire to become more accessible to our customers in Ireland, but also our commitment to sustainability and innovation,” said Marsha Smith, Deputy CEO of IKEA Ireland and UK.
“IKEA is committed to the Paris Agreement and to helping limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. By transitioning to zero emission deliveries and having an energy efficient distribution centre, we are playing our part in protecting the planet, and taking another significant step in our journey to becoming a climate positive business,” she added.
The logistics facility and delivery service are operated by support of logistics firm and longstanding IKEA service providers, Wincanton and XPO Logistics.
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