IKEA, New Zealand: Tenfold faster retail fulfilment with AutoStore automation
The customer – a leading global furniture company
IKEA is one of the world's leading home furnishing retailers, known for offering well-designed, functional, and affordable products to customers around the globe.
Following the opening of its first New Zealand store at Sylvia Park in Auckland, IKEA experienced strong demand for both in-store and online shopping. To support continued growth and meet rising customer expectations for fast, convenient order fulfilment, IKEA sought a scalable automation solution that could enhance operational efficiency while maintaining a high-quality customer experience.
By bringing products directly to the team, we’re reducing the physical strain that comes from walking long distances through the Market Hall and moving heavy trolleys, creating a safer, more efficient process that ultimately gets IKEA orders out to New Zealand customers sooner.
This project demonstrates how advanced automation can be seamlessly integrated into a retail environment to transform fulfilment performance. By combining AutoStore technology with Swisslog’s integration expertise, IKEA is now equipped with a highly efficient, scalable solution that supports both current demand and future growth.
10x faster order picking
Boosts picking rates from 20 to nearly 200 order lines per hour.
Reduced manual walking
Eliminates kilometres of daily store walking for order pickers.
50% direct-to-customer orders
Half of online orders can be completed and shipped from AutoStore alone.
Five-year growth capacity
Designed with capacity to support five years of projected growth.
The challenge - scaling retail fulfilment to meet growing online demand
As IKEA New Zealand prepared to open its first store, the team anticipated strong nationwide demand for online shopping and designed AutoStore into the fulfilment setup from the beginning. Budget approval meant installation would follow after opening.
Early trading quickly confirmed how significant e‑commerce would be, reinforcing the need for a scalable system that would strengthen fulfilment capability from day one and into the long term.
The solution – a flexible in-shop MFC solution designed for smarter retail fulfilment
Swisslog designed, integrated and implemented a retail AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) at IKEA Sylvia Park to transform the way online and click-and-collect orders are fulfilled. Installed within the store’s back-of-house warehouse area, the solution uses robotic technology to bring products directly to co-workers at ergonomic picking stations, replacing time-consuming manual product searches across the store floor.
The compact, high-density system stores approximately 3,000 high-demand products across 10,000 bins, maximising available space while ensuring rapid access to inventory. When an order is placed, robots automatically retrieve the required bins and deliver them to operators for picking and consolidation. Swisslog QuickMove conveyor technology transport orders to the consolidation areas. Orders containing products outside the automated system are seamlessly combined before dispatch, creating an efficient end-to-end fulfilment process.
With 12 robots operating simultaneously, the system can process up to 200 items per hour, supporting more than 500 orders per day as demand continues to grow. The solution improves picking speed, accuracy and workplace safety, while providing IKEA with a scalable platform to support future e-commerce growth.
The system is controlled by Swisslog’s proprietary SynQ software, which is designed to sit at the heart of automated intralogistics, bringing together warehouse management, execution, material flow, and automation control into one unified platform.
Technology in the warehouse: AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system
AutoStore is a high-density goods-to-person automation solution that uses a grid-based storage structure, robots and intelligent software to optimise inventory access.
At IKEA Sylvia Park, robots navigate the storage grid to locate and retrieve product bins, delivering them directly to operators for fast and accurate order processing.
The modular design allows the system to maximise storage capacity within a small footprint while providing flexibility to scale as order volumes increase. By reducing walking distances and repetitive manual handling, AutoStore helps create a safer and more efficient fulfilment environment for retail operations.
For retail environments where speed and flexibility are critical, SynQ’s dynamic inventory management provides clear, real-time visibility of stock movements and levels. Intelligent algorithms enable faster stock allocation and replenishment decisions, supporting better availability and reduced operational waste.
Automation orchestration is another core strength. SynQ integrates seamlessly with Swisslog solutions such as AutoStore and third-party equipment, synchronising automated systems across multiple layers of the warehouse to maximise throughput and efficiency.
The result – faster fulfilment, improved accuracy and a safer retail environment
The AutoStore system has transformed IKEA Sylvia Park’s fulfilment operations, delivering a 10-fold improvement in picking speed compared with conventional manual processes. With the ability to pick up to 200 items per hour, the solution enables IKEA to process online and click-and-collect orders faster while improving accuracy and consistency. By bringing products directly to co-workers, the system reduces unnecessary walking, minimises repetitive tasks and creates a safer, more efficient workplace.
The scalable solution provides IKEA with the flexibility to support future growth in e-commerce demand, with capacity to handle more than 500 orders per day. Around half of parcel orders can now be completed entirely within the automated system, while remaining orders are efficiently combined with products from conventional storage areas. This seamless integration between automation and existing processes ensures a smooth customer experience from order placement through to final dispatch.
Key details of the AutoStore solution
- AutoStore system: New Zealand’s first retail AutoStore Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) installed at IKEA Sylvia Park.
- Storage capacity: Approximately 10,000 bins storing around 3,000 high-demand products within a compact automated grid.
- Robots: 12 robots operate simultaneously to retrieve storage bins and deliver products to ergonomic picking stations.
- Picking performance: 3 Carousel Ports and 2 Conveyor Ports
System capacity of up to 200 items per hour, compared with around 20 items per hour through conventional manual picking. - Order capacity: Designed to scale beyond 500 orders per day to support future e-commerce growth.
- Fulfilment process: Transportation with Swisslog QuickMove conveyors to consolidation areas. Around 50% of parcel orders are completed entirely within the automated system before dispatch.
- Integration: Swisslog designed, integrated and implemented the solution to operate alongside IKEA’s existing conventional storage and fulfilment processes.
