More Ikea stores to utilize stock-counting drones

Verity-branded drones from Ikea are currently being used to tally inventory in 16 different locations across Europe.

Ikea is now using drones to keep track of its inventory. According to a blog post by Ingka, the entity responsible for most of Ikea's stores, the company now has 100 autonomous drones counting stock in its warehouses during non-operational hours. Ikea initially partnered with drone-making company Verity in 2020 to deploy the drones in Switzerland, but they are now being used in 16 locations across several European countries. The drones help improve the accuracy of product availability and save employees from manually counting stock, making the workplace more ergonomic.

Verity, founded by Raffaello D'Andrea, a creator of Amazon Robotics, specializes in creating self-flying drones for warehouses and concerts. The drones take off from a charging station and capture images, videos, and 3D depth scans of items on each pallet in the warehouse before returning to their charging stations to download the collected data. They not only count inventory but also help employees identify missing or misplaced items.

Ikea has also implemented other high-tech solutions in its warehouses, including an automated racking system that has eliminated the majority of forklifts and an automated warehouse in Croatia where small robots retrieve bins containing the company's products and deliver them to employees during order fulfillment. These advanced tools improve the wellbeing of Ikea's employees, reduce operational costs, and increase convenience for customers.