IKEA IKEA factory inspection

 IKEA is a Swedish furniture store. As of December 2008, IKEA has 292 large stores (258 owned by the IKEA Group and 34 franchised) in 36 countries and regions around the world. Most of the stores are located in Europe, while others are in the United States, Canada, Asia and Australia. With more than 100 million copies printed every year, the IKEA catalog contains about 12,000 items and claims to be the most widely distributed book after the Bible. In addition to taking the homophonic pronunciation of IKEA, the Chinese "IKEA" also quotes the allusion of "Yishi IKEA" in the idiom to express the harmonious and happy life of the family.

        Ikea will conduct an IKEA factory inspection on suppliers before their first shipment. IKEA uses the IKEA Way Of Purchasing (IWAY) to implement standards. The IWAY standard covers IKEA's minimum requirements in three areas: the external environment, social responsibility and working conditions (including child Labour), and wooden products.

       Teaching requirements: IKEA shall teach the IWAY standard to IKEA suppliers. The supplier shall effectively communicate the contents of the IWAY standard to its employees and downstream suppliers and ensure that all requirements are properly implemented.

        Start-up Requirements: Potential IKEA suppliers, before entering into a business relationship with IKEA, must fulfil these start-up requirements: no forced or bound Labour, no child Labour and no use of wood from primary forests or forests in advanced protected areas. Supply manufacturers who supply IKEA with solid wood, veneers, plywood and multilayer plywood must ensure that a complete forest tracking system documentation is implemented.

        IKEA Factory Audit: IKEA should take the IWAY audit standard as a prerequisite for selecting suppliers. IKEA suppliers shall support IKEA factory inspections conducted by IKEA internal auditors or independent auditors approved by IKEA. IKEA reserves the right to conduct raids on IKEA factories to verify the implementation of the IWAY standard. IKEA suppliers shall allow the auditors to interview and investigate their employees separately and shall retain and provide the auditors with all required documents and records. All non-conformities found during the IKEA factory inspection will be included in the IKEA Factory inspection report and submitted to the supplier.

       Corrective action: If non-compliance is found in the IKEA factory inspection, IKEA will ask the supplier to provide a detailed improvement plan. The improvement plan must be submitted to IKEA within one month after the IKEA factory inspection. The plan must include how nonconformities will be corrected, who is responsible, and a timeline. IKEA will evaluate and approve improvement plans from suppliers.

       Through IKEA Inspection: IKEA will follow up and verify that the supplier has completed the necessary corrective actions in accordance with the improvement plan and schedule approved by IKEA Inspection. When all non-conformities are corrected and passed through IKEA, the supplier is considered to have met the IWAY standard.

The supplier must sign an agreement with IKEA, committing to continuous improvement. IKEA will conduct a new IKEA factory inspection at least every two years to ensure that IKEA suppliers maintain compliance with IWAY.

The IWAY IKEA Factory audit includes the following procedures: 

(1).Preparation before audit
Prior to the formal audit, the supplier is required to make advance preparations, such as ensuring that the relevant documents are provided, and that the relevant personnel who may be involved in the audit (according to IKEA's requirements) are present at the factory and available for interview at any time.

 
(2). Initial meeting
An IWAY audit is preceded by an initial meeting between IWAY auditors and supplier management or representatives.

(3) On-site audit
The auditor will visit the site accompanied by the supplier representative. Auditors have the right to determine the scope of the visit, and this part of the time depends mainly on the size of the plant. The auditor will conduct a brief employee interview at the production site with questions about IWAY implementation. In addition, auditors will inspect fire equipment or evacuation alarms, detect pollutant emissions or noise, and check maintenance records.

(4) Document review
To verify IWAY/ legal compliance, auditors will review relevant documents such as government department permits, training records, chemical lists, etc. The auditor will also review records relating to employees' wages and hours.

 
(5) Employee interviews
Employee interviews are an integral part of the IWAY audit process. Findings and observations during the audit can be verified through interviews. Interviews can be conducted on the production site or in a separate room, and plant management and representatives should be excused. Typically, the auditor will identify the interviewee during the factory visit. Additional interviewees may also be identified based on the results of the document review. Ikea will not tolerate harassment, abuse or dismissal of the interviewees. Ikea will follow up on this.

(6) End the meeting
Before the end of the audit, a meeting attended by the factory management shall be held to summarize the audit results.

(7) Review report
Any areas for improvement identified during the IWAY audit will be reflected in a written report.

3. Corrective measures
For non-conformities, IKEA will ask the supplier to provide a written corrective action plan, specifying how it will be improved. The corrective action plan must be sent to IKEA within two weeks of the audit and must include a description of each corrective action for non-conformity, the person responsible and the estimated time of completion. The corrective action plan must be reviewed and approved by IKEA.

4.IWAY endorsement
Ikea will follow up and confirm whether the supplier has completed the necessary corrective actions in accordance with the confirmed corrective action plan and schedule. When all non-conformities are corrected and audited by IKEA (or a designated third party), the supplier is deemed to have met the IWAY standard.

5. Maintain and review
Ikea reserves the right to conduct unannounced audits and inspections to verify the implementation of the IWAY standard. To ensure that suppliers continue to comply with IWAY, IKEA will review suppliers at least every two years.

       How much does IKEA factory inspection cost?

        The cost of IKEA factory inspection is related to the number, scale and location of the enterprise, and the specific cost of factory inspection can be determined according to the specific situation of the factory.

Many factories want to receive foreign orders, but the situation of the factory itself does not meet the requirements of foreign customers to suppliers, therefore, if you directly apply for factory inspection, the chance of passing is very small, and will affect the order. Therefore, after receiving the customer's factory inspection requirements, most factories will choose a professional factory inspection agency for guidance, according to the standard requirements of the audit agency, to help the factory improve the situation, in order to meet the customer's factory inspection requirements, and successfully pass the factory inspection. Teng Lian consulting consultant, specializing in factory inspection counseling.

      Shenzhen Tenglian Enterprise Management Consulting Co., LTD., established in 2005, is an old institution with independent legal personality in Guangdong Province. Specializing in ISO system certification, product certification, factory inspection counseling, high-tech enterprise identification, intellectual property implementation standards, government subsidy application, qualification agency. Authoritative organization, experienced, full coaching. Senior certification counseling team, 15 years of experience, with exclusive approval channels, the pass rate is guaranteed! Since its establishment 15 years ago, it has served more than 7,000 enterprises and public institutions and government organizations. Any questions and needs about factory inspection counseling can be consulted free of charge through the following ways:

Consulting telephone: 0755-27787866 13828761196 Mr. Chen

0755-27753399/19925332787 Miss Chen wechat consultation: tliso168