{"id":73623,"date":"2026-05-28T15:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/73623\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T15:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:06:25","slug":"ingka-group-integrating-social-enterprises-into-core-supply-chain-starting-in-switzerland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/73623\/","title":{"rendered":"Ingka Group integrating social enterprises into core supply chain, starting in Switzerland"},"content":{"rendered":"

IKEA Switzerland has contracted two local social enterprises,<\/a><\/a>\u00a0with an IKEA kitchen. The move is the first live commercial result of\u00a0the\u00a0Social Enterprise Partnership (SEP)\u00a0Programme: a global initiative\u00a0that aims to integrate businesses creating employment opportunities for\u00a0marginalised\u00a0people into long-term supply chain partnerships.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The SEP\u00a0Programme\u00a0is a structured global effort developed jointly by Ingka Group,\u00a0<\/a><\/a>specialising\u00a0in helping inclusive businesses reach the scale needed to\u00a0operate\u00a0as credible commercial partners.\u00a0\u200bYSI\u00a0\u200b\u200b\u200bbrings deep\u00a0expertise\u00a0in social\u00a0\u200b\u200binnovation,\u200b\u200b\u200b\u00a0\u200bhelping large corporations build inclusive value chains by sourcing from\u00a0\u200band partner\u200bing with\u00a0\u200b\u200bsocial enterprises. Together, they provide the framework,\u00a0methodology, and on-the-ground matching capability that connects Ingka markets with local social enterprises ready to deliver.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Switzerland is the first market to reach the\u00a0programme\u00a0milestone of contracting a social enterprise as a live supply chain partner. Starting this month (May,\u00a02026) in\u00a0the central and western part of Switzerland, BAND will begin kitchen assemblies directly, while VEBO will start with after-sales and repair calls before moving to full kitchen installation. Both companies will be integrated into IKEA Switzerland\u2019s central supply chain platform and receive orders alongside other kitchen service providers, at comparable cost. Both employ people with disabilities and those who need\u00a0additional\u00a0support as a core part of their workforce. This is not a social add-on but a deliberate business model.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A new model for inclusive service delivery\u00a0<\/p>\n

In practice, each kitchen installation or repair visit will be staffed by a licensed supervisor alongside a person with a disability,\u00a0\u200b\u200breplacing the conventional two-carpenter model. This approach allows both companies to deliver commercial-grade services while actively expanding employment opportunities for people who are often excluded from skilled trades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The customer journey is straightforward by design. When a repair is needed, IKEA\u2019s customer support team\u00a0forwards\u00a0the request directly to BAND or VEBO. IKEA ships the necessary spare parts to the customer\u2019s home; the social enterprise partner schedules and carries out the visit. This is a fully integrated service offer, not a referral or add-on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both enterprises bring established roots in Switzerland and a proven\u00a0track record\u00a0of inclusive\u00a0employment, and\u00a0will receive ongoing support to scale their operations and employ\u00a0additional\u00a0people with disabilities as the pilot grows. The pilot is being run with an intentionally iterative approach, testing and refining the workflow in real time based on live customer feedback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of a global ambition\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ingka Group\u2019s goal is to have at least one contracted social enterprise in each of its 31 markets.\u00a0Following the launch in\u00a0Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Spain, and South Korea\u00a0are expected to follow.\u00a0More than 100 Ingka Group employees across more than a dozen markets have already\u00a0participated\u00a0in the\u00a0programme, building the internal capability to\u00a0identify, evaluate, and onboard social enterprises as long-term supply chain partners. The ambition is not a series of pilots but a permanent shift in how the company sources services globally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

About Ingka Group
\u00a0With IKEA retail operations in 32 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents 87% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on\u00a0Ingka.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b\u200bAbout IKEA Social Entrepreneurship\u00a0<\/p>\n

KEA Social Entrepreneurship supports and funds\u00a0programmes, innovation and investment in social entrepreneurs and enterprises in and beyond the IKEA value chain to create positive social impact for people from vulnerable and\u00a0marginalised\u00a0groups. It has supported more than 250 enterprises in over 35 countries focusing on inclusive employment, agriculture and food and inclusive circularity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About Yunus Social Innovation\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bYunus Social Innovation\u00a0is a Europe-based social innovation consultancy. We believe that doing good makes business sense. We partner with corporations, philanthropic\u00a0entities\u00a0and social enterprises to make social innovation a key driver of business success. We design and implement strategies that align business success with positive societal and environmental impact. We work with a team of dedicated consultants and change\u00a0makers,\u00a0all aligned on making our time on this planet count.\u200b\u200b\u200b\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IKEA Switzerland has contracted two local social enterprises,\u00a0with an IKEA kitchen. The move is the first live commercial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-73623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-switzerland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116652827374008395","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}