Flat packing is a popular way to ship furniture in parts for easy assembly on-site, reducing costs and space requirements. It was developed by a Swedish designer for IKEA, and has changed the furniture industry by eliminating assembly lines and reducing storage and transportation costs. Customers can view finished furniture in display areas and purchase unassembled sets with all necessary parts and tools included.
Flat packing is a way to prepare furniture so it can be easily shipped in its constituent parts and assembled on site. It has become very popular in recent years due to its convenience for consumers and shops and its lower cost. Flat packaging is most recognized by American consumers for its use in the popular IKEA chain of stores, which is largely based on the idea of flat packaging for convenient and stylish furniture. Flat packing is also sometimes referred to as ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture or knock-down furniture.
The idea is relatively recent and was developed by a Swedish designer, who worked for the then much smaller company IKEA. Failing to assemble a table that he wanted to haul home in his car, he broke its legs so he could get into the back. When he got home, he then put it back together. When he told his employer about the concept, they loved it and eventually built their business model around the concept.
The benefits of flat packing are many and in various ways change the landscape of selling furniture at the low to medium price level. Traditionally, furniture was set at a fairly high bottom price, due to a number of considerations. Furniture takes up a lot of warehouse space, because it is so large that it has to be assembled in a factory, requiring large spaces and workers, and it has to be transported, taking up a large amount of truck, train or ship space, which adds to the overhead.
Flat packing, on the other hand, eliminates or reduces much of these costs. Because flat packing transforms otherwise large furniture into solid slabs that can be stacked on top of each other and easily stored, it takes up only a fraction of the storage and cargo space of traditional furniture. And because customers assemble the furniture themselves, assembly lines and the accompanying workforce are unnecessary. The combination of all these reductions allows for significant cost reductions compared to traditionally produced furniture, and these savings are largely passed on to the consumer.
Usually stores that sell packaged furniture have large display areas where potential buyers can see what the finished furniture will look like. Big stores like IKEA have set up sample rooms, filled with flat-packed furniture and accessories, giving customers a general idea of the kind of design aesthetic they can build with the furniture. Once the customer finds something he likes, he writes down the product number and goes to the store’s warehouse, where the flat version of the furniture can be found and put on a cart or large cart. From there, the furniture can be placed in a car or truck and driven home, without the need for a special van.
When a customer buys an unassembled furniture set, what they buy are all the parts needed to put it together. This usually includes all pieces of wood in their flat shape and various fasteners such as dowels or screws as well as posts and supports. Instructions are also included, and most flat sets also include basic tools for assembly. In a few hours of work, the piece of furniture is assembled and ready for use, just as if it had been delivered from the shop.
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