The operative purchasing work is divided up among four trading agents,
supported by 31 trading service offices in 26 countries. This means that IKEA
is always close to its suppliers, which is one way of creating good business
relations between the companies involved. The trading service office’s
employees can make frequent visits to suppliers and follow the production
process closely, enabling new ideas to be tested and regular quality controls
to be made. They are also responsible for the important task of monitoring