E-commerce has never been more accessible than ever before. There are several solutions available from completely custom developed solutions to variations on pre-packaged solutions. The difficulty still remains connecting your real world systems with your virtual world systems, specifically, inventory management.

Several weeks ago I needed to order more desks for new employees starting at Radiant Core. I went to the Ikea website as they have very cost effective table tops and legs. The Ikea website is well organized and aesthetically pleasing. I was able to easily locate and add items to my shopping cart. I ordered three new table tops, 12 legs and one adjustable leg replacement for an existing desk. I then proceeded to check-out where I supplied all the standard checkout contact information. I was then presented with an interesting note that indicated my order would be confirmed by a phone call from an Ikea representative within 24-48 hours.

Frustrated but not dismayed I waited for my Ikea confirmation. Sure enough there was a voice message on my phone the next afternoon asking me to please contact Ikea to speak with a representative. I called the number back and was put on hold for approximately 15 minutes. When I finally was transferred to an agent she proceeded to confirm my order. Unfortunately the information she was reciting back wasn't quite correct. I clarified that it was 12 standard legs and one adjustable leg as opposed to four standard legs she was reading back. I then inquired about the table tops when she let me know rather irritated that the order did not list table tops. I begged to disagree seeing that I was looking at my copy of the invoice and there were clearly three table tops listed. She sighed and asked for the product codes on my invoice. "Oh, we don't ship those" she replied after looking them up. Don't ship them? Why are they listed on the website with the ability to add them to a shopping cart. "Do you still want the legs?" she asked. "To attach to what? No thank you please cancel my order".

Two days later another Ikea representative called and asked me what had happened with my cancelled order. I retold the story and he responded by letting me know that unfortunately the Ikea website is sometimes out of date with available stock and that table would be removed, but that they had tables slightly larger if I was still interested. I agreed and he re-created the order and then informed me that my shipping cost would constitute about 40% of my order and take approximately two week to deliver. "No thank you, please cancel my order."

Ikea seems to suffer from two interconnected data issues. Their inventory system is clearly not connected to their website as weeks after my problem the table tops were still available online. Second, their e-commerce system is not connected to the same system their call representatives have to calculate shipping prices.

Furthermore, Ikea seems to have supply chain issues. Orders can take about two weeks to fulfill but this isn't clearly stated during checkout. I could drive ten minutes to the nearest Ikea if I need them more quickly. Their website can tell you if the item you're interested is in stock in a particular store but not how many, for that you have to call the store. Don't call their 1-888 number for this though as my first call representative indicated that she couldn't check stock for me. I've spoken to various people that all tell of Ikea out of stock situations where the employees could not even speculate as to when new inventory would be arriving.

Bridging the gap between retail inventory and online systems can be challenging. Inventory systems should ideally be synchronized but even then there is no way to guarantee stock when it may be depleted in a retail situation. In addition, all major courier services provide real-time web services that calculate accurate shipping information such as cost that you can immediately pass on to your customer at checkout time.

Ikea products are very affordable and work well in our office environment. But I think I'll be driving to a local store to make my next purchase.