The potential of value analysis application in the furniture industry – a case study at IKEA

Abstract

Value analysis methodology uses a structured and methodical job plan contemplating several steps to ensure success in its application. This paper intends to perspective the potential of value analysis application, namely in the furniture industry. To draw conclusions of this potential a case study was developed at an IKEA factory in Portugal. To characterize the customer needs in a clear language and to quantify the value of a product (a bookcase) produced in this factory, a value analysis study was developed. Functional analysis is the most known and distinctive phase of value analysis and is, nowadays, an autonomous tool. With this functional analysis, the authors intend to describe the functions that the product performs, to provide a better knowledge of the product, to evaluate the degree of satisfaction of the product through its functional performance and to facilitate the search for alternative solutions. The results obtained allowed us to reach some important conclusions about the application of value analysis in this type of industry and can be an initial step I to promote the use of this tool in this kind of industry.