Ready-To-Assemble furniture
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Ready-To-Assemble (RTA) furniture, also known as 'flat packs' was created to solve a fundamental problem in shipping furniture: the relatively high cost of shipping the products compared to the low cost of actually producing them. All the pieces of the product are shipped in a very compact box with detailed instructions on how to assemble the unit. The intent is for the product to be assembled at home by the buyer. Costs are saved by the assembly not being performed in the factory and by greatly reduced volumes for shipping and storage by the distributor and retailer. Self-assembly furniture is very common in Britain, Europe, and Canada.
According to IKEA, flat-pack furniture was invented by Swedish draughtsperson Gillis Lundgren who, in order to fit a table in the boot of his car broke off the legs then reassembled it at home. He took his idea to his employers IKEA, who later built their business around it.
Do It Yourself (DIY) oriented people can find it enjoyable to assemble RTA units. The ease of assembly required also varies. IKEA furniture for example, is marketed on its completeness including hex keys in the package if they are needed. However, the assembly of some brands require the customer to have access to a much larger selection of hand or even power tools. Ironically, a common complaint is that some RTA packages do not include necessary screws, fixings or even parts required to complete assembly.
The most common types of RTA furniture are living room and office furniture, including bookcases, tables, beds and lounge-ware. Outdoor furniture e.g. swingsets and patio settings is another common example of RTA furniture.
Self-assembly kitchens are available from some retailers. These are made to uniform sizes. They benefit from a wide number of options and the ability to easily update them through the addition of for example, new cupboard doors.
Consider a CD/DVD storage rack. In the design of this furniture the cost of transporting and storing this product is kept in mind by retailing it as a flat pack. A flatter product can be easily stored and the cost of transport is lower overall as more items can be moved in the same space occupied by the assembled product. The cost of labour can also be reduced as there is no need for workers to assemble the product before it is sold. Other cost-cutting techniques can be employed by using particle board laminated with vinyl instead of using solid timber for example.
