IKEA
An embedded engineering team, onboarded through Magnit Global, delivering software for one of the world's largest retail technology stacks.
Global retail scale needs senior, accountable engineering.
IKEA operates one of the most complex retail ecosystems in the world: thousands of stores, an extensive online channel, a global supply chain, and a technology platform that has to keep all of it moving. When IKEA needed additional engineering capacity for its retail technology stack, it did not look for a body-shop supplier. It needed engineers who could understand the stack, own outcomes, and work inside its governance and procurement framework.
IKEA
Global furniture retailer operating hundreds of stores and a multichannel digital platform.
Retail · Global
High-volume retail technology with strict governance, security, and vendor-management requirements.
Embedded engineering team
Engineering delivery through Magnit Global MSP, including feature development, integration support, and QA.
The gap between capacity and ownership.
IKEA's internal teams were stretched across a large roadmap. The organisation needed to bring in senior engineering capacity quickly, but it could not compromise on quality, security, or accountability. Traditional staff augmentation often produces people who write code but do not own the outcome. IKEA wanted engineers who would think like members of the internal team.
The procurement path also mattered. IKEA uses Magnit Global as its managed services provider platform. Any external engineering partner had to be Magnit-onboarded, compliant with IKEA's supplier code of conduct (IWAY), and able to operate within the contractual and security frameworks that Magnit requires.
Finally, the work itself was demanding. The retail technology stack touches inventory, e-commerce, store operations, and logistics. Changes ripple quickly. IKEA needed engineers who could read the existing architecture, make changes safely, and document their work so it could be maintained long-term.
An embedded DevForces team, treated as part of the IKEA engineering organisation.
DevForces onboarded through Magnit Global and placed a senior engineering team inside IKEA's retail technology environment. From day one, the team participated in IKEA's ceremonies, followed its branching and release processes, and used its internal tooling. The team was not a separate delivery unit; it was an extension of the existing engineering organisation.
We assigned a DevForces engineering lead who remained accountable for architecture decisions, code quality, and communication. The lead met regularly with IKEA product owners and technical architects to align priorities and surface risks early. When issues arose, DevForces owned the resolution rather than passing responsibility back to IKEA.
The work covered feature development for internal retail applications, integration fixes between systems, and quality assurance for releases. Every change was reviewed, tested, and documented. We also ran knowledge-transfer sessions so that IKEA engineers could maintain the work without depending on the DevForces team long-term.
A key part of the engagement was governance discipline. The DevForces team completed Magnit onboarding, security questionnaires, and IWAY compliance checks before writing the first line of production code. This let IKEA's procurement and legal teams trust the arrangement without needing to manage it day-to-day.
“When issues arose, DevForces owned the resolution rather than passing responsibility back to IKEA.”
DevForces engineering lead
A partnership that scaled with the roadmap.
Multi-year delivery commitment
The engagement grew beyond initial scope as the team proved it could own outcomes and integrate with IKEA's processes.
Procurement-compliant
DevForces operates within IKEA's Magnit MSP framework, meeting IWAY and vendor-management requirements.
Software that moves with IKEA
Delivered features and integrations used in IKEA's retail technology operations across multiple markets.