Simplifying Duty Drawback for Global Retail:

How IKEA and GingerControl Unified a Worldwide Refund Process

For a company that has built its name on simplicity, IKEA’s supply chain is anything but simple.

Behind the clean lines of its furniture and the minimalist aesthetic of its stores lies one of the most complex logistics networks on earth. Every chair, lamp, and flat-packed kitchen cabinet passes through multiple suppliers, countries, and customs zones before reaching customers.

That scale has powered IKEA’s global growth, but it also created a hidden inefficiency: duty drawback.

“With hundreds of suppliers, our drawback data was scattered,” says Anders L., Logistics Process Manager at IKEA. “We had refund opportunities everywhere, but no single way to capture them all.”

When the team realized how much capital was trapped in fragmented records, they called GingerControl (GC).

The Global Retail Puzzle

IKEA’s business is designed for efficiency. Products are standardized, packaging is optimized, and logistics routes are tightly coordinated. But that same decentralization that made IKEA agile also made it difficult to recover duties consistently.

Each supplier handled documentation differently. Some worked with brokers, others filed manually, and others didn’t track drawback eligibility at all. As a result, IKEA’s finance team struggled to answer a basic question: how much in duties could we be recovering right now?

The complexity came from scale. A single IKEA distribution center in the U.S. might process goods from over 200 suppliers, all classified under different Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes. Some products were assembled or repackaged domestically, changing their customs status from imported goods to manufactured exports.

Under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA), retailers can file drawback claims electronically through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), but only if the data is accurate, consistent, and supported by proof of export.

For IKEA, that was the missing piece.

“We were doing everything right, but separately,” Anders explains.

A Fresh Approach to a Familiar Problem

GC started with a clear mandate: make drawback as simple and consistent as IKEA’s design philosophy. The firm’s team of trade compliance experts and data engineers approached the project the same way IKEA might design a new product, by studying how every piece fit together.

They began by mapping IKEA’s global supply chain in detail. Each import and export record was tied to its HTS classification, supplier ID, and destination. What emerged was a revealing pattern: most of the refundable duties were stuck behind inconsistent classification and missing entitlement documentation.

1. Classification cleanup

TFTEA allows substitution unused merchandise drawback when imported and exported goods share the same 8-digit HTS code. The catch is that “Other-Other” classifications, which appear as catch-all categories, can limit eligibility.

IKEA had hundreds of those “Other” entries across its supplier network. GC helped the data engineers standardize them, building an HTS governance model that enforced the same 8-digit codes across every supplier.

“Once we aligned on the codes, everything clicked,” Anders says. “The confusion disappeared, and eligibility became clear.”

2. Entitlement Systematization

In many cases, the exporter of record wasn’t IKEA itself but a third-party logistics provider or overseas distributor. Under 19 CFR §190.82, exporters must assign their drawback rights to the importer before any claim can be filed.

GC help form a data extraction system for IKEA. Each exporter now receives a digital waiver and assignment form, pre-filled with shipment data. Once signed, it’s stored and linked directly to the claim record. No more chasing paperwork months after the fact.

3. Centralized data for ACE filing

Finally, GC's own data architects built a central data hub that connects directly with CBP’s ACE platform. Every supplier’s import and export data flows through one structured pipeline. Claims are validated automatically before filing, with error checks for timing, classification, and entitlement.

This meant IKEA could submit fully compliant claims in days, not months, and track refund progress across all suppliers in one dashboard.

A System That Thinks Like IKEA

The redesigned drawback program didn’t just work; it fit IKEA’s culture of organization and transparency.

The user interface was clean and intuitive. The process steps were standardized like assembly instructions: one claim, one checklist, one confirmation.

Every stakeholder, from suppliers to finance managers could see where they fit in the process. That visibility transformed how people thought about compliance.

To encourage adoption, GC led workshops for suppliers and internal teams. The sessions focused on how drawback connects to sustainability goals, capital efficiency, and long-term supplier relationships. By turning compliance into a shared responsibility, IKEA strengthened its network instead of just enforcing rules.

Compliance That Scales Globally

What makes retail drawback different from manufacturing or aerospace is volume. A single error might not be catastrophic, but repeated across thousands of transactions, small mistakes add up fast.

GC's assistance helped IKEA catch those micro-errors before they multiplied. The system now automatically checks:

• Whether the claim falls within TFTEA’s five-year window.

• If the import and export HTS codes align at the 8-digit level.

• That all assignments are current and electronically signed.

• That export proofs, such as bills of lading or AES filings, are attached.

By integrating these checks into daily workflows, compliance became a natural part of the operation rather than a periodic scramble.

It also gave IKEA’s finance department something it never had before: predictability. Refunds could now be forecasted by quarter, linked to supplier performance metrics, and incorporated into working capital models.

The Results: Clarity, Consistency, and Confidence

Six months after implementation, the difference was visible across departments.

• Refund visibility improved dramatically. The finance team could see, by supplier and product line, how much drawback had been filed and how much remained eligible.

• Claim accuracy reached near perfection, with minimal CBP rejections.

• Supplier adoption exceeded expectations, as more partners joined the unified platform.

• Processing times fell by over half, as claims moved from manual compilation to digital submission.

• Audit readiness became the new standard, with complete electronic records ready for CBP review.

But perhaps the biggest achievement was cultural. What had once been viewed as a technical finance issue became part of IKEA’s broader story of efficiency and trust.

“Drawback used to be something we reacted to, now it's something we plan for.” Anders says.

A Human Approach to Compliance

Behind every successful drawback process or system is a team of people. GC’s consultants spent time on-site at IKEA’s U.S. headquarters, walking through real supplier interactions, studying data formats, and understanding the human pain points behind the paperwork.

They discovered that many suppliers viewed compliance as a burden because they didn’t see the benefit. By reframing the conversation, showing how accurate data leads to faster payments, GC turned participation into partnership.

More Than Refunds: Building Resilience

Duty drawback might sound like a financial tool, but for a global retailer, it is also a form of resilience. When trade policies shift or shipping costs spike, a steady stream of refunds can stabilize cash flow and protect margins.

By unifying drawback under one global standard, IKEA now has an operational safety net. If a region faces delays, another can pick up the slack. If customs regulations change, the centralized system updates instantly across all suppliers.

This level of agility turns compliance from a reactive defense into a proactive strength.

The GC Difference

GC’s work with IKEA proves that compliance can be elegant. By blending legal precision with system design, they created a framework that is both highly technical and profoundly human.

The result is a program that runs quietly in the background, accurate, compliant, and completely aligned with IKEA’s commitment to simplicity and sustainability.

“Now our drawback process feels like everything else at IKEA,” Anders says. “Organized, predictable, and built to last.”