Entering the Next Level of Value Generation: Servitization and Digitization for Industry 4.0 by ifm electronic

Ifm electronic is a mid-sized wold market leader in sensor electronics for industry and automotive applications. The hidden champion shows an impressive growth trajectory in the last 20 years from around 200 mio. € to 1 bn. € in 2019. In this case study, the ambitious leaders of this company start to elaborate the strategy for achieving the next billion. Students are required to identify the drivers of growth in the past decades and evaluate the steadiness of this recipe for success in the context of major shifts and technological advances in key customer industries such as industry 4.0 and new business models driven by digitization and servitization. Thus, students will explore the benefits and limits of business model innovation and investigate further strategic options for growth.