ifm
Comprehensive E-Commerce Replatforming
As a leading provider of automation technology, ifm develops and manufactures solutions for industrial applications. With more than 9,000 employees worldwide, the company operates in over 85 countries and offers a broad portfolio including sensor technology, safety and motion control technology, and solutions for Industry 4.0.
With its international presence and extensive portfolio, ifm places high demands on its digital infrastructure. To create a future-ready foundation for its international e-commerce business, the company chose diva-e Conclusion as its implementation partner for a new commerce platform.
Starting Point
An E-Commerce Platform Reaching Its Limits
ifm’s existing platform was operated on-premise and was approaching the end of its lifecycle. This made further development increasingly difficult and prevented the integration of new features and AI tools. At the same time, the commerce solution was reaching its limits in day-to-day operations: updates were time-consuming, and the user experience no longer met expectations.
ifm therefore took the opportunity to rethink its entire e-commerce architecture and move to a future-ready platform. The migration to commercetools provided a new technical foundation for the company’s international online business. It also created new opportunities to further develop digital sales, including the AI Product Advisor, which helps customers find the right solution more quickly
Challenges
A Complex System Landscape and a Seamless Migration
The biggest challenge was not the shop itself, but the complexity of the existing system landscape. A large number of systems already in use had to be connected while ensuring that the migration remained as seamless as possible for customers. Day-to-day operations could not be negatively affected at any point during the transition.
The new architecture also needed to bring systems closer together, reduce data silos and maintain a clear, modular structure. At the same time, it had to provide the flexibility to integrate new features, including AI-powered product advice.
Project Goals
A Future-Ready Platform for Digital Sales
The overarching goal was to build a future-ready e-commerce platform that could adapt to changing requirements and be continuously developed over time. This led to the decision to adopt a MACH architecture, with several key objectives:
Shift sales from offline to online
Expand the customer base through digital channels
Increase automation across sales processes
Enable AI-powered product advice
Ultimately generate 50% of group sales through the platform
Complete the transition without disrupting day-to-day business
Our Services
A New Technical Foundation for International E-Commerce
As implementation partner, diva-e Conclusion supported ifm in migrating to commercetools, a cloud-based, modular e-commerce platform designed to provide a flexible foundation for the company’s international online business.
The result:
6 countries live
10,000+ orders processed
€13 million+ in revenue
Taking Digital Product Advice to the Next Level
Together with ifm, diva-e Conclusion developed an AI Product Advisor that helps customers find the right solution more quickly. Instead of relying solely on keywords, the advisor can understand and respond to the context behind a customer’s request.
The result:
1,000+ sessions in the first week
Around 250 sessions per day
Around €0.015 per consultation
A New Foundation for E-Commerce and AI Product Advice
The migration to commercetools has given ifm a new technical foundation for its international e-commerce business. The new architecture makes it easier to connect the existing system landscape and provides greater flexibility for further development. It also creates the foundation for new digital services and forms of customer advice.
A Seamless Rollout: As of September 2026, six of around 50 countries are live on the new platform. More than 10,000 orders have already been processed, generating more than €13 million in revenue – including orders supported by the Product Advisor.
The migration was completed without disrupting day-to-day operations and remained almost invisible to customers. Compared with the previous system, the new platform also offers greater stability and scalability. Find more insights about the migration to commercetools here.
From Keyword Search to Contextual Product Advice: The new technical foundation also opens up new ways for ifm to help customers find the right solution. With its AI-powered product advice, ifm is moving beyond traditional keyword search towards a more contextual digital customer experience. Find out more about the use case here.
The first rollouts have shown that the new approach works from a technical, functional and organizational perspective. This provides a solid foundation for the next countries to follow.