About FIR

The Institute for Industrial Management FIR is a non-profit, intersectoral research and educational institution at RWTH Aachen University concerned with business organization, information logistics and corporate IT with the aim to establish the organizational basis for the digitally integrated company of the future.

Through the development and transfer of innovative solutions, FIR contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of companies. This is undertaken within an infrastructure that is ideally suited for experimental organizational research – methodologically sound, scientifically rigorous, and conducted in close collaboration with experts from business and industry. The activities focus on the application of research to industry verticals: Future Logistics, Smart Services and Smart Maintenance, Smart Commercial Buildings, and Smart Mobility.

The institute provides research, qualification programs and lectures in the fields of business transformation, service management, information management, and production management. As a research institution of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft, FIR supports the research strategy of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and participates in its research clusters to strengthen NRW as a hub of research and innovation. A member of the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations, FIR promotes research and development for the benefit of small, medium-sized and large businesses.

The FIR is also the leading institute of the Smart Logistics Cluster on RWTH Aachen Campus. The aim of the cluster is the consistent design of an agile and learning company that can adapt quickly to today’s rapidly changing markets and market requirements. In a unique form of collaboration and using a state-of-the-art infrastructure, consisting of innovation laboratories and a demonstration factory, representatives from industry and research dedicate themselves to questions relating to the integration of IT systems, their interconnection and integration, and the implementation of new business models.