{"id":26760,"date":"2026-07-29T17:02:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/the-ifoy-award-is-more-than-just-an-award\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T15:50:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T13:50:05","slug":"the-ifoy-award-is-more-than-just-an-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/the-ifoy-award-is-more-than-just-an-award\/","title":{"rendered":"“The IFOY AWARD is more than just an award”"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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In an interview with the chair of the IFOY AWARD jury: <\/strong>\u201cThe IFOY AWARD is more than just an award\u201d<\/strong><\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Ms. W\u00fcrmser, why should a company even apply for the IFOY AWARD?<\/strong><\/p>

Because the IFOY AWARD is more than just an award. IFOY is the benchmark for innovation in intralogistics. Those who make it to the finals not only receive worldwide attention, but also independent validation of their innovation and customer value in the form of certificates and test results. For many people, that’s just as valuable as the award itself.<\/p>

They often say, \u201cTesting makes the difference.\u201d <\/strong>What do you mean by that?<\/strong><\/p>

On paper, many innovations look absolutely fantastic. But it’s only when you test them that you can see how well they really work. I’ve often found that my assessment of a product has changed after testing it in real-world conditions\u2014both for the better and for the worse. That is exactly why we place such great importance on the audit. It serves as a guide for the jury and verifies what a single juror, despite all their expertise, cannot accomplish on their own.<\/p>

What can the IFOY Finalists expect during the IFOY Audit?<\/strong><\/p>

Above all, two intense days. Our testers verify the facts; the scientists assess the level of innovation and customer benefit; the jury and its advisors test the products and solutions themselves; and everything is critically evaluated. In doing so, we do not compare the finalists with one another, but rather with the best competing products on the market in each category. That’s what makes the IFOY AWARD so challenging.<\/p>

How important is the level of innovation?<\/strong><\/p>

Innovation is and will always be the key to success. But in recent years, customer value has become increasingly important\u2014especially in the Integrated Customer Solution category. Even the best innovation is of little use if it doesn’t create real added value for the user. <\/strong><\/p>

They have introduced a new category: humanoid robots. Have there been any applications from this field yet?<\/strong><\/p>

The IFOY categories are deliberately designed to be flexible in order to address major technological trends. We have applications from this field in the pipeline, and the jury would welcome additional submissions. It will be interesting to see whether they are eligible for nomination and meet the requirements for innovation and customer value. I’ll go out on a limb and make a prediction: The first humanoid robot to make it to the IFOY finals will make history.<\/p>

Can members of the professional community participate in the audit?<\/strong><\/p>

The IFOY Audit takes place as part of TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS, and visitors can even test many of the IFOY Finalists for themselves in the arena. The jury meetings and the presentation of the results are, of course, confidential, but you can watch the tests in the arena up close. By the way, you don’t have to be an IFOY Finalist to exhibit at TEST CAMP. The Camp is not a trade show, but a curated event showcasing the latest innovations in logistics and intralogistics. But the IFOY Finalists are automatically eligible. <\/strong><\/p>

Does a smaller company have a chance, too?<\/strong><\/p>

Of course. The IFOY is not an award intended for the industry’s big names. The jury evaluates the product or solution\u2014not the company. Small and medium-sized companies, in particular, have repeatedly demonstrated in the past that they are among the most innovative in the industry. For young companies, there is also the IFOY Start-up of the Year Award. But even outside this category, small and medium-sized enterprises and international corporations compete under the same conditions.<\/p>

More and more Chinese vendors are competing in the IFOY competition. Why is that, and how competitive are these products and solutions?<\/strong><\/p>

We’ve been receiving applicants from China since the mid-2010s. However, most of them weren’t innovative enough to make it to the finals. That has changed. The first winner was BYD in the forklift category in 2018, with battery technology that already hinted at what was to come. And that’s exactly how it turned out.<\/p>

Chinese providers have a clear focus on benefits and therefore see primarily the value of an IFOY nomination, not the costs. And just how competitive the products are is illustrated by a message from a member of the company\u2019s executive board, who wrote the following to me about Geek+:\u201cYou\u2019ve chosen a great winner!\u201d<\/em> and then went on to describe how fantastic the product\u2014and especially the service\u2014are.<\/p>

Speaking of costs: Most awards are free. Why are there fees for the IFOY AWARD?<\/strong><\/p>

That’s a question of value and values. First of all, applying is free\u2014fees are only charged if a product or solution is nominated for the finals. Behind every nomination lies a rigorous audit process lasting several months, involving scientists, testers, an international jury, and a well-established evaluation system. It is precisely this process that the nomination fee helps fund, and thus, ultimately, the credibility of the award.<\/p>

It is therefore not an entry fee for a competition, but rather an investment in an independent assessment, scientifically sound certifications, and international visibility. The award is the visible culmination of a process whose true value lies in the independent evaluation and its global recognition. When you weigh the effort against the benefits, the nomination fee is relatively low.<\/p>

What advice would you give to companies that are still considering their options, and what is the most important tip for a successful application?<\/strong>
If you’re confident that you’ve developed an innovation, then apply. Make it easy for the jury. Don’t describe every technical detail; instead, explain what problem you’re solving and why your innovation makes a real difference for customers. Anyone who can clearly and concisely articulate the benefits to the customer has already come a long way. We’ll be taking a very close look at the technical details later during the audit anyway.<\/p>

Is it true that the IFOY Finalists don’t find out whether they’ve won or not until they’re on stage?<\/strong><\/p>

I get asked that all the time, and yes, it’s true.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Products and customer projects that make it to the finals of the IFOY AWARD become world-famous overnight. And there\u2019s a reason for that: \u201cTesting Makes the Difference,\u201d as jury chairwoman Anita W\u00fcrmser puts it. The application portal for the 2027 competition round will remain open until September 25\u2014and this raises a question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":26759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"ifoy-jahr":[],"class_list":["post-26760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine-opinion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26760"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26761,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26760\/revisions\/26761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26760"},{"taxonomy":"ifoy-jahr","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifoy.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ifoy-jahr?post=26760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}