IMS facilitates international partnerships Significant leverage for research funding Shared cost and risk SMEs gain global exposure, new opportunities Large-scale technology trails

IMS affords each project partner significant leverage in their research funding. This continues to be the classic challenge for all organisations, large and small. IMS provides the vehicle by which each organisation can pool its resources with others within one or more project consortia stretching the value of an individual organization's funding. One participant commented that their company’s research dollars were multiplied almost four-fold.

Through cooperation in IMS, costs, burdens and risks related to R&D can be reduced and shared. By combining end-users of manufacturing technologies with advanced technology producers and research institutions, IMS research is industry-driven and focused on real-world issues ensuring the market relevance of technology improvements.

For smaller businesses, IMS offers the opportunity to "go global" safely and effectively. The IMS Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) provisions enable small businesses to cooperate effectively and on an equal footing with large firms. New market opportunities will arise through improved market intelligence. International cooperation also provides better visibility, and contacts that can lead to new opportunities for further collaboration and other, indirect benefits.

One participant commented that as an SME, the opportunity to work alongside international companies would have never been possible without IMS. Not only do they benefit from the research results, but they also have an opportunity to become part of a global supply chain.
IMS offers technology trials on a large-scale basis, involving a global user community and ensuring general applicability of the technology developed. Inter-regional cooperation in IMS can contribute to global diffusion of manufacturing technologies, including the development of new international manufacturing standards.