Sensofar Tech: Leading or Following the Customer

At the beginning of 2013, Ferran Laguarta and Marc Canales, chairman and CEO of Sensofar-Tech (spin-off of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, UPC), respectively, were reviewing how well the company was complying with the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan. The 2012 fiscal year had closed with €6 million in revenue (including subsidiary billing), a staff of 18 employees and an international business network with a global presence in the world's most important markets: Europe, America and Asia. The team had made numerous achievements over a very short period of time including, most recently, the creation of its own medical division (Sensofar Medical). In a little over a decade, it had developed from a laboratory within the Center for the Development of Sensors, Instruments and Systems (CD6) at the UPC to become a profitable, self-financed double-digit company with customers that included NASA, Sony and Mitsubishi, among others. However, the relationship with its main client was becoming more complicated. Its dual nature (customer/competitor) and the growing overlap of customers and markets could undermine Sensofar Tech's income statement. What was the right strategy for achieving the desired growth? Diversify or grow in conjunction with other leaders using the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) formula?