Innovative, international and optimistic. It's companies operating indoors of supply chains to predict the greatest recovery to pre-Covid production levels: 41% against 36% of other companies. The share rises to 45% for companies in the supply chain that have invested in 4.0 technologies against 35% of the other digitized companies. 62% of the companies that work together have made investments to innovate (against 38% of the others) and 22% export, with peaks reaching 30% in the 4.0 supply chains (against 24% of the other digitized companies). This is what emerged from an analysis carried out by the Tagliacarne Study Center on data Unioncamere/InfoCamere on the 17 supply chains identified by the Ministry of Economic Development.
A universe that matters over 3,8 million active businesses (75% of the Italian entrepreneurial system), employs more than 12 million workers (71,4% of the total non-agricultural economy) and generates 2.500 billion euros in turnover (78,9% of the total industry and services). The region with the largest number of companies operating in the supply chain is the Lombardia, with over 580 active businesses (15% of the national total). Following Campania (9,4%) and Lazio (9,2%). However, if one looks at the impact of the supply chains on the productive fabric of each region, the ranking changes. Conquering the top positions are: Bolzano (83,8%), Basilicata (81,1%) and Molise (80,8%).
Almost 60% of the companies involved in the supply chain system are active in construction and agribusiness: respectively 29,1% and 28,8%. But their percentage weight drops to around 30% if we consider employment data (construction: 18,8%; agribusiness: 12,6%) and turnover (agribusiness: 17,4%; construction: 11,8%). Extending the analysis to other activities, the following are distinguished by number of employees: healthcare 9,8%, tourism-cultural heritage 8,7% and the fashion system 8,3%. While the energy chains stand out for turnover 11,2%, means of transport 9,8% and, lastly, the fashion system 7,0%.
According to the results, companies operating within the supply chains have a greater propensity for iinnovation, the 62% against 38%. And to compete, they focus above all on product (46% against 25%) and process (39% against 24%) innovation. Even among companies that adopt 4.0 technologies, the supply chain effect weighs: 74% of companies that collaborate with each other have invested in at least one form of innovation (among those of product, process, organisation, marketing) against 67% of those not production chain.
Furthermore, the benefits of the supply chain effect are also felt on the greater openness to international markets, in particular for those companies that adopt enabling technologies. 30% of the turnover of the 4.0 supply chains is fueled by foreign sales, against 24% of that of other digitized companies not in the supply chain. Not only that, the former also export on average to more markets than the latter (24 against 19). It is no coincidence that the PNRR pays attention to the issue of supply chains by reading it under the lens of internationalization precisely under the strategic axis of the digital transition.
“More than 3 out of 4 companies in our country operate within supply chains, some shorter, local, others more international; many have changed due to the effects of the pandemic crisis – he commented Joseph Tripoli, general secretary of Unioncamere -. In many, the relationship between companies does not end with the supply contract but, as various Unioncamere analyzes show, it is enriched with qualitative factors, services, financial support, certification processes, often induced by the leading companies, usually medium or large . These factors and supports are becoming very important in these years in which hundreds of thousands of small companies, the heart of our economy, will have to face the steep path of the double transition, digital and environmental. Therefore, public choices are necessary that help strengthen the supply chains, the strong ties that are established within them and the aggregations between companies, to safeguard the competitiveness of our system”.
