How to fight inflation. 41 delegations gathered in Florence: “We must promote innovation”

By Monica Peraccini

Florence

After 46 years, the IFPSM World Summit returned to Italy, an international conference that brought together 41 delegations of purchasing and supply management specialists from 4 continents in Florence: Europe, Asia, Africa and America. An opportunity to discuss the challenges of the supply chain, which in Italy represents a turnover of more than 2 trillion euros, of which about 10 percent is in Tuscany, which is going through a phase of profound changes due to geopolitical instability, shortages of materials, expensive energy after the difficulties of the pandemic. The Summit, now in its 24th edition, is organized by Adaci, the Italian Association of Purchasing and Supply Chain Managers, which has chosen as the core theme of the initiative “Procurement as a promoter of innovation and value-added creators, globally”. At the same time, as a force to combat inflation, material shortages and geopolitical instability.

From this comparison, a phenomenon that characterizes our region emerged: backshoring. “Italian companies – explained Fabrizio Santini, National President of Adaci – increasingly prefer to turn to suppliers of components, services and, when possible, raw materials located in our country, rather than going abroad. According to the survey carried out by the Tagliacarne-Unioncamere study” at the Center 21% of companies that purchased foreign supplies then partially or completely backshored, meaning they then chose Italy. “It is a fact that the government must think about.”

He stressed that “shopping today does not only mean bringing home what companies need, but rather promoting product and process innovation alongside colleagues from other functions, suppliers and partners. It means automating purchasing processes, resorting in an ethical way towards people, supporting artificial intelligence, and adopting concepts Applied sustainability. The Adaci Tuscany and Umbria Section has more than 800 professional contacts and 200 members registered as procurement management professionals for more than 90 companies and is represented at national level, among others, by Fabrizio Santini, National President, Andrea Lucarelli, Training Director, and Riccardo Rossi, Youth Project Development Director .